learning and memory Flashcards
what is learning?
process by which experience results in changes in behavior.
what is memory?
internal records of past experiences acquired through learning.
what is habituation?
a decease in the strength or occurrence of a behavior after repeated exposure to a stimulus
what is the acoustic startle reflex?
a defensive response to a startling stimulus.
an organism’s innate reaction to a stimulus is know as what?
the orienting response
what are three factors that influence the rate and duration of habituation?
- how arousing the stimulus is. (less arousing = faster habituation)
- the number of times it is experienced.
- the length of time b/w repeated exposure.
what do massed or closely spaced repetitions lead to?
faster habituation
what do spaced or repetitions spread out over time lead to?
longer duration habituation
what is sensitization?
concept in which an arousing stimulus leads to a stronger response to a later stimulus. (doesn’t have to be the same)
what are the basic concepts of classical conditioning?
- unconditioned stimulus
- unconditioned response
- conditioned stimulus
- conditioned response
what is operant conditioning?
- an organism learns to make a response in order to obtain or avoid important consequences.
what is a cognitive map?
an internal psychological representation of the spatial layout of the external world
what is latent learning?
learning that is unconnected to a consequence and remains undetected until explicitly demonstrated at a later stage.
In the latent learning/cognitive map experiment, which group of rats had less errors over time?
the group that was awarded food on day 11 of the experiment
A small area of increased activity is called …
a place field
what are place cells and where are they found?
a maximally active group of neurons found in the hippocampus.
what did Karl Lashley do?
- observed effects of lesions on rats’ performance in a maze
what is an engram?
a physical change in the brain that forms the basis of a memory
in what ways can the brain change?
- dendrite length
- # of spines
- # of axon terminals
what are the neurological results of being in an enriched environment?
- more dendritic branches
- longer dendritic length
- greater # of connections
- better learning performance
what is long term potentiation?
when synaptic transmission becomes more effective at eliciting a postsynaptic response
what is long term depression?
when synaptic transmission becomes less effective at eliciting a postsynaptic response
who was Henry Molaison?
a patient who had his hippocampus removed to alleviate symptoms of epilepsy.
Following his surgery, Henry was unable to form new episodic memories. what type of amnesia is that?
anterograde amnesia
