Cognition: Learning and Memory

Question 1

What is reflexive memory also called? What is it?

Answer 1

Procedural or nondeclarative or implicit

It is memory which is not dependent on awareness / cognitive process, i.e. perceptual and motor skills, although it may apply to the rules of grammar as well

Question 2

What is declarative memory also called? What are the two types?

Answer 2

Explicit memory

1. Episodic - remembering of events
2. Semantic - remembering of facts

They are stored differently via the hippocampus

Question 3

What is working memory?

Answer 3

The RAM of your brain - short term memory for temporary use - i.e. looking up a phone number, or how much of something to add to a recipe

Question 4

What is classic conditioning and what type of memory does it take advantage of?

Answer 4

Pairing of a neutral stimulus (ringing a bell) to a meaningful stimulus (the presentation of food). Takes advantage of reflexive memory

Question 5

What is operant condition and what type of memory does it take advantage of?

Answer 5

Pairing a rewarding or punishing stimulus to an action to increase or decrease the frequency. Uses both reflexive and declarative memory (the rat can think, if i push this lever I will get some food)

Question 6

How might simple types of learning be used therapeutically?

Answer 6

1. Management of psychiatric disorders via operant conditioning
2. Biofeedback: Relaxation techniques and behavioral modifications in stroke patients

Question 7

What do the types or phases of memory differ in?

Answer 7

1. How long they last

2. How sensitive they are to disruption

Question 8

How long does long-term memory last? Is it sensitive to disruption?

Answer 8

It is permanent - although it may be hard to retrieve

It is insensitive to disruption

Question 9

What are two ways in which memory can be disrupted? What type of memory is most sensitive? What will be caused if disrupted?

Answer 9

1. Hypothermia - to slow brain activity
2. Electroconvulsive shock

Short-term memory in a labile state is most sensitive

If disrupted -> retrograde amnesia

Question 10

What are protein synthesis and cAMP formation necessary for during a learning trial?

Answer 10

Consolidation to long-term memory, although short-term memory will be intact

Question 11

What is consolidation?

Answer 11

Process of converting short-term memories to long-term memories

Question 12

What happens to rats who are shocked with ECT 1 hour after a learning task?

Answer 12

They have no memory of ever completing the task -> retrograde amnesia

Question 13

What parts of the brain are important for declarative memories?

Answer 13

Temporal lobe and especially hippocampus

Question 14

What happens when patients are stimulated in termporal lobe during awake brain surgery?

Answer 14

Vivid memories of past events are brought forward

Question 15

What happens with temporal lobe lesion, including hippocampus?

Answer 15

Long-term memory will still be intact, and short-term memory can be acquired, but there is no consolidation

Question 16

What type of learning is preserved with hippocampal damage?

Answer 16

Reflexive memory - skill learning i.e. playing a piano

Question 17

What area is important for classical conditioning of the eye-blink response (reflexive memory)?

Answer 17

Cerebellum -> lateral part

Question 18

What part of the brain is important for conditioned heart rate responses?

Answer 18

Amygdala

Question 19

What parts of the brain are involved in complex memory tasks like learning mazes?

Answer 19

May involve every part of the cortex equally

Question 20

What part of the brain is involved in spatial working memory, i.e. delayed spatial response? What neurotransmitter is involved?

Answer 20

Frontal lobe - around superior frontal sulcus (principal sulcus)

Dopamine is involved

Question 21

What area of the brain functions subnormally in schizophrenics?

Answer 21

Frontal lobe - poor working memory

Question 22

Where does the learning of complex motor tasks occur?

Answer 22

Cerebellum - for associative learning

Question 23

Where does the non-associative learning for motor tasks occur?

Answer 23

At the level of the reflex pathways in the spinal cord

Question 24

When is each side of the brain more likely to be active during a task requiring working memory?

Answer 24

Left brain: Verbal memory, remembering letters

Right brain: Location

Question 25

What underlies the synaptic theory of learning?

Answer 25

Neuronal changes in learning occur due to changes in synaptic efficiency

Question 26

What is long term potentiation (LTP)?

Answer 26

An increased slope of excitatory post-synaptic potentials which constitutes learning -> increased synaptic efficiency

Question 27

What type of stimulation produces early LTP vs late LTP, and how long do they last?

Answer 27

Early - single train of stimuli given for 1 second at 100 Hz - lasts 2-3 hours

Late - four trains separated by 10 minutes - lasts 24 hours

Requires the excitation of multiple Schaffer collateral pyramidal cells simultaneously

Question 28

What is the kindling theory of epilepsy?

Answer 28

Long-term potentiation mechanisms may underlie the increased frequency of epileptic seizures, as the threshold for the next seizure is reduced everytime they happen

Question 29

What channel is required for LTP, and why?

Answer 29

Activation of NMDA channel (a type of glutamate receptor activated in Schaffer collaterals), because it is large enough for calcium to be let into the cell

Question 30

Why is calcium required for LTP? What type of memories is this needed for?

Answer 30

Calcium enters the cell and activates a Ca-calmodulin regulated kinase, which phosphorylates the glutamate receptors (AMPA and NMDA), making them more sensitive to glutamate

Creates short-term memories, which may be consolidated into long-term

Question 31

What can inhibit short-term memory formation?

Answer 31

Ca-calmodulin regulated kinase inhibitors

Question 32

What is the mechanistic by which presynaptic glutamate release is enhanced?

Answer 32

Ca-calmodulin affects the action of nitric oxide synthase, which uses arginine as a substrate. NO travels presynaptically to enhance glutamate release

Question 33

What is the mechanism of late phase LTP via Ca-calmodulin action?

Answer 33

Ca-calmodulin activates an adenylyl cyclase, which increases cAMP. cAMP activates cAMP-dependent protein kinase, which phosphorylates CREB-1.

CREB-1 is a nuclear protein which enhances the synthesis and expression of glutamate receptors to increase synaptic efficacy

Question 34

What will CREB-1 deficiency cause?

Answer 34

Impaired long-term but not short-term memory

Question 35

Lesion of what part of the brain is likely to cause difficulty remembering patterns?

Answer 35

Right (non-dominant) temporal lobe

Question 36

Lesion of what part of the brain is likely to cause difficulty remembering words (i.e. nouns)?

Answer 36

Left temporal lobe

Question 37

What part of the brain is responsible for priming?

Answer 37

Neocortex

I.e. Identifying something is faster when you’ve already identified it before, like a sketch

Question 38

What part of the brain is involved in associative learning, classical and operant conditioning related to emotions?

Answer 38

Amygdala

Question 39

What part of the brain is involved in procedural memory (i.e. skills / habits)?

Answer 39

Striatum (in basal ganglia, as opposed to striate cortex)