Chapter 17: Learning and Memory Flashcards

1
Q

how do memories start?

A

as senses; visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile

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2
Q

sensory buffers

A

element of the type of memory that stores the sensory impression of a scene

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3
Q

short-term memory

A

form of memory that lasts for seconds, or as long as rehearsal continues, especially while being used during performance of a task

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4
Q

what brain structure does short-term memory use?

A

prefrontal cortex

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4
Q

working memory

A

type of short term memory that holds a limited amount of information available for ready access during performance of a task (less than 30 seconds)

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5
Q

intermediate term memory

A

form of memory that lasts longer than short term memory but shorter than long term memory

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6
Q

long term memory

A

enduring form of memory that lasts days, weeks, months or years and has a large capacity

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7
Q

stages of memory

A
  1. incoming information from senses
  2. a subset of the sensory information enters sensory buffers is encoded and placed into short-term memory
  3. if the information is rehearsed or used, it may be consolidated into long-term memory lasting minutes up to a lifetime
  4. when we probe a participant’s memory, they must retrieve information from LTM and place it into working memory to perform a task, such as reporting the items on a list
  5. at any stage, information may be forgotten

senses&raquo_space;> sensory buffer&raquo_space;>STM»> consolidated to LTM&raquo_space;» retrieved from LTM for working memory

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8
Q

encoding

A

stage of memory formation where information entering sensory channels is passed into short term memory

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9
Q

consolidation

A

stage of memory formation in which information in short-term or intermediate-term is transferred into long term

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10
Q

retrieval

A

process in memory where a stored memory is used by an organism

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11
Q

what things are picked for long-term memory storage?

A

rehearsed information
memories connecting with old information
memories connected with emotional arousal

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12
Q

what does emotional arousal activate?

A

peripheral stress hormone and amygdala

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12
Q

what does the amygdala do?

A

sends axons to other brain structures to influence how they process information
- can also strengthen other regions

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12
Q

what did patient H.M suffer from after his surgery?

A

anterograde amnesia

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12
Q

what activates amygdala?

A

stress hormones which causes cortisol to affect those other brain regions that the amygdala sends axons to

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12
Q

what surgery did patient H.M recieve?

A

bilateral medial temporal lobectomy

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12
Q

anterograde amnesia

A

inability to form new memories beginning with the onset of a disorder

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12
Q

what brain structures does the bilateral medial temporal lobectomy remove?

A

hippocampus, amygdala and cortices around hippocampus

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13
Q

what was affected by his anterograde amnesia?

A

long-term memory

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13
Q

what theory about memory did patient H.M explain?

A

storage vs. consolidation because he could remember past memories but could not form new ones

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14
Q

what did patient H.M suggest?

A

memories are monolithic: there are different kinds of memories

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15
Q

what experiment did they do on patient H.M and what did it show?

A

mirror tracing
- he was given a task in the form of a motor skill, and he improved everyday but he could not recall doing the task

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16
Q

what two types of memory does long-term memory consist of?

A

declarative and nondeclarative

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17
Q

declarative memory

A

things you know that you can tell others

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18
Q

can declarative memory be tested in humans?

A

yes because they can talk

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19
Q

was patient H.M able to form new declarative memories?

A

no

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20
Q

what two subcategories is declarative memory broken down into?

A

episodic and semantic

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21
Q

episodic memories

A

personal memories of life events

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22
Q

what brain structures to episodic memory involve?

A

medial temporal lobe and neocortex

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23
Q

semantic memory

A

general knowledge of the world

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24
Q

what brain structures does semantic memory involve?

A

medial temporal lobe and neocortex

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25
Q

nondeclarative memory

A

things you know that you can show by doing

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26
Q

can nondeclarative memory be tested in animals?

A

yes, and humans

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27
Q

was patient H.M able to form nondeclarative memories?

A

yes, it showed through the mirror tracing experiment

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28
Q

what are the three subcategories of nondeclarative memory?

A

skill learning, priming and conditioning

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29
Q

skill learning

A

learning to perform a task that requires motor coordination

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30
Q

what brain structures does skill learning involve?

A

striatum, motor cortex and cerebellum

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31
Q

priming

A

exposure to a stimulus facilitates subsequent response to the same or similar stimulus

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32
Q

example of priming

A

being more likely to use a word that you heard recently

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33
Q

what brain structure does priming involve?

A

neocortex

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34
Q

conditioning

A

neutral stimulus acquires the power to get the response normally received by another stimulus after the two stimuli are paired

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35
Q

example of conditioning

A

salivating when you see your favorite food

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36
Q

what brain structures does conditioning involve?

A

amygdala and cerebellum

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37
Q

what brain structures does nonassociative learning involve?

A

involves reflex pathways

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38
Q

what brain structures does spatial memory involve?

A

hippocampus and cortex

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39
Q

what type of brain damage did patient N.A suffer from?

A

damage to diencephalon, parts of the thalamus and hypothalamus connections, including the mamillary bodies

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40
Q

did patient H.M and N.A have similar symptoms? and what was the major difference between the two

A

yes, but patient N.A did not have damage to hippocampus

41
Q

what did relationship between patient N.A and H.M suggest?

A

parts of diencephalon and hippocampus work together in formation of new memories

42
Q

korsakoff’s syndrome

A

due to thiamine deficiency, results from alcoholism

43
Q

what are characteristics of korsakoff’s syndrome?

A

failure to recall past events and recognize familiar objects
- deny anything is wrong with them and are often confabulate

44
Q

confabulate

A

fill a gap in memory with falsification

45
Q

what brain structures are damaged with korsakoff’s syndrome?

A

mamillary bodies and basal frontal cortex

46
Q

what is important to form declarative memories?

A

medial thalamus and mamillary bodies

47
Q

mamillary bodies

A

important system connecting medial temporal regions to thalamus

48
Q

what brain damage did patient K.C sustain?

A

damage to cortex

49
Q

what type of memories could Patient K.C retrieve?

A

personal memories but not good general knowledge

50
Q

model for how declarative memories are formed and stored

A

Sensory processing in cortex&raquo_space;parahippocampal, entorhinal, perirhinal cortex» hippocampus» medial diencephalon, including mammillary bodies» declarative memory storage in cortex (perhaps layer 1)

51
Q

primacy vs recency effect

A

tells us we have different TEMPORAL stages of memory

52
Q

lesion studies

A

difficult to distinguish stages

53
Q

what produces smaller effect: hippocampus legions or hippocampus plus nearby cortical areas

A

hippocampus legions

54
Q

fMRI

A

looks at activity during learning and look at how well people do during test a week later, can also look at activity during retrieval

55
Q

what brain structures are important for consolidation and retrieval?

A

hippocampal system and prefrontal cortex

56
Q

what is the theory for consolidation and retreival?

A

hippocampus helps put memories into cortex, helps them consolidate over time

57
Q

where are memories stored?

A

in parts of cortex near sensory cortex involved in memory (neocortex)

58
Q

place learning

A

learning to orient yourself and go to the location

59
Q

where does place learning occur?

A

hippocampus

60
Q

habit learning

A

learning to make the same motor response

61
Q

where does habit learning occur?

A

caudate nucleus

62
Q

cognitive map

A

understanding of the spatial organization

63
Q

what is key for building cognitive map?

A

hippocampus

64
Q

what type of cells does the hippocampus have?

A

spatial cells and place cells

65
Q

what is the process to form place cells?

A

grid cells feed into the hippocampus

66
Q

hippocampus

A

organizes relationships among lots of information including space, time, etc

67
Q

what forms the basis for declarative memory function?

A

hippocampus

68
Q

what three mechanisms induce synaptic changes?

A
  1. environment enrichment
  2. aplysia and simple learning
  3. hippocampus and long-term potentiation
69
Q

how are memories stored?

A

changes in the brain

70
Q

neuroplasticity

A

ability of neurons and neural circuits to be remodeled by events

71
Q

how is neuroplasticity seen?

A

by electrically stimulating cells and recording postsynaptic potentials

72
Q

long term potentiation

A

repeated fast stimulation of the presynaptic cell can lead to a long-term increase in the post synaptic response

73
Q

memories can be stored by:

A
  1. changes involving synaptic transmitters which include greater release of neurotransmitter molecules and/or greater effects because the postsynaptic membrane becomes larger or sensitive. these changes enlarge the pre and postsynaptic synapse and result in increased postsynaptic potential
  2. modulation by interneurons which causes hyperpolarization or depolarization of the axon terminals and changes in the amount of neurotransmitter released
  3. formation of new synapses or rearrangement of current ones
74
Q

changes in synapse can be ______

A

physiological (more NT released) or physical (formation of new synapse)

75
Q

what occurs during change in receptor sensitivity?

A

ions are allowed to pass through receptor-channel

76
Q

what is the environmental enrichment experiment?

A

animals are housed in large social groups in special cages with toys and other features

77
Q

what does the environmental enrichment experiment show?

A

enhanced opportunity for learning perceptual, motor skills and social learning

78
Q

what brain structure is heavier and thicker in animals who are environmentally enriched?

A

cortex

79
Q

what happens to the cortical neurons of environmentally enriched animals?

A

their cortical neurons have more dendritic branches, especially on dendrites closer to the cell body

80
Q

what happens to the cortical synapses of environmentally enriched animals?

A

cortical synapses are larger and there are more

81
Q

what are the findings of the environmental enrichment experiment?

A

environment dramatically alters basic physiology and structure of brain

82
Q

aplysia

A

shows habituation and sensitization of reflexes: simple kinds of learning and memory

83
Q

habituation

A

organism becomes less responsive following repeated presentation of stimulus

84
Q

sensitization

A

organism becomes more responsive to most stimuli after being exposed to unusually strong or painful stimulation

85
Q

siphon-withdrawal reflex

A

touch the siphon of sea slug and it will retract its gill but with repeated stimulation, it will retract its gill less and less because it learns there is no danger

86
Q

what is the siphon-withdrawal reflex caused by?

A

changes in the synapse between the sensory cell that detects touch and the motor neuron that retracts the gill

87
Q

can the siphon withdrawal reflex habituate or sensitize?

A

both

88
Q

do short term and long term memories have the same mechanisms?

A

no

89
Q

what causes short term habituation in the sea slug?

A

the sensory neurons releases less transmitter

90
Q

what causes the long-term habituation in the sea slug?

A

due to retraction of some synaptic terminals

91
Q

long-term potentiation

A

potentiated response of postsynaptic neurons

92
Q

what three pathways does long-term potentiation occur in?

A
  1. perforant pathway
  2. mossy fiber pathway
  3. schaffer collaterals
93
Q

perforant pathway

A

entorhinal cortex to dentate gyrus

94
Q

moss fiber pathway

A

dentate gyrus to CA3 pyramidal cells

95
Q

schaffer collaterals

A

CA3 pyramidal cells to CA1 pyramidal cells

96
Q

normal synaptic transmission

A

NMDA receptor is voltage gated because a MG2+ ion blocks the channel unless the cell is already depolarized

97
Q

does the NMDA receptor open in a normal synaptic transmission

A

no, a single release of NT would not open the NMDA receptor

98
Q

induction of long-term potentiation

A

stimulating the presynaptic terminal rapidly in succession causes depolarization and more NT release which causes the NMDA receptor to open and Ca2+ rushes in

99
Q

why is calcium special?

A

activates a variety of intracellular signaling molecules

100
Q

enhanced synapse, after induction of LTP

A

after induction of LTP, there may be more AMPA receptors, which creates larger postsynaptic receptors and more NT release with single stimulation, and larger postsynaptic response

101
Q

what happens after time has passed and new proteins are made after the process of LTP?

A

larger synapse with more of everything inside the synapse

102
Q

earlier stages of long term potentiation

A

earlier stages last an hour and depend on change in receptor channel properties and change in number of receptors

103
Q

earlier stages of LTP do not depend on

A

protein synthesis required for later stages of LTP

104
Q

correlational observations

A

time course of LTP is similar time course of memory formation

105
Q

somatic intervention

A

things that block LTP also block memory formation

106
Q

behavioral intervention

A

training in a memory task creates LTP in the brain

107
Q

where are new neurons always being produced and what is it crucial for?

A

dentate gyrus and crucial for learning

108
Q

what do older adults show deficit in?

A

working memory and retrieval of memories (especially if there are no external cues and requires effort)

109
Q

what may help trigger memories for older adults?

A

external cues

110
Q

what are the causes of memory deficits in older adults?

A
  1. impairments in encoding and retrieval, less brain activation
  2. loss of neurons and neural connections
  3. deficits in cholinergic transmission: problems in basal forebrain system
111
Q

preventing or alleviating aging on memory

A
  1. environmental conditions
  2. involvement in stimulating activities
  3. spouse with high cognitive status
  4. exercise