Lecture 3: Memory Disorders Flashcards
What is Memory?
The retention (storage) of information that can be revealed at a later time
How was knowledge preserved from the 5th - 10th century AD?
Through oral tradition teaching
How was knowledge preserved in the 15th century?
The printing press
Why does it make sense to want to fix dementia?
Because dementia is a major cause of memory loss and costs a lot of money
What did Hermann Ebbinghaus do?
Used himself and developed the first methods for assessing learning and memory of a controlled experience
Who developed the first methods for assessing learning and memory of a controlled experience?
Hermann Ebbinghaus
What constituted Ebbinghaus’s method for assessing memory?
He made himself remember nonsense syllables and found that he could recall less and less nonsense syllable as time passed
What are the characteristics of STM?
They have rapid decay and they are vulnerable to disruption
What are the characteristics of LTM?
They have a slow decay and are less vulnerable to disruption
What causes the consolidation of STM?
Rehearsal and practice
What is Reconsolidation?
When LTM can be can be retrieved to be updated
What happens to LTM once it enters Reconsolidation?
It enters the volatile short term state before going back to LTM
What is the state of LTM?
It is in an inactive state
What are the two reasons memory can be disrupted?
- Storage failure
* Retrieval failure
What is the amnesia like in Storage Failure?
The amnesia is permanent
What is the amnesia like in Retrieval Failure?
The amnesia is temporary
What occurs in Retrieval failure?
The memory is there its just that the brain mechanisms in pulling out that memory are impaired
What do the Seven Sins of Memory highlight?
The fragility and plasticity of the brains memory systems
What are the Seven Sins of Memory?
- Transience
- Absent-mindedness
- Blocking
- Misattribution
- Suggestibility
- Bias
- Persistence
What is Transience?
The weakening of memory over time
What is Absent-mindedness?
Deficient interface between attention and memory (when we don’t pay enough attention to a certain task or event so we don’t remember the event)
What is Blocking?
Failed search for info (tip of the tongue)
What is an example of blocking?
Proper name anomia
What is Misattribution?
Assigning a memory to an incorrect source