Final Exam Flashcards
What is intelligence?
Ability to make adjustments or modify old processes
Learning is closely related to intelegence
What did Darwin believe about evolution as how does it apply to learning?
According to Darwin evolution is both physical and mental
We have evolved in our ability to learn wonder as reason.
Cognition
Knowledge of thinking
Often a casual discourse that is VOLUNTARY DELIBERATE and CONSCIOUS
Ex) did I leave the coffee pot on?
What can cognition cause
It can cause actions that may not be explained by external stimuli alone
Ex) turning around to check coffee pot
Cognitive Ethoglogy
Animals are capable of conscious thought and intention
Ex. Clever Hans the horse could “spell” tell time and calculate fractions based on reactions from his owner
Animal Cognition
Models and constructs used to explain behaviors not characterized by S-R associations
Give an example of animal cognition
Elephants displayed “self awareness” not accounted for by S-R learning through a mental representation
What was the mirror enclosure experiment and what did it prove?
Monkeys, and elephant were marked over their eye with out being told then placed in from of a mirror
They touched the mark accounting for reflection too
This prove the animals have self awareness
Works for all apes
What is the difference between combining classical learning ad behavior and cognition and behavior
Classical learning and behavior is S-R related and the environment influenced behavior but cognition creates a behavior from inferred info as the environment leads to a mental representation in the mind to the behavior
Are learning and cognition in opposition to one another?
Not necessarily
The CS is thought to evoke a “mental representation” of the US
The R-O and S-O associations are internal
What is memory
The ability to respond to or recount information that was experienced earlier
Who was your 1st grade teacher?
Playing tennis
Pets remembering how to get home
Components of Learning and Memory in order of increase of time
Acquisition- Retention- Retrieval
What is acquisition
Exposure to stimuli and information
The learning portion
Retention
Time period I which info is retained
Retrieval
Tests of memory for original experience
When to the components of learning and memory occur
Aka examples
Learning to ride a bike
Learning directions
Works for all memory
How do we distinguish between learning and memory?
Study’s of learning Involve manipulation of acquisition
Studies of memory focus on retention and retrieval
What kind of study would a person take if they looked into the change in retention and retrieval but acquisition was left constant
Memory
What kind of procedure would keep only acquisition as a variable and have retention and retrieval as constants
Learning
What experiment was done to study memory in animals
Subjects :raccoons, dogs, mixes
Phase 1: training - subjects placed in start box
A light went on above the baited box (out of 3)
Phase 2: memory task- subjects placed in start box
Light on above a box but they were delayed from entering
Results : dogs waited and went up to 5 minutes, raccoons 25 secs and mice 10 seconds before giving up
What do the results of the memory in animals study show
Working and reference memory were effected
Working memory
Operated when info needs to be maintained long enough to complete a task
Reference memory
Long term memory
Retention of info needed for the use of incoming and acquired info
Give an example of working memory
Remembering what you put in a Bloody Mary
Example of reference memory
Remembering the items you already put in the Bloody Mary
Delayed matching to sample (dms)
The sample identifies the correct response on a trial
The sample is removed b4 the subject is allowed to respond (delay)
The subject is then asked to identify the matching sample for reinforcement
Non matching to sample
Same as the matching to sample experiment but supposed to not match to get reinforcement
What determines the accuracy of a memory
in terms of how long for presentation and delay
Experiment
Pigeons were trained on DMS
Test sample duration- 1,4,8,14 seconds
Test sample trial delay - 0,20,40,60 seconds
Results
Accuracy increased as sample duration increased
Accuracy decreased as same trial delay increased
Trace decay hypothesis
Presentation of the stimulus produces changes in the CNS (central nervous system ) that decay after the stimulus is removed
What happens to weak stimuli
Example
They decay quickly
Ex. What did you eat for lunch last Wednesday
What happens to strong stimuli
Example
Strong stimuli will be maintained in memory
Ex. What did you eat when you have food poisoning
Does training impact the DSM
Training on DSM
Sample trial delay on 0,2,4,6 secs
Trained to 80% correct
Test DMS w/ 0-10 second sample trial delay
Results
Decay prominent in 0sec group
But overall performance is bed when tested with training delay
What are the types of DMS tasks
General rule
Specific rule
Test of transfer
Trials unique procedure
What is a general rule task
“Choose the stimulus that is the same as the sample”
What is the specific rule task
“Select green on green”
What is a test of transfer task
Once DMS is learned w/ 2 samples a new pair is employed
Does the subject carry over the original rule
A test of reference memory
Ex) monkey shown pan as lock and key it generalizes over to ring and glass
What is trials unique procedures
On each trial different stimuli serve as matching and non matching samples
Do they learn DMS
What is special about the Clark’s Nutcracker
They collect and store pine seeds by driving them through into the ground
They return months later to retrieve them under snow
Up to 33,000 seeds in 2,500 caches may be revisited
What is a radial arm maze
Used in rodent spatial testing 8 arms with baited end ups Rodents placed in the center Allowed to pick up food Cups not replaced
What is learned from a radial arm maze
Part 1 ( learning and memory)
Possible strategies
- inefficient- random arm entrance
- efficient - remember where visited
How do both the rodents and nutcrackers remember
Spatial memory requires an Internal map
What else can be used in an RAM to approach the correct arms
Extra maze cues
Like light posters doors humans
Switching the cues disrupts the performance ( aka turning the thing around would get opposite arms visited)
What happens if extra maze cues removed
Intramaze cues used to solve but they are less efficient
Does the maze guide the rodents
If walls of maze removed and rodents allowed to go where ever the choices would be
Efficient ( going around edges from one to another )
Path (following the maze)
Random
Wall
What actually happens is the start to head near the walls but inevitably follow the path
What is stimulus coding
The transformation of acquired information for retention and later retrieval
How do we code spatial information
A cognitive map but a vague one Navigational mechanisms are used - beacon following -landmarks -relation between landmarks
What is beacon following
Association of a beacon with a goal ( giant M at mcdonalds )
What is a landmark
Goal at a fixed point not the goal an associated with a stimulus
What is retrospective memory
Learning where you have been or has done
Learned by rats in radial arm maze experiment
What is prospective memory
Where you have yet to go or have to get to
Rats also learn in radial arm maze
What are some coding strategies for stimulus coding
Remember what you’ve had
Remember what you have yet to try
Don’t try at all
What happens over time to retrospective memory
Memory load increases over time and gets harder to remember
Ex beer sampler - remember what you had
What happens to prospective memory overtime
Memory load decreases and it gets easier
Ex beer sampler remembering what you have yet to try
What are other ways to reduce memory load
Switching between retrospective and prospective
Start with retrospective coding
Switch to prospective coding
How were rats memory load effected on a 12 arm radial arm maze
Trained to criteria
Pretest- rats allowed varying arm entires
Test- 15 min delay
Return to maze given choice between previously entered ally and new ally ( the correct choice)
Results showed error increased on 1st 8 trials (retrospective) but decreased on 9 - 12 prospective
What did undergrads show about memory load
Students given 16 square grid
Test - x moved square to square
Delay of 5 secs
Choice between 2 squares ( did it visit square a or b)
Results
Errors increased on 1st 8 ( retro) and decreased on 9-12 ( pro)
What is memory retention impacted by
An unpredictable extraneous stimulus ( interference)
Cues indicating whether something should or should not be remembered
Direct forgetting
A process by which info not relevant to a task is actively ignored
R-cue - remembering cue
F-cue- forgetting cue
Where does memory fall
Under stimulus control
What does the retrieval stage of memory have to do wth
Consolidation of material
Recovery of stored info use to guide behavior
Which type of memory is used for acquisition?
Working memory
Which type of memory is used for rent emotion
Both working and reference
Which type of memory is used for retrieval
Refrecnce
What is retrieval failure
The failure of memory in the healthy organism is most likely a result of retrieval failure than a loss of information
What are retrieval cues
Reminders that produce retrieval of memory
Stimuli present during acquisition can later serve as retrieval cues
What did the infant experiment show
6 month baby’s placed in playpen with different liners
They were trained with operant response to leg kick and then the mobile would move
Tested 1 day post training
Retention was best when liner the same as training ( retrieval cue)
Lasted up to 14 days
What else is known about retrieval cues
Similar retrieval cues can receive opposite memories
This is most common when the context is the retrieval cues
Ex. Modulator experiment
Bright context S+ (-) S- (I)
Dim context S+ (I) S- (-)
Or watering hole with elephants
Forgetting
Memory failure resulting w/ a lack of response in accordance w/ past experience or learning
Negative forgetting
Forgetting with a negative impact on performance
Positive forgetting
Positively impacts performance by increase response variety
What are the sources of forgetting
Proactive interference
Retroactive interference
Retrograde amnesia
Proactive interference
New memories disrupted by earlier exposure to other information
Retroactive interference
Old memories disrupted by subsequent exposure to other info
Retrograde amnesia
Graded memory loss of info close to the event that induced the loss
Ex. Seizures black outs, concussions
What did the results of the rat concussion experiment show
Rats single avoidance trial
Mild concussion then various training latency to visit shock side
There was a reduced avoidance as concussion neared training
What is the map of memory
Sensory info->(perception)sensory memory->(attention) working memory-> (rehearsal/ consolidation <- retrieval ) long term memory
What did the second rat concussion experiment show
Post concussion a retrieval cue can reverse amnesia
G1: avoided trial concussion after 1 min
G2: avoided trial concussion after 1 minute + US alone pretest trial in novel environment.
Results: G1 is amnesic
G2: demonstrated avoidance
Therefore retrieval was facilitated
Engram
Physical representation of learning and memory according to Lashley
What did Lashley do
Cut in the cortex of rats to see how it effected memory
No single cut impaired learning
Only amount removed predicted impairment
How is acquisition, retention and retrieval effected by neurology
Acquisition of knowledge engages unique nuero circuits
Complex memories are stored in multiple areas
Memories are retrieved from through out the brain
What is acquisition in terms of neurobiology
The strengthening of weakening of neural connections as a result of experience with the environment
Attention is important in acquisition
What does stimulating the hippocampus do (strong)
Strong stimulation
Is considered learning
Long term potentiation (Ltp)
Enhanced synaptic strength
Long term potentiation
Increase the efficient I memory paths
Increases number of dendritric spine
Increased size of dendritic spine heads
Increased receptor density on dendritic spine heads
What does stimulating the hippocampus do (moderate)
Has no effect on synaptic strength
Moderate activity
No learning
What does stimulating the hippocampus do (weak)
Long term depression (ltd)
Reduced synaptic strength
Learning
What is retention in neurobiology terms
The permanent physical change in neural circuitry coding for information
Once rehearsal conditions are met information is consolidated an retained in permanent memory stores
What is retrieval in neurobiology terms
The recollections of memories to working memory
What did medical stimulation of the cortex result in
Induced specific memories
MRI confirms that consolidated memory is stored and retrieved from the cortex
Who was Henry Gustav Molaison?
The man called H.M. until his death who has problems consolidating information after surgery
what happens in infantile amnesia at 0-2 years of age
very little is explicitly remembered
but motor memories occur
what happens in infantile amnesia at 2-5 years of age
some memories remembered
usually have emotional connections therefore amplified
connected to the amygdala
what causes the changes in memory as a child develops
maturation of learning structures
establishment of neural connections
what are retention and consolidation dependent on
the rehearsal of the information
Antrograde Amnesia
inability to form new DECLARATIVE memories
consolidation deficient, but can retrieve old memories
where can antrograde amnesia come from
damage to the rehearsal circuit
attached to hippocampus, basal forebrain, amygdala, thalmus
what form of amnesia did HM have
antrograde amnesia
his temporal lobe was removed due to siezures
who is clive wearing
a man who has to live without memories
what is retrograde amnesia
the inability to recall things from before the onset of amnesia
when does retrograde amnesia occur
often from brain injury
spans minutes to years
memories nearest the event are effected
often accompanied by antrograde amnesia
What happens in pure retrograde amnesia
information cannot be RETRIEVED
the retrieval process is effected
helps sometimes to provide retrieval cues
What is Alzheimers disease
impaired memory disorientation emotional flux symptoms worsen over the most common neurodegenerative disorder 4.5 million in us 36% of people over 85 meet criteria
what are the nueropathological characteristics of alzheimers
atrophy
cerebral arterial sclerosis ( hardening of arteries in the brain)
histological abnormalities
- amylod plagues
- neurofibrillian tangles (proteins in the brain that come together)
what areas of the brain does alzheimers effect early on
early on it is mostly antrograde amnesia ( forgetting keys) and effects the hippocampus and basal forbrain (acetylcholire)
because there is problems creating new memories in consolidation and the rehearsal circuit
what areas of the brain does alzheimers effect later
later is mainly retrograde amnesia as old memories start to fade
this effects the amygdala and cortical areas where recall is effected
what are some possible causes for Alzheimers
aging: increased chance of mutation
genes: but only 4-8% is genetic
brain damage ( boxers)
inflammation
what are the current treatments for alzheimers
cholinesterase inhibitors
NMDA antagonists- reduce glutamate
anti-inflamitories
cognitive and physical exersize
which treatment has the largest effect
cognitive and physical exersize (nuns)
what is Korsafoffs syndrome
found by sergei korsakoff patients can converse normally therefore no retrograde amnesia remember old memories very serve antrograde amnesia displays wild conflabulation couldnt figure out who the doctor was
what is effected by korsakoff
degeneration of the mammillary bodies ( in the thalamus)
lesions on the thalamic nuclei
- in the rehearsal circuit
– problems with consolidation
what causes korsakoffs syndrome
a thiamine or vitamin b deficiency
who is often found to have korsakoffs
alcoholics because they replace calories with the alcohol and high proof alcohol already reduces b1 absorption in the intestines
