Chapter 13: Memory Phases - Working & Short Term Memory Flashcards
What is the mechanism of short term (working) memory?
maintenance of activity (reverberation; through rehearsal) & short to intermediate term activity of dependent synaptic change (LTP)
What are the structures involved in short term (working) memory?
prefrontal cortex
parahippocampal cortices
What is the mechanism of long term memory?
maintained synaptic changes (L-LTP)
protein synthesis
anatomical growth
What are the structures involved in long term memory?
hippocampus
What is the model of memory processes?
serially related memory stores that differ in function, capacity, and duration
control processes - control movement of information within and between memory stores
What is the function of sensory memory?
holds information long enough to be processed for basic physical characteristics
need to be able to perceive sensory information in order to make connections
What is the capacity of sensory memory?
large
can hold many (infinite) items at once
What is the duration of sensory memory?
very brief
0.3 sec for visual info
2-5 sec for auditory info
In what way is sensory preattentive?
forms without attention
don’t need to be actively paying attention
What are the two types of sensory memory?
based on modality
iconic: visual
echoic: auditory
Why is attention important to working memory?
sensory memory forms automatically, without attention or interpretation
attention is needed to transfer information to working memory (consciousness)
What is the function of working memory?
conscious processing of information
where information is actively worked on
What is the capacity of working memory?
limited (holds 7 +/- 2 items)
What is the duration of working memory?
brief storage (about 30 seconds)
however, can be elongated through rehearsal
can be maintained for a long period of time, but requires active attention
What is encoding?
once in working memory, information can be transferred into long-term memory
What is retrieval?
once stored in long-term memory, information can be transferred from back in to STM
What is the function of long term memory?
organizes and stores information
organized in a way that helps you retrieve it through association
more active form of encoding than working memory
more passive form of storage than working memory
What is the capacity of long term memory?
unlimited
What is the duration of long term memory?
relatively long term (hours to months)
however, still labile, not permanent; can forget details
What is ultra long-term memory?
to achieve permanence, memories must be consolidated into ultra-long term memory
retrieval to STM can also occur from this store
return to lability and reconsolidation (through LTM)
What are the characteristics of short term (working) memory?
conscious representation (short term from of declarative memory)
flexible and permanent
stream of information; new (sensory inputs) and old (retrieval from LTM)
manipulations, associations, reasoning
intact in amnesics: HM, EP, RB
Clive Wearing: showed very limited amount, limited window of consciousness, damage just above temporal lobe in prefrontal region
What is the cognitive psychology (Baddeley) model for short term memory?
specialized subsystems interacting with a “central executive”: phonological loop and visuospatial sketch pad
lack of interference between these different modalities
What are the characteristics of the prefrontal cortex that make it the central executive for short term memory?
integrates sensory modalities; especially vision and audition
interfaces sensory and motor systems; organizes behavior
has access to declarative memory structures: retrieval from LTM, encoding into LTM?
shows short-term memory activity; able to access and retain information in the short term
What was the 3-back task used for?
show how working memory activates the pFC
the tasks asks subjects to remember what happened three stimuli ago and match it
