Learning and Memory Flashcards
Who was classical conditioning pioneered by?
Ivan Pavlov.
What is the basis of classical conditioning?
Pairing two stimuli changes the response to one of them.
Explain operant conditioning.
The individuals response followed by a reinforcer or punishment.
What are reinforcers?
Events that increase the probability that the response will occur again.
What is punishment?
Events that decrease the probability that the response will occur again.
What is an engram?
A physical representation of what had been learned.
Who searched for the engram?
Lashley.
What did Lashley’s experiments show?
Learning and memory do not rely on a single cortical area.
Name Lashley’s principles about the nervous system.
Equipotentiality, and mass action.
Explain equipotentiality.
All parts of the cortex contribute equally to complex functioning behaviours.
Explain mass action.
The cortex works as a whole, and more cortex is better.
Where is the classical conditioning engram located?
The cerebellum, not the cortex.
Who discovered the classical conditioning engram?
Thompson.
What is the lateral interpositus nucleus (LIP) identified as central for?
Learning.
What are Hebb’s two types of memory?
Short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Give three differences between short and long-term memory.
Short-term memory has a limited capacity, and fades quickly, and long-term memories can be stimulated with a cue.
What enhances the consolidation of recent experiences?
Epinephrine and cortisol.
Who proposed working memory?
Baddeley and Hitch.
What is working memory?
An alternative short-term memory.
What is the emphasis of working memory?
Temporary storage of information to actively attend to it and work on it for a period of time.
What is the common test of working memory?
The delayed response task.
What does the delayed response task involve?
Requires responding to something you heard or saw a short while ago.
Where is working information stored?
The prefrontal cortex.
What is vital for the formation of new long-term memories?
Hippocampus.