Learning, Memory, and Language

Question 1

Much of what is known about the mechanisms underlying learning and memory comes from research with individuals suffering from _______________.

Answer 1

Amnesia.

Question 2

The phenomenon referred to as _______________________, or ________, describes findings that certain areas in the left cerebral cortex are more active during the encoding of memories, while areas in the right cerebral cortex (especially the right frontal cortex) are more active during retrieval.

Answer 2

• Hemispheric encoding/retrieval asymmetry
• HERA

Question 3

The __________________ are essential for the encoding, storage, and retrieval of long-term declarative memories, with the right and left lobes serving somewhat different functions.

Answer 3

Temporal lobes.

Question 4

Following the removal of the _________ temporal lobe, deficits are found primarily on nonverbal memory tasks (e.g., measures of face-recognition, spatial position, maze-learning, and emotional memory), while removal of the _________ temporal lobe produces impaired performance on measures of verbal memory.

Answer 4

• Right
• Left

Question 5

The ____________________ is responsible for consolidating long-term declarative memories, but not for the subsequent storage of those memories. It is also essential for spatial memory and (along w/ other structures) explicit memory. Degeneration of this area and areas that communicate directly with it have been linked to age-related memory loss and Alzheimer’s Dementia.

Answer 5

Hippocampus.

Question 6

The _______________ plays a key role in fear conditioning and adding emotional significance to memories. There is evidence that this structure is responsible fro the recall of traumatic events and may contribute to the development of PTSD.

Answer 6

Amygdala.

Question 7

The ____________________ plays a role in episodic memory and prospective memory, and in constructive memory and false recognition. Patients with damage to certain regions of this area may incorrectly claim that new information is familiar.

Answer 7

Pre-frontal cortex.

Question 8

The __________________________ is important for working memory, and impairments in working memory in patients with Schizophrenia have been linked to abnormal activity in this area.

Answer 8

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Question 9

The _________________ is involved in processing incoming information and transferring it to the cortex. Damage to certain areas of this structure produces anterograde amnesia, retrograde amnesia, and confabulation.

Answer 9

Thalamus.

Question 10

_______________, _________________, and ________________: These structures play a role in procedural memory (e.g., memory for sensorimotor skills) and implicit (unconscious, nonintentional) memory.

Answer 10

• Basal Ganglia
• Cerebellum
• Motor Cortex

Question 11

Studies of ____________________ have found that short-term memory involves neurochemical changes at existing synapses, while long-term memory also entails an increase in the number of synapses and modifications of the structure of existing synapses.

Answer 11

Aplysia (seaslug).

Question 12

__________________________ refers to the greater responsivity of a postsynaptic neuron to low-intensity stimulation by a presynaptic neuron for hours, days, or even weeks after the presynaptic neuron has been barraged by high-frequency stimulation. It was first observed at certain glutamate receptors (NMDA) in the hippocampus, but has since been found in other areas of the brain including the amygdala and cortex. The consequences of this have led some to conclude that it mediates long-term memory by causing changers in the number and shape of the cell’s dendrites, promoting the formation of new synaptic connections, and increasing the number of glutamate receptors.

Answer 12

Long-term Potentiation (LTP).

Question 13

Long-term memory also seems to depend on enhanced ___________________ during the minutes or hours following learning or training, and inhibiting the synthesis of ______________ or __________ at the time of training can prevent the formation of long-term memories even when short-term and intermediate-term memory are unimpaired.

Answer 13

• Protein synthesis
• Proteins
• RNA

Question 14

________________ refers to impaired language production and/or comprehension as the result of brain damage.

Answer 14

Aphasia.

Question 15

__________________ (also known as expressive, motor, and nofluent aphasia) is caused by damage to ______________, which is located in the dominant (usually left) frontal lobe. Individuals with this disorder speak slowly and with great difficulty. Their speech is poorly articulated and lacks normal intonation, stress, and rhythm (dysprosody), and they frequently omit conjunctions, pronouns, prepositions, and the endings of nouns and verbs.

Answer 15

• Broca’s Aphasia
• Broca’s area

Question 16

People with Broca’s Aphasia often exhibit ____________ (an inability to neame a common or familiar object, attribute, or action) and have difficulty repeating phrases, especially if phrases contain many prepositions or conjunctions. Comprehension of language is only somewhat impaired.

Answer 16

Anomia.

Question 17

___________________________ (also known as receptive, impressive, sensory, and fluent aphasia) is caused by damage to ___________________, which is located in the dominant (usually left) temporal lobe. People with this disorder have trouble understanding written and spoken language and generating meaningful language. Although their speech is rapid, seems effortless, and exhibits appropriate syntactical structure, it is largely devoid of content. These individuals usually exhibit anomia, ________________ (the substitution of words related in sound or meaning to the intended words), and problems with repetition. People with this disorder are often unaware that their speech is meaningless.

Answer 17

• Wernicke’s Aphasia
• Wernicke’s area
• Paraphasia

Question 18

Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas are connected by the ___________________, and damage to this structure can produce ______________________, which does not significantly affect language comprehension but does result in anomia, paraphasia, and impaired repetition.

Answer 18

• Arcuate fasciculus
• Conduction Aphasia

Question 19

_______________________ is caused by lesions outside Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas that disconnect these areas from other regions of the brain. If the damage isolates only Broca’s area, the individual has _____________________, which is characterized by nonfluent, effortful speech, lack of spontaneous speech, and anomia with unimpaired repetition or comprehension. If the lesion isolates only Wernicke’s area, the person has ___________________, which involves deficits in comprehension, anomia, and fluent (but meaningless) speech with unimpaired repetition.

Answer 19

• Transcortical aphasia
• Transcortical motor aphasia
• Transcortical sensory aphasia

Question 20

When Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas are both affected, the person has __________________________. People with this disorder are able to talk but have nothing to say and are unable to understand written and spoken language. They can, however, produce automatic responses (such as singing familiar songs) and repeat words, phrases, or sentences spoken by others.

Answer 20

Mixed Transcortical Aphasia.

Question 21

_____________________ is caused by widespread brain injury involving Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas as well as other areas in the left frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes, and is characterized by extensive disruption in the ability to produce and understand language. Individuals may be able to say a few words and produce automatic speech; it is often accompanied by right hemiplegia, right hemisensory loss, and right hemianopia (loss of the right visual field in both eyes).

Answer 21

Global aphasia.