Exam 4 Flashcards
1
Q
Memory
A
the ability to retain and recall past events or information
2
Q
What are examples of conscious memories? (2)
A
- episodic memory
- semantic memory
3
Q
What are examples of implicit memories? (2)
A
- skill memory
- classical conditioning
4
Q
Episodic Memory
A
personal experience
5
Q
Semantic Memory
A
fact
6
Q
Skill Memory
A
movements
7
Q
Classical Conditioning
A
associations between two events
8
Q
What region of the brain is crucial for episodic memory?
A
the hippocampus
9
Q
What happens when the hippocampus is lesioned?
A
anterograde amnesia
10
Q
Anterograde amnesia
A
the inability to remember events that occurred after a brain injury
11
Q
Retrograde Amnesia
A
the inability to recall events that occurred prior to a brain injury
12
Q
What is the gateway to the hippocampus? (2)
A
- entorhinal cortex
- information enters and exits through it
13
Q
What is the hippocampus comprised of? (3)
A
- dentate gyrus
- CA3
- CA1
14
Q
What occurs in the dentate gyrus and CA3? (2)
A
- involved in pattern separation
- making similar memories distinct
15
Q
What occurs in the CA1?
A
- pattern completion
- re-establishing a past pattern of activity
16
Q
Place Cells (2)
A
- neurons typically from regions CA1 and CA3 that fire at a high rate when an animal is in a specific environmental location
- different portions of the environment cause different place cells to fire, which creates a cognitive map
17
Q
What do place cells have?
A
place field
18
Q
Place Field
A
the specific region of the environment that activates the neuron
19
Q
Concept Neurons
A
represent information about specific people and things
20
Q
What does learning-related neural plasticity involve?
A
strengthening or weakening of synapses
21
Q
What is the process of strengthening synaptic connections? (3)
A
1) weakly stimulating neuron 1 and observing the weak response from neuron 2
2) strong stimulation of neuron 1 producing a large release of glutamate to neuron 2, making it fire
3) weak stimulation of neuron 1, neuron 2 fires
22
Q
Long-term potentiation
A
strengthening of a synapse through glutamate
23
Q
Long-term depression
A
long-term weakening of synapses through GABA
24
Q
Why is there a strong response in neuron 2?
A
there was an increase in AMPA receptors
25
Synaptic Plasticity (2)
- the ability of the synapse between two neurons to change in strength
- there is an increase in the sensitivity/number of excitatory neurotransmitters
26
What are the types of glutamate receptors? (2)
- AMPA
- NMDA
27
AMPA
contains ion channel that opens for Na whenever glutamate attaches to the receptors binding site
28
NMDA
contains an ion channel, one that allows both Na and Ca ions to enter the neuron
29
What is the process of a neuron firing at a glutamate receptor? (3)
1) glutamate binds with NMDA receptor at the same time the neuron is strongly depolarized
2) ion channel is opened and blocking Mg moves away
3) Na and Ca can enter, which sets in motion a series of events that strengthen the synapse
30
What is synaptic strength associated with? (2)
- spine volume
- new dendritic spines
31
What can practicing a skill do?
increase the size of the motor cortical region
32
What areas of the brain are activated when learning motor skill? (3)
- PFC in early stages
- shifts to the premotor and primary motor cortex upon automatization
- fined tuned by cerebellum
33
What is an example of classical conditioning?
habituation
34
Habituation (2)
- learning to ignore a sensory event that is repeated many times without consequence
- the sensory neuron releases only a small amount of glutamate
35
How is cued fear an example of classical conditioning?
a tone is paired with a shock
36
Conditioned Stimulus
stimulus paired with another stimulus
37
Neutral Stimulus
stimulus that is not paired with anything
38
What part of the brain does fear learning depend on? (2)
- amygdala
- threatening stimuli activate the basolateral amygdala, which goes to the central amygdala
39
How can fear responses be extinguished?
playing the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus, which diminishes the freezing
40
What is an example of spontaneous recovery?
a week later the conditioned stimulus is presented again and there is fear response demonstrating the fear was not lost
41
Fear Extinction
does not erase fear memory, but rather forms a new competing memory
42
vmPFC
critical for extinction, recall, and to reduce the fear response
43
Which life stage shows less cued-fear extinction?
adolescents
44
What part of the brain is involved in fear extinction?
infralimbic cortex
45
What is happening in an adolescent's brain during extinction of a cued fear?
there is less infralimbic cortical activity
46
Why do preadolescent mice have no spontaneous recovery of fear?
due to greater susceptibility to interference from competing association
47
What is unique about adolescent mice and contextual fear?
they have no contextual fear memories
48
What are the psychological therapies that can reduce anxiety? (2)
- systematic exposure therapy
- cognitive behavior therapy
49
What drugs can reduce anxiety? (2)
- SSRIs
- benzodiazepines
50
What is occurring with limbic circuitry during adolescence?
there are peak changes in limbic circuitry involved in emotion reactivity
51
What is the basis for exposure therapy?
prefrontal circuitry
52
Memory Reconsolidation
the process of previously consolidated memories being recalled and actively consolidated during protein synthesis
53
What does a reconsolidation update lead to?
reduced fear memory in adults and adolescents
54
What part of the brain is contextual fear dependent on?
the hippocampus
55
What part of the brain is involved in fear expression?
prelimbic cortex
56
What is chronic anxiety associated with?
elevated amygdala activity
57
What is the most effective method of treating anxiety?
a combination of therapy and drugs
58
What is the important of prefrontal, hippocampal, and amygdala circuitry in fear expression and fear extinction? (2)
- in adolescents, there is a surge in amygdala projections to the prelimbic that explain sustained cued fear
- there is a surge in hippocampus projections to the prelimbic that explain lack of contextual fear
59
Stress
any type of change that causes physical, emotional or psychological strain
60
Sympathetic Nervous System
promotes fight or flight response
61
HPA axis
control and release of the body's key stress hormones from the adrenal glands
62
What is the pathway that occurs in response to a stressor? (3)
1) CRH is released from the hypothalamus
2) triggers the release of ACTH from anterior pituitary
3) release of glucocorticoid stress hormones from the adrenal cortex
63
What happens to mice without glucocorticoid receptors?
they have less fear responses and stress
64
Where is the key control center for the sympathetic nervous system stress response?
the medulla
65
Acquired Behavior
a behavior that is followed by a reinforcer
66
Shaping a Behavior through Reinforcement
successive approximation of behavior until you get the desired one
67
Where in the midbrain do most dopamine neurons originate? (2)
- VTA
- SN
68
Agonist
a drug that mimics or enhances activity of neurotransmitters
69
Antagonist
a drug that blocks or reduces the effects of neurotransmitters
70
Is dopamine responsible for the reinforcing effects of brain stimulation reward?
yes
71
How is dopamine cleared from the synapse?
dopamine transporters
72
How is cocaine an agonist?
it blocks dopamine and norepinephrine transporters
73
How are amphetamines agonists?
enhance the release of neurotransmitters into the synapse
74
What happens when heroin binds to an opioid receptor?
it elevates dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens
75
Drug Tolerance
a drug's reduced effectiveness in producing physiological/behavioral effects when used repeatedly requiring an increase in dosage
76
What are the different types of drug tolerance? (3)
- metabolic tolerance
- functional tolerance
- conditioned drug tolerance
77
If you block reuptake of serotonin through SSRI is it an agonist or antagonist?
agonist
78
Metabolic Tolerance
the body has a better ability to get rid of the drug
79
Functional Tolerance
reduced sensitivity of target sites to the drug
80
Conditioned Drug Tolerance
tolerant to a drug only in the environment
81
Broca's Area
left inferior frontal gyrus
82
Wernicke's Area
left superior temporal gyrus
83
Broca's Aphasia (2)
- slow and effortful speech
- good comprehension
84
Wernicke's Aphasia
- speak fluently
- meaning of utterances are difficult to decipher
- poor comprehension
