lecture 26: learning and memory Flashcards
learning
change in organisms behavior as a result of experience
memory
ability to recall or recognize previous experience
memory trace: mental represnetation of previous experience corresponding to physical change in brain synapses
what is pavlovian conditioning
learning procedure whereby neutral stimulus such as tone elicits a response becasue of its repeated pairing with some event such as delivery of food
pavlovian conditioning stimuluses
unconditioned stimulus: triggers unconditioned response naturally and automatically
unconditioned response: unlearned naturallly occuring response to unconditioned stimulus
conditioned stimulus: originally neutral stimulus that triggers conditioned response after association with unconditioned stimulus
conditioned response: learned response to formerly neutral conditioned stimulus
eye blink conditioning
blinking to puff of air UR
tone CS paired with puff to eye US
blink in response to CS (CR)
- driven by cerebellar circuits)
fear conditioning
tone presented before brief mild electric shock
when tone presented without shock, animal shows fear
difference from eye blink is emotional response recruits amygdala
operant conditioning
learning procedure in which consequences of behavior increase or decrease probability of behavior occuring again
consequences: obtaining reward, punishment
behavior: pressing bar
thorndikes puzzle box
cat learned that its actions have consequences- touch releasing mechanism and learn that it can open door
repeat behaviors from before door opened
2 categories of memory
implicit, unconscious memory: demonstrate knowledge but cannot explicitly retrieve information
- priming
explicit conscious memory: can retrieve item and indicate that they know they retrieved the correct item
amnesia
partial or total memory loss
implicit memory is usually preserved
gollin figure test
testing implicit memory
- participants identify image on successive presentations
- participants identify image sooner indicating some form of memory
pursuit rotr task
participants hold a stylus on a rotating disc that revolveson a turntable
presented with same task a week later, both controls and amnesiacs take less time to perform it
amnesiacs cant remember performing task before
testing explicit memory
verbal recall: word lists
visual recall: complex figures
spatial recall: navigation paradigms
contextual recall: of stories
declarative memory
ability to recount what one knows, to detail the time, place and circumstances of events often lost in amnesia
procedural memory
ability to recall a movement sequence or how to perform some act or behavior
encoding memories
implicit information processed bottom up or data driven
epxlicit information processed top down or conceptually driven
processing short vs long term memories
short term (a few mins): info held in memory briefly then discarded, involves frontal lobes long term (indefinite): info is held in memory indefinitely, perhaps for a lifetime, involves temporal lobe
storing memories
information from each sensory modality is processed and stored in different areas
ex. color words, action words
episodic memory and amnesia
autobiographical memory for events pegged to specific place and times contexts
amnesia: inability to recall any personal experience, frontal lobe injury
highly superior autobiographical memory
people display virtually complete recall for events in their lives, usually beginning around age 10
many can describe any event including date and day of event
0 increased gray matter in temporal and parietal lobes, increased size in fiber projection between temporal and frontal lobes
HM
seizures in amygdala, hippocampus and subcortical structures were removed bilaterally (medial temporal)
severe amnesia- lacking explicit memory
- above average IQ and could recall childhood
- implicit memory intact
JK
impaired implicit memory with intact explicit memory
parkinsons: damage to basal ganglia
- impaired ability to perform tasks but could recall explicit events
