Learning and Memory Flashcards
What is memory?
The outcome of learning
What is learning?
The process of acquiring new information
What brain regions were surgically removed in Patient H.M.?
Bilateral Medial Temporal Lobes (whole hippocampus)
What did Patient H.M. struggle with before surgery?
Epilepsy
What couldn’t H.M. do after surgery?
Couldn’t form new long-term memories (anterograde amnesia)
What could H.M. do after surgery?
- Could remember things for a few minutes (short-term memory)
- Could learn new procedural/implicit memories
- Intact intelligence/personality
What did we learn from H.M.?
Hippocampus/MTL is critical for forming new explicit memories
Different types of memory are supported by different structures
What are the 4 broad types of memory?
Long-term memory
Sensory memory, short-term memory, and working memory
What is the time course of sensory memory?
Milliseconds to seconds
Do we have conscious awareness of sensory memory?
No
What are the 2 types of sensory memory?
Visual: Iconic (<200 ms)
Auditory: Echoic (several seconds)
Is sensory memory high or limited capacity?
High capacity
What is MMN and MMF?
Mismatch negativity (MMN)
Mismatch field (MMF)
What is the difference between MMN and MMF?
MMN is associated with ERP
MMF is associated with MEG
What is MMN (or MMF)?
They are a neural response to deviant stimuli
What did MMN/MMF tell us
After 10s the brain can’t distinguish MMN/MMF from noise
The Echoic memory time course is about 10 seconds
What is Sperling’s partial report task?
There is an array of letters flashed very briefly and tones used to indicate which line to report (partial report)
What did Sperling’s partial report task tell us?
Performance was much better than expected from full report and provided evidence for brief high capacity iconic memory
What is the time course for short-term and working memory?
Seconds to minutes
Do we have conscious awareness of short-term and working memory?
Yes
Is short-term and working memory high or limited capacity?
Limited Capacity (~ 7 items)
What is a characteristic of short-term memory?
Decays rapidly without rehearsal
Longer than sensory memory but still brief (10 sec - 5 min)
What is a characteristic of working memory?
Sometimes refers to a more active process (you have to work and working memory)
Maintenance and Manipulation
What is a short-term memory test?
Forward digit span (memorizing series of digits forwards)