Chapter 7: Long-Term Memory (Encoding, Retrieval, Consolidation) Flashcards
Maintenece
rehearsal that involves repetition without any consolidation of meaning or making connections to other information
Elaborative Rehearsal
rehearsal that involves thinking about the meaning of an item to be remembered or making connections between that item and prior knowledge
Levels of Processing Theory
the idea that memory depends on how information is encoded, with better memory being achieved when processing is deep then when processing is shallow
deep processing involves attention to meaning and is associated with elaborative rehearsal
shallow processing involves repetition with little attention to meaning and is associated with maintenance rehearsal
Shallow Processing
processing that involves repetition with little attention to meaning, is usually associated with maintenance rehearsal
Deep Processing
processing that involves attention to meaning and relating an item to something else, is usually associated with elaborative rehearsal
Paired-Associate Learning
a learning task in which participants are first presented with pairs of words, the one word of each pair is presented and the task is to recall the other word
Self-Reference Effect
memory for a word is improved by relating the word to the self
Generation Effect
memory for material is better when a person generates the material him or herself, rather than passively receiving it
Testing Effect
enhanced performance on a memory test caused by being tested on the material to be remembered
Spacing Effect
the advantage in performance caused by short study session separated by breaks from studying
Free Recall
a procedure for testing memory in which the participant is asked to remember stimuli they were previously presented
Cued Recall
a procedure for testing memory in which a participant is presented with cues, such as words or phases, to aid recall of previously experienced stimuli
Encoding Specificity
the principle that we learn information together with its context, this means that presence of the context can lead to enhanced memory for the information
State-Dependent Learning
the principle that memory is best when a person is in the same state for encoding and retrieval
this principle is related to encoding specificity
Transfer-Appropriate Processing
when the type of task that occurs during encoding matches the type of task that occurs during retrieval
this type of processing can result in enhanced memory
Consolidation
the process that transforms new memories into a state in which they are more resistant to disruption
Synaptic Consolidation
a process of consolidation that involves structural changes at synapses that happen rapidly, over a period of minutes
Systems Consolidation
a consolidation process that involves the gradual reorganization of circuits within brain regions and takes place on a long timescale, lasting weeks, months, or even years
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)
the increased firing that occurs in a neuron due to prior activity at the synapse
Standard Model of Consolidation
proposes that memory retrieval depends on the hippocampus during consolidation, but that once consolidation is complete, retrieval no longer depends on the hippocampus
Reactiviation
a process that occurs during memory consolidation, in which the hippocampus replays the neural activity associated with a memory
during reactivation, activity occurs in the network connecting the hippocampus and the cortex
this activity results in the formation of connections between the cortical areas
Retrograde Amnesia
loss of memory for something that happened prior to an injury or traumatic event such as a concussion
Graded Amnesia
when amnesia is most severe for events that occurred just prior to an injury and becomes less severe for earlier, more remote events
Multiple Trace Model of Consolidation
the idea that the hippocampus is involved in the retrieval of remote memories, especially episodic memories
this contrasts with the standard model of memory, which proposes that the hippocampus is involved only in the retrieval of recent memories
Multivoxel Pattern Analysis (MVPA)
a procedure for determining the pattern of voxel activation that is elicited by specific stimulus, within various structures
Classifier
in multivoxel pattern analysis, the classifier is a computer program designed to recognize patterns of voxel activity
Reconsolidation
a process proposed by Nader and others that occurs when a memory is retrieved and so becomes reactivated
once this occurs, the memory must be consolidated again, as it was during the initial learning
this repeat consolidation is reconsolidation
What is encoding?
acquiring information and transforming it into memory
What is retrieval?
transferring information from LTM to working memory (consciousness)
most of our failures of memory are failures to retrieve
location as a retrieval cue
What is maintenance rehearsal?
repetition of stimuli that maintains information but does not transfer it to LTM
What is elaborative rehearsal?
using meanings and connections to help transfer information to LTM
What is the levels of processing theory?
memory depends on how information is encoded
What is shallow processing?
little attention to meaning
focus on physical features
poor memory
What is deep processing?
close attention to memory
better memory
How can we fall into circular reasoning when deciding which tasks cause deeper processing?
using a word in a sentence
deciding how useful an object might be on a desert island
can empirically measure the memory trace in each condition: conclude that stronger memory trace must have been caused by deeper processing
but depth of processing has not been defined independently of memory performance
therefore, this is circular processing
What are other factors that aid encoding?
visual imagery
self-reference effect
generation effect
organizing to-be-remembered information
relating words to survival value
retrieval practice
What is cued-recall?
cue presented to aid recall
increased performance over free-recall
retrieval cues most effective when created by the person who uses them
What is state-dependent learning?
learning is associated with a particular internal state
better memory if person’s mood at encoding matched mood during retrieval
Why is the distributed method better than the massed practice effect?
difficult to maintain close attention throughout a long study session
studying after a break gives feedback about what you already know
What is consolidation?
transform new memories from fragile stare to more permanent state
synaptic consolidation occurs at synapses, happens rapidly
system consolidation involves gradual reorganization of circuits in brain
What is long-term potentiation (LTP)?
enhanced firing of neurons after repeated stimulation
structural changes and enhanced responding
What is the standard model of consolidation?
retrieval depends on hippocampus during consolidation; after consolidation hippocampus is no longer needed
reactivation: hippocampus replays neural activity associated with memory
What is retrograde amnesia?
loss of memory for events prior to the trauma
What is graded amnesia?
memory for recent events is more fragile than for remote events
What is the multiple trace model of consolidation?
hippocampus is activated during retrieval of both recent and remote event memories
response of the hippocampus can change over time
Are memories ever “permanent”?
reactivation and reconsolidation evidence from research on animals: occurs under certain conditions
human memory is a “work in progress”
