Chapter 5 (Memory) Flashcards
implicit memory
memory of how to do something, actions and skills, can be physical or intellectual, learned by classical conditioning and practice (knowing how)
- does not require conscious retrieval
- effortless recall
consists of
- procedural - how to
- classically conditioned - fear or reflexes
explicit memory
memory of specific facts or events (knowing that)
- can be consciously retrieved
- memories retrieved in response to a specific request
episodic memory
memory of life events, autobiographical (episodes)
- personally relevant events
semantic memory
information we have about the world, areas of academic knowledge, important places, famous events.
- facts that do not rely on specific time or place
- the facts
what is memory
- the storage retrieval of information acquired through learning
- internal record of some prior experience
information processing - encoding
converting information to a useable form so that it can be entered and be stored
information processing - storage
retaining information in memory overtime
information processing - retrieval
locating and recovering the stored information from the memory when needed so that we can use it.
sensory memory
function - is the entry point for new information, information is in it’s original sensory form
capacity - unlimited
duration - 0.2-4 seconds
- each sensory impression slightly overlaps the next so we see the world as continuous
short term memory
- helps store info while you work on it, limited storage capacity
duration - 12-30 seconds
capacity - 7 + or - 2 (5-9) pieces of information - information is lost through decay or displacement
improving STM capacity
chunking - grouping bits of information into larger bits that can be remembered as single units
- chunking expands short term memory
improving STM duration
rehearsal - the process of doing something so that information can be retained then received.
maintenance rehearsal - involves simple repetition of information be remembered so it can be retained
- needs to be attended consciously
elaborative rehearsal - attaching meaning to what is being remembered
long term memory
function - info in encoded and stored, as long as you have correct cues information can be retrieved
- encoded by it meaning (semantically) and stored in semantic networks
duration - unlimited
capacity - unlimited
types of long term memory
explicit - semantic and episodic
implicit - classical conditioning and procedural
hippocampus
- important roles in encoding semantic and episodic memories
- aids in the consolidation of these memories
- acts in coordination with the amygdala
amygdala
- involved in processing and regulating emotional reactions
- assists in recognising danger
- classically conditioned responses are encoded by the amygdala
- release of noradrenaline which activates the amygdala in turn the amygdala activates the hippocampus
neocortex
- site of processing, storage and retrieval of explicit memories
- the memory of an experience is distributed throughout the neocortex
- retrieval of a entire experience requires retrieval of aspects from different area in the neocortex
- some areas are specialised
the basal ganglia
- encodes motor component of the implicit procedural memories
- this includes voluntary motor movement
- stores memories of habituation learning
- decreases in response to stimuli when repeated
the cerebellum
- encodes and stores implicit procedural memories
- simple reflexes learned through classical conditioning
-the cerebellum is involved in posture, balance and fine motor skills
episodic and semantic
hippocampus, amygdala, neocortex
procedural and classically conditioned
procedural - neocortex, cerebellum, basal ganglia
classically conditioned - neocortex, cerebellum, basal ganglia, amygdala
retrieving autobiographical events
- hippocampus involved in the retrieval of episodic memories
- frontal and temporal lobe involved in the retrieval of semantic memories
- retrieval of autobiographical memories activates both these areas of the brain
constructing possible imagined futures
- episodic memory allows individuals to construct a imagined future that is subjective and includes richly detailed elements
- semantic memory allows individuals to envision possible scenarios that fit with what they already know.
Alzheimer’s disease
- neurodegenerative disease - characterised by the progressive loss of neurons in the brain
- characterised by memory decline
symptoms - personality change, decrease in cognitive functions, frequently becoming confused
types of lesions - amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles - lesions are predominately found in the hippocampus
- patients struggle to remember semantic and episodic components of personally experienced events
aphantasia
- lack the capacity to generate mental imagery
- create mental imagery sensory info that has been organised in STM then transferred to LTM to recreate experiences
- people without - draw on both episodic and semantic memory
people with - many not be able to visualise detailed episodic memories - inability to create mental imagery
- semantic memory may remain intact - visual may be lacking
- people with struggle to retrieve autobiographical events and create possible imagined futures
mnemoics
- techniques to assist memory
- based on written language
acronyms
- an abbreviation formed by using the first letter of each phrase to form a unit (ANZAC)
acrostic
- use different words to help remember some kind of sequence
- the replaced word provides cues to recall the first word of each line
method of loci
- using physical locations to help you remember info
- a set of locations you can physically or mentally walk through and recall a great deal of info in some way.
-e.g two subdivision of the NS - place CNS as the living room (central to home) and the PNS in the kitchen because it is peripheral (on the side of)
first nation, aboriginal, torres strait islander mnemonics
- sun narratives of oral cultures
- songlines
