Chapter 7 - Implicit memory, anesthesia & sedation

Question 1

What is long-term memory?

Answer 1

A place for storing large amounts of information for indefinite periods of time
Capacity: virtually unlimited
Retention duration: indefinite

Question 2

Explicit Memory is also known ____ and Implicit Memory is also known ____

Answer 2

Declarative, Nondeclarative

Question 3

What is explicit memory are which types are there?

Answer 3

Intentional, conscious retrieval of facts or events from memory ➔ episodic (personal events) and semantic memory (facts, knowledge)

Question 4

What is implicit memory are which types are there?

Answer 4

Unintentional retrieval of facts or events from memory ➔ procedural memory, classical conditioning, and priming

Question 5

What did Bernie Levinson hypothesis and how did he test it.

Answer 5

At some level, the brain processes negativestatements made about patients who are under anesthesia.He role played a fake “anesthetic crisis”. One-month post-surgery: patients were hypnotized and asked to think back to the time of the operation. Participants remembered exact phrases that were said during the emergency.

Question 6

What drug was mostly used as anesthesia during surgery in 1846?

Answer 6

Ether

Question 7

What common drugs are used today for anesthesia?

Answer 7

propofol and fentanyl

Question 8

What do Excitatory signals and Inhibitory signals do ?

Answer 8

Excitatory signals prompt neurons to share information and Inhibitory signals make it harder for neurons to share information

Question 9

During surgery, why are fewer active neurons are needed?

Answer 9

less signals telling your brain you are in pain

Question 10

What are the 3 independent components of a general anesthetic

Answer 10

1. Substance to induce hypnosis or loss of consciousness
2. Analgesics to prevent pain & physiological stress reaction
3. Muscle relaxant

Question 11

What are the 3 different techniques to asses consciousness during operations?

Answer 11

1. Isolated forearm technique (IFT)
2. Electroencephalographic (EEG) procedures
3. Implicit memory paradigms

Question 12

Briefly explain the Isolated forearm technique (IFT)?

Answer 12

Used to study cognitive and memory processes during general anesthesia. A pneumatic tourniquet is placed on the forearm just before administering muscle relaxants which prevents muscle paralysis in the hand. Patients are then instructed to move their unparalyzed hand in response to commands, indicating their level of consciousness.

Question 13

What did Russel and Wang discover about the Isolated forearm technique (IFT)?

Answer 13

Half of the patients who were administered laughing gas would respond to commands and Almost none of the patients had postoperative recall

Question 14

Why has the Isolated Forearm Technique (IFT) been deemed as “does not work”?

Answer 14

encoding phase of memory is being compromised by anesthetic drugs
Patients can understand commands but it is not being registered as inaccessible explicit LTM

Question 15

What is Electroencephalographic (EEG) procedures used for?

Answer 15

• Assessing brain activity
• detecting pain to those who cannot vocalize

Question 16

What is the most optimal range for surgical procedures?

Answer 16

40-60

Question 17

What does explicit memory provide evidence of?

Answer 17

Both content and context of the learning episode
EX. post-operative memory of hearing “gooseberry” (content) by a man’s voice during the operation (context)

Question 18

What does implicit memory involve?

Answer 18

the absence of recollection of the learning episode or its context
EX. riding a bike without remembering how you learned

Question 19

How does explicit recall and implicit learning relate to the adequacy of general anesthesia?

Answer 19

Explicit recall indicates the absence OR inadequate general anesthesia while Implicit learning indicates adequate general anesthesia.