ELM18: Learning and memory 1 Flashcards
What is the definition of learning?
The acquisition of new knowledge or skills
What is the definition of memory?
The retention of learned information
What is included in declarative explicit memory?
Facts and events
What is included in non-declarative implicit memory?
Procedural skills and habits
Is associative
What types of memory is stored in the hippocampus?
Explicit
What type of memory is stored in the cerebellum and basal ganglia?
Procedural
What type of memory is stored in the amygdala?
Emotional responses
What type of memory is stored in the cortex?
Short and long term explicit memroy
Which area of the brain is involved in navigation?
Hippocampus
What are place cells?
Hippocampal neurons that fire at a high rate when the animal is in a specific location in the environment called place field
What is a cognitive map?
Internal neural representation of landscape in which an animal travels
What are the characteristics of short term memory?
Lasts for seconds or hours
Repetition promotes retention
Labile
No new RNA or protein synthesis
What are the characteristics of long term memory?
Lasts for days or years
Consolidated
Does need new RNA or protein synthesis
What is the function of working memory?
To hold information in the mind
What are the 4 stages of memory?
Sensory stimulus
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
What is the basic mechanism of how memories are formed?
There are changes in existing neural circuits
What are two examples of changes involved in the mechanism of memory?
Altered synaptic strength
Neuronal excitability
What is Hebbian plasticity?
When one axon is near to another and repeatedly help it fire metabolic processes take place that make it more efficient
What is long term potentiation?
Strengthening of synapses after a synapse is stimulated
Causes long lasting increase in signal transmission between two neuron
What are two glutamate receptors?
AMPA
NMDA
What is an AMPA receptor?
Requires glutamate to open and allows Na+ influx
What is an NMDA receptor?
Requires glutamate and glycine and depolarisation to open
Allows sodium and calcium influx
What is the mechanism of long term potentiation?
- Presynaptic changes occur
- Increased NT vesicles and increased NT release
- Post synaptic changes occur
- Increased dendritic area and spines and increase AMPA receptors
What is needed for postsynaptic mechanisms to occur?
Diverse signalling pathways
PKA
Protein synthesis
What is long term depression?
When synaptic transmission happens at the same time as a weak depolarisation of postsynaptic neuron
What are the results of an LTP?
In LTP strong depolarisation will lead to high levels of calcium
What are the results of LTD?
In LTD weak depolarisation will lead to little calcium influx
What are some physiological functions of LTD?
Hippocampus dependent learning and memory
Fear conditioning and amygdala
Recognition and memory in perirhinal cortex
Cerebellar learning
What are some pathological stages LTD is involved in?
Psychiatric disorders
Drug addiction
Mental retardation Neurodegenerative diseases
What is amnesia?
Loss of memories
Often from trauma
Transient or permanent
What is retrograde amnesia?
Difficulty remembering past information
What is anterograde amnesia?
Difficulty learning new information
What is dementia?
Symptoms affecting memory thinking and social abilIties
What causes dementia?
Intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and accumulation of extracellular beta amyloid plaques
What is vascular dementia?
After a stroke or other conditions that damage blood vessels that reduce circulation
Problems with memory reasoning planning and judgement
