Chapter 6: LTM Flashcards
The long term memory interacts dynamically with ______? Explain this
working memory
- we access the LTM to make sense of information in the STM. This dynamic interaction is termed working memory
How does STM affect LTM?
The serial position curve
What is the Primacy effect
- words from the beginning of the list are remembered better than words in the middle
(Serial position curve)
What is the serial position curve
- created by presenting a list of words to a participant one after another
Why does the primacy effect happen
- there is more opportunity to hold initial words in STM and use rehearsal to send them to LTM
- as number of words increase, this becomes more difficult
What is the Recency Effect
words at the end of the list are recalled better than words in the middle
(Serial position curve)
Why does the Recency effect happen
information is present for longer in the STM allowing for better rehearsal and transfer to LTM
How do we know that the recency effect does not happen because the words are still present in STM during recall
- the recency effect is present even when recall occurs much later
Words in the middle of the serial position curve have _______ &_______.
- Proactive interference and 2. retroactive interference
- these words cannot stay in STM for long enough for effective transfer to LTM
What is Retroactive interference
interfering with STM processes causes recency effect to be lost
ex: counting backwards for 30 seconds before recall
What is Proactive Interference ?
- the decrease in memory that occurs when previously learned information interferes with learning new information
Example: difficulty in remembering a friend’s new phone number after having previously learned the old number.
What does the serial position curve tell us about the relation between STM and LTM
The primacy and recency effects show that STM effects LTM
can be beneficial or detrimental
What is a code
a form in which information is represented
eg. population coding for faces in neurons
What are the different ways coding can be in the form of (3)
- visual coding
- auditory coding
- semantic coding (for meaning)
Explain coding in STM and LTM
STM: holding in our mind
LTM: remembering
Visual coding in STM and LTM examples (3)
Holding in mind (STM) or remembering (LTM)
visual patterns
figures
faces
Auditory coding in STM and LTM examples
sounds
a song you heard
The fact that the meaning for words can interfere with STM performance suggest that ____________
STM uses semantic coding
Explain semantic coding in LTM
- long delay between information asked to remember and recognition task
Ex: identify which sentence was identical to a sentence in a passage - shows LTM stores information based on meaning - semantic code
What kind of coding is supported by STM and LTM
both support visual, auditory and semantic coding
- the type of coding depends on the stimuli
STM primarily uses which form of coding
auditory
LTM mostly uses which form of coding
semantic
- remembering the gist of what you read
What part of the brain does memory involve (H.M.) (2)
- the prefrontal cortex and other regions like the hippocampus
What happens with the bilateral removal of the hippocampus for memory
STM intact and LTM impaired
- able to remember what is happening now but forgets as soon as it is over
- (Brenda Milner)
Damage to where would result in impaired STM without LTM impairment (K.F)
parietal lobe damage
- digit span of 2 (normal is 5)
- reduce recency effect
- able to transfer into LTM
What is the hippocampus’ role in LTM and STM
LTM formation and holding stimuli for short period of time
Do LTM and STM work independently or do they overlap?
both
What are the two subdivisions of LTM
explicit and implicit
What are explicit memories and what are the two types
can be verbalized
- episodic (personal events)
- semantic (facts and knowledge)
What are implicit memories
cant be verbalized
- procedural memory (skills)
What are the two types of declarative memories
- episodic
- semantic
What are episodic memories and are they declarative or not
declarative
- memories for experiences, autobiographical and time associated
What are semantics memories and are they declarative or not
declarative
- memories for facts and general knowledge
Are implicit or explicit memories declarative
explicit
Three ways semantic and episodic memories can be distinguished between
- type of information
- neuropsychology
- imaging
Episodic memories are time dependant or independent
dependant
- mental time travel
example: remembering
implicit memories are time dependant or independent
independent
- knowing
What is the difference between episodic and semantic memory
differences in experiences
episodic = remembering
semantic= knowing
can episodic memories become semantic memories
yes they lose the time stamp as time goes on
- typically for less important things
Patient K.C. had damage to what memory, what brain region was associated
episodic, hippocampus
ex. Knows brother died 2 years ago, but no memory of when he heard about it, or how he felt at the funeral—no time-stamp for information
What area of the brain is associated with our episodic memory
hippocampus
Patient LP had damage to what memory and was associated with what brain region
-semantic lost
Temporal lobe
ex: Not able to recall what happened in World War-II, or who Beethoven was
What area of the brain is associated with our semantic memory
Temporal lobe
What does double dissociation mean
each function can be impaired independently
What neuroimaging evidence supports the distinction between episodic and semantic memory?
- brain activation in different regions
- showing different brain regions are associated with episodic and semantic information
how do episodic and semantic memories interact
- knowledge affects experience
- autobiographical memory has both semantic and episodic aspects
how can u test if episodic and semantic memory lost over time
- memory is lost over time but not linearly
- test using the remember/know procedure
Memory for events from past 10 years was compared to memory for events 40-50 years ago
- fewer episodic memories for 40-50 years ago than 10 years ago
When episodic memories lose their time-stamp over time it is called what
sematicization of episodic memory
Most ____ memories begin as _______ memories
Most semantic memories begin as episodic memories
Patients with loss of ______ memory are unable to think about possible future personal events
- episodic
Episodic memories are extracted and recombined to construct simulations of future events
What is the Survival value
Episodic memories may exist to help simulate future scenarios and explore possible behaviors
ex. Is there enough space to cross the intersection safely?
Mind wandering is associated with which part of the brain
DMN (Default-mode network)
Why is mind wandering important
Most mind wandering involves thinking about the future rather than past/present
Mind wandering involves creating simulations of the future by recombining the past
Damage to ______ results in impaired autobiographical memory?
DMN
Poor autobiographical memory——>poor ability to think about the future
What is anterograde amnesia
inability to form memories for events after trauma
What is retrograde amnesia
inability to form memories for events before trauma
Does implicit memory require conscious awareness
no
these are how to memories
Can implicit memory be intact with amnesia
yes
Can procedural memory be independent of declarative memory
yes
Can amnesia patients learn new skills
yes
When a new skill is learn it requires what type of attentional load
high attentional load
- less attention required as expertise develops
What is priming
Presentation of one (priming) stimulus changes the way a person responds to another (test) stimulus
priming is studied by testing patients with______
amnesia
What are some disorders priming can be tested on and shows impairment
Traumatic Brain Injury
Korsakoff’s Syndrome
Encephalitis
Surgery
What is Korsakoffs Syndrome
Korsakoff is associated with chronic alcohol abuse and results in anterograde amnesia
Give examples of priming in everyday experiences (2)
We prefer brands we have seen ads for over brands we have not—mere exposure effect
We rate statements we have read/heard before as true—propaganda effect
What is classical conditioning
pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a response
Is conditioning preserved in amnesia
tends to be
