Lecture 20: Memory and learning 1 Flashcards
What are implicit memories?
memories not consciously recalled
What are examples of implicit memory?
habituation, sensitisation, classical conditioning, operant conditioning and procedural
What are explicit memories?
memories that are consciously recalled
What are examples of explicit memories?
memory of facts
if short term, sometimes called working memory
When does habituation occur?
when a non-threatening stimulus is repeated regularly
stimulus ultimately is not perceived
What is sensitisation produced by?
alarming stimuli
What happens during sensitisation?
become more sensitive to all sensory modalities
extinguishes habituation -> needs to be re-established
What is classical conditioning?
pairing an extraneous stimulus with a reward (or punishment) leads to the extraneous stimulus causing the unconscious behaviours normally produced by the reward
What is operant conditioning?
rewarding particular behaviours ultimately causes those behaviours to become habitual -> also applies to punishment
What is procedural memory?
memory of how things are done
unconscious motor memory
What are the limitations of procedural memory?
can consciously initiate the action, but cannot describe the specifics of how the action is implemented
What is procedural memory laid down by? What can procedural memory be modified by?
continuous repetition of an action or activity
can be modified by consciously controlling the action e.g. improving golf swing or batting technique
What is explicit memory also called?
declarative memory and is divided into semantic and episodic memory
What is semantic memory?
content, meanings of words, sights, sounds, etc.
What is episodic memory?
spatial and temporal relationships between different semantic memories
What is semantic and episodic memory important for?
language
What is the role of working memory?
stores newly acquired information and retrieved memories (traces last seconds to minutes)
What does working memory depend on?
the prefrontal cortex
also lateral intraparietal cortex
What are the several subdivisions of working memory?
central executive, phonological loop and spatiotemporal sketchpad
How is each component of working memory distributed?
distributed across a different set of brain regions
What does explicit memory require for transfer from working to long term memory?
hippocampal formation
What does transfer of information into long term memory depend on?
repetition
What enhances a long term memory?
recall into working memory
form of repetition
What does repetition alter?
strength of active synapses, laying down an activity pattern that can be recalled (Hebb’s theory)
What has a role in some memories?
neurogenesis in dentate gyrus of hippocampus
What is the hippocampus?
primitive cerebral cortex located medially in temporal lobe
What is the role of the hippocampus?
initial site of explicit memory storage and active during explicit memory consolidation
What does damage to the hippocampus prevent?
new long term explicit memories but does not alter consolidated memories -> implicit memories still form
Where is explicit memory stored?
primarily stored in the neocortex once consolidated -> often involves “reliving” original stimulus
What does it mean if a memory is associative?
related information is recalled together
What does recall of stored memory of an event activate?
parts of cortex active when event was experienced (event is partially relived)
What happens during long term memory formation?
continual interaction between neocortex and hippocampus
