Chapter 2 - Memory And The Brain

Question 1

Neuropsychological Approach - Group Studies

Answer 1

Choose patient with a specific disease

Question 2

Traumatic brain injury

Answer 2

Blow or jolt to the head
Normal brain function disrupted
Does not lead to clear conclusion about memory since TBI can include other problems like attentional

Question 3

HM

Answer 3

Temporal lobe epilepsy

Areas of hippocampus removrd in order to reduce his seizures

Due to this, became amnesic.

• Acquiring new info was limited.
• Problem with episodic memory
• Performed poorly on visual and verbal memory tests, failed names and faces

Digit span normal, intelligence unimpaired, language capacity unimpaired

** case helped to seperate memory, intelligence and longterm and shortterm

Question 4

Double dissociation

Answer 4

Two patient groups have opposite patterns of deficit eg. Normal STM and impaired STM

Helps case be supported

Question 5

Converging Operations

Answer 5

Series of experiments using diff methods and diff prtcipant groups, all focused on same theoretical question

Include healthy brains and rare cases

Question 6

Observing the WORKING brain -

Functional imaging

Answer 6

Brain does not contain pain receptors so electrodes are placed in brain

Patient is concious and reports their experuences whhen diff areas are stimulated

Question 7

Observing the WORKING brain - EEG

Answer 7

Electro-ence-phalo-graphy

Records the ongoing electrical activity

Electrodes on scalp

Studies sleep, detects seizures

Studies cognitive function (eg. Activley remembering vs. Finding something familiar)

Mostly used

Question 8

Observing the WORKING brain

ERP: Event-related potentials

Answer 8

Evaluates brains response to specific cognitive activities

Specific timing of task***

Pattern of EEG obtained by averaging brain responses to the same stimulas (presented repeatedly)

Question 9

Observing the brain - blood flow based measures

Answer 9

When particular area of brain js active, relflected in its metabolism, usually measured in terms of the amount of oxygen used by that area

PET
FMRI
MVPA

Question 10

Observing the brain - blood flow. PET

Answer 10

Positron emission tomography

Radioactive substances introduced into bloodstream and then used to measure physiological activation or
neurotransmitter operation

Con: difficult to seperate rapid changes

Used on Alzheimer’s patients

Question 11

Observing the brain - blood flow. fMRI

Answer 11

Functional magnetic resonance imaging

Measures flow of oxygen within diff areas of the brain

Non-invasive

More precisley localized, providing better spatial resolution than PET

Response to stimulus with start 1-2 sec after stimulus presentation. Slower than EEG or MEG

Question 12

How does observing the brain work?

Answer 12

Present task > ie seeing and rembering a sequence of digits > include a baseline control. Ie. read digits without memorizing them > look at diff btwn patterns

Question 13

The cellular basis of memory

Answer 13

Sea slug to analyze two basic types of learning: habituation and sensitization

Habituation - roommates snoring is annoying but overtime habituation occurs - u get used to it

Sensitization - increase of intensity of a response as a result of the previous exposure ie. mothers get more responsive the more a baby cries. Opposite of habituation

Changes occur on the molecular level of both

Long term potentiation and long term depression change synaptic strength

Question 14

Mechanisms of learning - cellular basis of memory

Answer 14

Long-term potentiation: synaptic transmission becomes more effective following a cells recent activation

Long-term depression: Synaptic transmission becomes LESS effective following a cells recent activation

Implicating neurotransmitters and genes.

Question 15

Genetic Approaches

Answer 15

Sir francis galton

Behavioral genetics

Twin studies

Eugenics

Crik and watson - human genome (contains genes that determine how organism will develop)

• epigenetics: genes getting activated in the environment

Question 16

Why is the hippocampus relevant for episodic memory?

Answer 16

Hippocampus represents episodic memories from anterior to posterior regions

Posterior region: how you perceive the world (physiological level)

Anterior region: interpret what you perceived (schema) (psychological level)

All are active when reconstructing memory and show us how physiological and psychological are related to construct memories

Question 16

Different approaches to studying memory

Answer 16

Neural system : ie hippocampus
Cognition: longterm, working memory, attention
Syndrome: Alzheimer’s, amnesiac

Question 16

Neuropsychological Approaches

Answer 16

Disease related study

And

Leision study

Question 17

Disease related study

Answer 17

Ie. dementia, Alzheimer’s

Question 18

Lesion study

Answer 18

Profiling patients with organic brain damage to relatively focal regions

Helps identify casual links between brain and behavior

Question 19

Long term potentiation

Answer 19

Synaptic transmission becomes more effective following a cells recent activation (sensitization)

Question 20

Long-term depression

Answer 20

A reduction in the efficiency in neural synapses

Question 21

Plasticity

Answer 21

Both longterm potentiation and longterm depression are Imp for synaptic plasticity - which is imp for learning and memory

Question 22

Habituation

Answer 22

Is a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposurer

Fewer neurotransmitters are released at the synapse