forgetting and consolidation

Question 1

Causes of forgetting

Answer 1

1. consolidation
2. forgetting

is it actually lost? yes or just inaccessible.

Question 2

storing declarative memories in the brain

Answer 2

hippocampus is critical for acquisition of declarative memories
Hippocampus binds information together to create higher level representations
–> These representations are then sorted across networks in other cortical areas and integrate with old information

Question 3

what is consolidation

Answer 3

combining new information with old info.

a very slow neocortical process that stabilizes memory in LTM

Question 4

Sleep and consolidation

Answer 4

transfer begins during offline hours (sleep)
early sleep: declarative learning
late sleep: aids procedural learning
walker: sleep deprivation reduced performance by 75%

Question 5

Forgetting

Answer 5

Ebbinghaus:
- examined own ability to learn nonsense syllable words
forgetting generally faster right after learning

Bahrick:
- Spanish vocal words rapidly lost in the first 3 years. then constant to 35. And then further decline until 50.

Question 6

Learning on forgetting: retrieval induced forgetting

Answer 6

retrieval can modify our memories at the expense of other memories

1. Anderson:
   - study phase
   - retrieval practice for speakers
   - more benefits for practice category but at the expense of words from same category but not practice (fruit-banana; fruit-lemon)
2. Macleod: eyewitness testimony: likelihood of repeating again and again
   - ppts were required to look at two scenes with stolen objects from 2 different houses
   - after retrieval practice for half: RIF