Chapter 5: Memory

Question 1

Memory

Answer 1

• An active process that encodes, stores and retrieves information acquired through learning when required
• Described as the neurological representation of learning

Question 2

Encoding, storage and retrieval

Answer 2

• Encoding – conversion of info into a usable form so that it can be neurologically represented and stored in memory
• Storage – retention of encoded information over time
• Retrieval – recovery of stored information and bringing it into conscious awareness for use

NOTE: Encoding occurs in both short-term and long-term memory.

Question 3

Atkinson–Shiffrin multi-store model

Answer 3

• Represents and explains memory as consisting of three components: sensory, short-term and long-term
• Each component differs in function, capacity and duration, however, they interact and operate simultaneously

Question 4

Attention, rehearsal, encoding and retrieval

Answer 4

• Attention: sensory → STM
• Rehearsal: STM → STM
• Encoding: STM → LTM
• Retrieval: LTM → STM

Question 5

Sensory memory

2 types: iconic and echoic

Answer 5

• Briefly stores new incoming sensory info in its orginal state
• Enables us to perceive the world around us as continuous
• Capacity: vast, potentially unlimited
• Duration: 0.2-4 seconds (cannot be extended)

Question 6

Iconic and echoic memory

Answer 6

• Iconic – stores visual sensory information
  
  • Capacity: unlimited
  • Duration: about 1/3 of a second
• Echoic – stores auditory sensory information
  
  • Capacity: unlimited
  • Duration: about 3-4 seconds

Question 7

Short term memory (STM)

‘Working memory’

Answer 7

• Temporarily stores a limited amount of info that is being consciously attented to & actively manipulated
• Contains information from both sensory and LTM
• Capacity: 7 ± 2 items
• Duration: up to about 30 seconds (longer if renewed)

Question 8

Chunking

Answer 8

• Grouping separate pieces of info into larger ‘chunks’
• Increases the capacity of STM

Question 9

Decay and displacement

STM

Answer 9

• Decay – when information is not renewed (e.g. via maintenance rehearsal) and is forgotten over time
• Displacement – pushing old items of info out when new info is introduced, given that STM is at maximum capacity

Question 10

Maintenance and elaborative rehearsal

Answer 10

• Maintenance – repeatedly saying or thinking about info to prevent decay; keeps info in STM
• Elaborative – encodes new info (makes it more meaningful) by linking it to info already held in LTM

NOTE: Elaborative rehearsal is more effective at transferring info to LTM.

Question 11

Long term memory (LTM)

2 types: explicit and implicit memory

Answer 11

• Stores info for re-access and use at a later time
• Some information can be lost or inaccessible over time
• Capacity: potentially unlimited
• Duration: very long time (possibly permanently)

Question 12

Explicit memory

‘Memory with awareness’ or ‘declerative memory’

Answer 12

• LTM that can be consciously retrieved and stated
• Divided into episodic and semantic memory
• E.g. your birthday party, identifying a dog breed

Question 13

Episodic memory

Answer 13

• Long-term explicit memory of personal experiences associated with a particular time and place
• E.g. remembering what you had for breakfast this morning

Question 14

Autobiographical memory

Answer 14

• Consists of episodes recollected from one’s life; based on a combination of episodic and semantic memories
• E.g. memory of the first day at school can include meeting the teacher (episodic) and the knowledge that the teacher’s name was Ms Smith (semantic)

NOTE: It is a type of explicit memory.

Question 15

Semantic memory

Answer 15

• Long-term explicit memory of facts and knowledge
• Does not include details of time and place
• E.g. meaning of words, rules, concepts, areas of expertise

Question 16

Implicit memory

‘Memory without awareness’ or ‘non-declarative memory’

Answer 16

• LTM that does not require conscious retrieval
• Divided into procedural and CC memory
• E.g. driving a car, brushing your teeth, fears, taste aversions

Question 17

Procedural memory

Answer 17

• Long-term implicit memory of skills that have been learned previously (often difficult to put into words)
• Often include motor or muscle memories
• E.g. using chopsticks, riding a bike, knowing how to read

Question 18

Classically conditioned memory

Answer 18

• Long-term implicit memory of conditioned responses particularly those involving fear or anxiety
• E.g. Little Albert’s fear of white rats, feeling nauseous at the sight of oysters (taste aversions)

Question 19

Hippocampus

Answer 19

• Deep in the medial temporal lobe + part of limbic system
• Forms, encodes and consolidates new explicit memories
• Transfers consolidated memories to neocortex for LT storage
• Does not store memory itself in the long term
• Also important for spatial memory (physical location of objects in space) which enables us to learn and remember locations

NOTE: We have one in each cerebral hemisphere.

Question 20

Damage to the hippocampus

Answer 20

• No new explicit memories can be formed
• No information can be passed from STM to LTM
• Leading contributor to Alzheimer’s disease

Question 21

Consolidation

Answer 21

• The neurobiological process of making a newly formed memory stable and enduring after a learning experience
• Once consolidated, memories are not necessarily fixed (open to reconsolidation)

Question 22

Amygdala

Answer 22

• Next to the hippocampus in the medial temporal lobe
• Processes and regulates emotions (particularly fear and anger) and forms and consolidates emotional memories
• Involved in the formation of classically conditoned fear responses involving implicit memory (e.g. Little Albert)

NOTE: We have one in each cerebral hemisphere.

Question 23

Damage to the amygdala

Answer 23

• No acquisition of CC fear responses
• No memory of emotional elements of explicit memories

Question 24

How does the amygdala enhance memory?

Answer 24

• Adds emotional context to explicit memories and works w the HC to ↑ consolidation of emotional events
• Emotionally arousing events are more memorable
• Increased adrenaline and noradrenaline in the amygdala during emotional arousal is believed to signal the HC

Question 25

Flashbulb memory

Answer 25

• Vivid and long lasting memory of an emotionally arousing event (often including specific details)
• E.g. someone remembering details about where they were and what they were doing when told about the death of a loved one

Question 26

Neocortex

Answer 26

• Wrinkly outer surface of the brain which is the largest & most recently evolved part of the brain
• Stores explicit mems after encoding + transfer by HC
• Memory is distributed throughout it
• Stores motor and CC responses
• Retrieves episodic, autobiographical and semantic info

NOTE: The terms cortex, neocortex and cerebral cortex are used interchangeably.

Question 27

Damage to the neocortex

Answer 27

• Damage to a particular part of the cortex is likely to affect the specific function performed by that region
• E.g. damage to the the right frontal lobe would cause difficulty retrieving episodic memories

Question 28

Basal Ganglia

Answer 28

• Group of structures (nuclei) deep within the brain
• Encodes and stores implicit mems involving motor skills associated with voluntary movements
• Also plays a role in habituation

Question 29

Habituation (basal ganglia)

Answer 29

• Growing accustomed to a situation/stimulus (involves reduced responsiveness following repeated exposure)
• Typically occurs without conscious awareness, thus, memories based on habitutation are considered implicit
• E.g. people living on main roads become habituated to the noise of passing traffic

Question 30

Damage to the basal ganglia

Answer 30

• Can be damaged by Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease
• Impairs voluntary movements (e.g. tremors, difficulty walking and coordinating muscle movement)
• Medication that restores basal ganglia dopamine can improve acquisition and retention of simple motor tasks

Question 31

Cerebellum

Answer 31

• Located at the base of the brain
• Encodes and coordinates implicit, procedural memories of fine muscle movements (involving posture, balance, timing, speed, ease and fluency)
• Stores simple CC responses e.g. blinking in response to a CS

Question 32

Damage to the cerebellum

Answer 32

• Impaired timing and coordination of muscle control
• No acquisition of CC reflexes e.g. eye blink response

Question 33

Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 33

• Neurodegenerative disorder involving widespread degeneration of brain neurons which causes ↓ memory and cognitive / social skills + personality changes
• Initially affects STM more than LTM
• Accounts for around 70% of dementia cases
• Can only be confirmed via an autopsy (post-mortem)

NOTE: Alzeimer’s is both a type and cause of dementia.

Question 34

Causes or characteristics of Alzheimer’s

Answer 34

• Amyloid plaques
  
  • Protein (beta-amyloid) build up between neural synapses
• Neurofibrillary tangles
  
  • Protein build up within neurons; associated with cell death
• Imbalance in acetylcholine (NT)
  
  • Neurons that produce acetylcholine are destroyed
• Cortical shrinkage / brain atrophy
  
  • Progressive neuron damage causes brain tissue to shrink

Question 35

Aphantasia

Answer 35

• Inability to visualise due to function loss in visual cortex
  
  • Either congenital (present from birth) or acquired
• Those with aphantasia may…
  
  • Struggle to recall episodic memories
  • Struggle to imagine future or hypothetical events
  • Dream less and have trouble recognising faces
  • Have a reduced capacity to access other senses

Question 36

Mnemonic

Answer 36

• Any technique used to consciously assist memory
• Enhance encoding, storage and retrieval of info
• E.g. acronyms, acrostics, method of loci and songlines

Question 37

Mnemonics in written cultures

Answer 37

• Acronym – a pronounceable word formed from the first letters of a group of words (e.g. ANZAC)
• Acrostic – phrase formed w words including the first letter of each item (e.g. never eat soggy weetbix = north east south west)
• Method of loci – converting items into mental images associated with specific locations

Question 38

How does the MOL improve encoding, storange and retrieval?

Answer 38

• Encoding – info is associated with familiar locations, making it more meaningful
• Storage – new info is linked to locations that are already kept in long-term memory
• Retrieval – visualising locations acts as a memory aid (allows the person to recall the associated w/ the spaces)

Question 39

Songlines

Used by oral cultures

Answer 39

• Multimodal performances (e.g. songs, dances, narratives) that form a journey, link sites and store knowledge that is passed down through generations
• Incorporates knowledge patterned on Country

Question 40

Differences between songlines and method of loci

Answer 40

• Songlines
  
  • Information is sacred
  • Typically sung (rhymical and melodic)
  • Encoded through kinship networks
• Method of loci
  
  • Information is not tied to cultural learning
  • Typically not sung
  • Encoded individually for individual larning

Question 41

Differences between songlines and acrostics

Answer 41

• Songlines
  
  • Typically sung
  • Often increase in content over time
  • May contain content from a wide range of topics
• Acrostics
  
  • Typically not sung
  • Do not increase in content over time
  • Typically contain content relating to one topic
• Both
  
  • Act as retrieval cues
  • Rely on meaningful connections between words

Question 42

Constructing possible imagined futures

Answer 42

• General semantic knowledge of concepts and schemas allow us to construct a mental simulation of the scene
• Schema – collection of knowledge about a concept / entity

Question 43

Similarities and differences between people with Alzheimers and Aphantasia