Lecture 4 & 5

Question 1

What are the 2 main types of memory?

Answer 1

Short term: concerns information about the immediate past

Long term: concerns information about longer periods of time

Question 2

Hernstein, Loveland & Cable’s pigeons

Answer 2

showed pigeons 80 different photographs, half contained trees which were not prominent. The others contained similar scenes without trees. Pictures shown one at a time and pigeons would peck on a key when they saw a tree and were rewarded with food.

Question 3

Hernstein, Loveland & Cable’s pigeons

How many pictures should they discriminate and what conclusions were drawn?

Answer 3

500

Pigeons have the ability to acquire concepts to categorise information

Question 4

True or false: pigeons could discriminate pictures of monet and picasso.

Answer 4

True

Question 5

How did Eodor explain categorisation of learning.

Answer 5

Innate categories: no learning involved
Exemplar learning: animal remembers instances
Feature learning: pigeons learn features and are rewarded so a positive association forms

Question 6

Short term memory & stimulus generalisation

Answer 6

Stimulus generalisation is when we show a strong conditioned response to items that are similar to the trained stimulus

Question 7

Habituation

Answer 7

A reduction in responsiveness to a stimulus as a result of repeated presentation.

Question 8

Whitlow’s experiments with rabbits

Answer 8

Whitlow presented a loud tone to rabbits in a chamber and measured the change of blood flow to their ears with each tone.

Question 9

Whitlow’s experiments with rabbits : RESULTS

Answer 9

First presentation (S1): strong response
second presentation (S2): tone after 60 seconds and weaker response observed. 

If ther interval was increased from 60 to `50 seconds S2 response = S1 response
S1 = S2 (habituation)

Question 10

How did Wagner explain in-habituation in terms of memory?

Answer 10

Representation can be in one of three states. Active states: A1 & A2 and an inactive state where the memory is not modifiable and is under the influence of the animal’s behaviour.

A1: representation is at the centre of the animal’s attention. As it decays it moves to A2 which is the periphery of the animals attention. Inactive state reached.

Question 11

Effector fatigue

Answer 11

seen of a physiological system responsible for behaviour is fatigued so the response of the stimulus is fatigued.

Question 12

Whitlow and effector fatigue

Answer 12

Not seen when different tones were used to startle the rabbits

Question 13

Explanation of fatigue (reception)

Answer 13

Cells responsible for the reception of S1 may be fatigued so less sensitive to the presentation of S2. If the two tones were presented at the same time then the same receptors are involved.

Question 14

Whitlow and reception habituation

Answer 14

Presented the same tone at S1 and S2 with a 60 second delay. Mid way through there was a flashing light or buzz. Distraction disrupted the habituation so S2 was perceived in the same way as S1 showing habituation involved memory.

Question 15

Whitlow’s conclusionsd

Answer 15

Animals have short term memory
Sample procedures involve memory
Habituation is found in many species
STM occurs in a variety of tasks
STM is decaying memory trace
Properties of STM vary according to task
Animal memory is not conscious recollection

Question 16

The radial arm maze BEFORE

Answer 16

test of short term memory. Animal allowed to visit 4/8 arms in a maze. At the end of each arm there is a food reward. In between each visit the animal returns to a central hub. After visiting 4 arms the animal is returned to a central hub and removed for a short retention interval.

Question 17

The radial arm maze AFTER

Answer 17

Animal placed back into the central hub with all 8 arms open and the animal has to avoid the new arms for the food.
Rats could do this with 8-12 arms

Question 18

The radial arm maze, Betty and Shavalia

Answer 18

Trained rats to complete radial arm maze with a one hour delay. In the interval the rats completed a second radial maze task in a different room. The second task had no effect on their memory,
Interference was seen with 3 mazes.
Memory of maze lasted 4 hours.

Question 19

Long term memory Miller & Berk

Answer 19

African Claw-toed frog will undergo metamorphosis over a period of 35 days. Tadpoles trained to move from a black to white compartment to avoid an electric shock. When tested as frogs the animals remembered to avoid the black.

Question 20

3 phases of long term retention

Answer 20

Consolidation: theories on consolidation place the most emphasis on the first 2 phases and believe that forgetting is due to passing of time.
Retention
Retrieval: theories state that the formation of a memory trace is instantaneous and once formed is intact.

Question 21

Consolidation theorists

Answer 21

claim that long term changes in the nervous system occur for long term retention of information

Question 22

Hebb

Answer 22

Memory depends on the virtually permanent formation of circuits of interconnected neurons. Consolidation and rehearsal are needed to compete with these connections.

Question 23

Duncan

Answer 23

Studies with electroconvulsive shock (ECS). Rats were trained to move from one end of a box to another when a light came on to avoid shock. ECS immediately after the trial impaired the rats ability to remember the significance of the light.

Question 24

Deweer, Sara & Hars

Answer 24

Support retrieval theories of memory.
Rats trained to run through a maze with 6 choice points. Initially 300 seconds, end 30 seconds.
After 25 day break, 150 seconds.
After 25 day break and being placed in a mesh cage to reactivate the memory, 40 seconds.

Question 25

Peter Holland

Answer 25

Believes that conditioned stimuli are able to activate perceptual mechanisms that are normally activated by the unconditioned stimuli.

Question 26

Why can we not assume that an animal has a mental experience of remembering an unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 26

This experience cannot be measured

Question 27

Peter Holland views on CS and US

Answer 27

The CS is able to activate a perceptual mechanism that is normally activated by an US.

Question 28

Konorski views on US

Answer 28

Two distinct characteristics:
specific (flavour, duration, intensity)
affective (characteristics that the US has in common with other US)

Question 29

Appetitive US

Answer 29

Food, water and the opportunity to mate. Things that lead to a state of satisfaction

Question 30

Aversive US

Answer 30

Mild electric shocks, illness and loud noise. Unpleasant stimuli.

Question 31

What did Konorski say happens when a CS activates a US?

Answer 31

The CR will mimic the UR - this is stimulus substitution

Question 32

Evidence for stimulus substitution

Answer 32

Look at CRs made during autoshaping. In pigeons if a CS is presented for a few seconds before the delivery of a US then over time the bird will start to make CRs (pecks) to the CS. The bird does not need to respond to the CS to gain a reward, but does. This is autoshaping

Question 33

What did Konorski say to expect is a CS activates a representation of the affective properties of a US?

Answer 33

Expect a preparatory response

Question 34

Example of a positive preparatory response

Answer 34

Dog salivation during a tone that signalsfood.

Question 35

Example of preparatory response for an aversive US.

Answer 35

Animal will show withdrawal response.

Question 36

Aversive US to pavlovian conditioning

Answer 36

A CS presented that signals mild footshock. CR becomes freezing during the CS due to anxiety and anticipation of the shock.
Rat also stops pressing lever for food - conditioned suppression.

Question 37

Drug tolerance effects - Pavlovian categories

Answer 37

Injection of a drug is the CS
US is the drug
UR effect of drug on body
CR opposes the effect of the drug

Question 38

Shep Siegal & drug tolerance

Answer 38

injected 2 groups of rats with morphine. Both showed tolerance after a few injections.
One group M-P-M given 12 injections of saline
Other group M-R-M had no injections
When both groups injected with morphine the drug had a greater effect on M-P-M rats.
CS-US pairing of morphine in first group was broken so CR in extinction

Question 39

Application of drug tolerance in humans

Answer 39

Instead of injections a drug can be taken in a new context there is a lower compensatory CR as the CS is different. Effect of the drug is greater.

Question 40

How can you predict a conditioned response?

Answer 40

It will mimic the animals instinctual response to the real life scenario that these conditions emulate.