Learning and Memory

Question 1

What is procedural memory?

Answer 1

Skills and habits that have been used so much they are automatic; also known as implicit memory, non-declarative memory, reflexive memory

Question 2

What structures are involved with procedural memory?

Answer 2

Cerebellum (motor skills) and nucleus accumbens (non-motor)

Question 3

What is declarative memory?

Answer 3

Conscious recognition/recollection of learned facts and experiences and is subdivided into episodic (memory of events) and semantic (memory of words, language, and rules); also known as explicit memory

Question 4

How long is short-term memory?

Answer 4

Seconds to hours

Question 5

How long is long-term memory?

Answer 5

Years

Question 6

How long is working memory?

Answer 6

Recalling a fact/memory for use - it may be a subset of short-term memory

Question 7

What is plasticity?

Answer 7

Alterations in the CNS based on use; may be synaptic function that’s altered; may be changes in the physical structure of the neurons; more synapses and new branches to new cells

Question 8

Plasticity has different forms. What forms are considered changes in synaptic functioning? What forms are considered changes in the structure of the neurons?

Answer 8

Changes in synaptic functioning: post-tetanic potentiation and long-term potentiation

Changes in structure of neurons: gain/loss of synapses, structural changes in dendrites, structural changes in the soma of the neuron

Question 9

Under what conditions does post-tetanic stimulation occur?

Answer 9

Brief, high-frequency discharge of presynaptic neuron; produces an increase in neurotransmitter release that lasts about 60 seconds; increases probability of action potentials in post-synaptic cell

Question 10

What is the mechanism of post-tetanic stimulation?

Answer 10

High level of stimulation allows more calcium to enter to the terminal than could be “dealt” with, leading to greater neurotransmitter release and a greater probability of action potentials in the post-synaptic cell

Question 11

What is long-term potentiation?

Answer 11

Series of changes in the pre- and post-synaptic neurons of a synapse which leads to increased response to the released neurotransmitter; usually follows strong stimulation

Question 12

What is neuronal plasticity?

Answer 12

Also associated with gene transcription related to increased CREB in both pre and post-synaptic cells; proteins produced include NT synthetic enzymes, NT receptors, and proteins required for growth/synapse formation

Question 13

What does CREB cause?

Answer 13

Changes in synapse structure (permanent) and creation of new synapses via protein synthesis

Question 14

What are the 4 steps for creating declarative (explicit) memories?

Answer 14

1) Encoding
2) Storage of information
3) Consolidation
4) Retrieval

Question 15

What is encoding?

Answer 15

Attending to new info (focus, attention), linking it to previous memories; emotion is important component

Question 16

What is the storage of the information step for creating a memory?

Answer 16

Retention of information over time; this is short-term memory

Question 17

What structures function in short-term memory?

Answer 17

Hippocampus, parahippocampal cortex, prefrontal cortex; there are also interconnections to the neocortex and amygdala via the nucleus basalis of Meynert (cholinergic projection, a particular target of Alzheimer’s disease)

Question 18

How is short-term memory created physiologically?

Answer 18

Long-term potentiation

Question 19

What is consolidation of memory formation?

Answer 19

Process of making a memory permanent; involves physical changes in synaptic structure

Question 20

What structures function in consolidating a memory from short to long-term?

Answer 20

Requires hippocampus, temporal lobes, Papez circuit

Question 21

What is the mechanism for consolidating a memory from short to long-term?

Answer 21

Memory is repeatedly sent through Papez circuit, thus setting up the conditions required to induce LTP and neuronal plasticity, back to the cortex; eventually, limbic system is not required for access to the memory

Question 22

What is the retrieval step for creating a memory?

Answer 22

Recalling or using the memory; bringing it into working memory; can be modified/lost at this point

Question 23

What structures are involved in reassembling a memory?

Answer 23

Neocortex, parahippocampal regions, hippocampus

Question 24

What is the pathway for retrieving a memory?

Answer 24

Information related to each component of the memory is sent to the parahippocampal regions; those components are sent to the hippocampus, where the entire memory is “reconstructed”; information then travels back through the parahippocampus to the cortex

Question 25

What are the 3 components of the 3-component model for working memory?

Answer 25

Central executive component (prefrontal cortex), phonological loop component (broca’s and wernicke’s), visuospatial loop component (occipital cortex associated with vision)

Question 26

Where is spatial memory stored?

Answer 26

Detailed memory of space is stored in hippocampus, using special pyramidal cells in CA1 known as place cells; appears this spatial map serves as an “anchor” for the reconstruction of memory

Question 27

What are place cells?

Answer 27

Neurons that are active only at specific places (and one newly discovered type is especially strongly activated if you got a reward at that place)

Question 28

What inputs do spatial memory receive?

Answer 28

Grid cells, entorhinal cortex, create a map of a place you are in, grid map, triangular or hexagonal grid, head direction cell, border neurons, others