Lecture 4: Memory and forgetting

Question 1

Is episodic memory impaired in temporal lobe amnesia

Answer 1

yes long term episodic memory is impaired

Question 2

semantic memory

Answer 2

• ## refers to the memory of meaning, understanding, general knowledge about the world, and other concept based knowledge unrelated to specific experiences

Question 3

impact of temporal lobe amnesia on semantic memory

Answer 3

• semantic memory encoded prior to trauma is relatively intact
• however the ability to gain new semantic knowledge is impaired following the amnesia onset

Question 4

skill learning

Answer 4

• intact post trauma
• patient has no memory of learning the skill but is still able to do it

Question 5

priming

Answer 5

• ability of a tiny piece of info to leave a trace, so that it alters your behaviour/memory later
• priming is spared in temporal lobe amnesia
• that is, even though people do not explicitly remember seeing the priming word, their nervous system has been implicitly affected by it

Question 6

habits

Answer 6

• habit formation is a process by which behavioural control shifts from goal dependence to context
• habits are intact in temporal lobe amnesia
• could also still potentially develop habits after his surgery

Question 7

conditioning

Answer 7

a fundamental learning process where a behaviour becomes more less likely to occur based on associations with specific stimuli in the environment

Question 8

implicit/procedural memory

Answer 8

• includes skill learning, habits, priming and conditioning
• procedural memory is the type of implicit memory that enables us to carry out commonly learned tasks without thinking about them
• though we can do such tasks fairly easily, its often hard to verbalize exactly how we do them

Question 9

explicit/declarative memory

Answer 9

• ones you can describe
• the conscious recollection of facts and events
  subdivisions = episodic (personal experiences) and semantic (general knowledge)
• this memory is whats impacted by temporal love amnesia

Question 10

memory errors contributing to forgetting

Answer 10

• transcience/memory decay
• blocking/retrieval failure
• absentmindedness/encoding failure
• persistence

Question 11

transience memory/decay

Answer 11

• a change in the biology of the memory trace, weakening connections between neurons?
  Type: forgetting

Definition: reduced memory overtime

Example: forgetting the plot of a movie

Question 12

blocking/retrieval failure

Answer 12

Type: forgetting

Definition: inability to remember needed information

Example: failing to recall the name of a person you meet on the street

Question 13

absentmindedness/encoding failure

Answer 13

Type: forgetting

Definition: reduced memory due to failing to pay attention

Example: losing your keys or forgetting a lunch date

Question 14

persistence

Answer 14

Type: remembering

Definition: the resurgence of unwanted or disturbing memories one would like to forget

Example: remembering an embarrassing faux pas

Question 15

interference

Answer 15

other info interferes with your ability to retrieve a memory trace

Question 16

retroactive interference

Answer 16

new learning interferes with old

Question 17

proactive interference

Answer 17

old learning interferes with new

Question 18

feeling of knowing

Answer 18

• intact in amnesia
• blocking/retrieval failure
• the inability to access specific info despite knowing it, often due to interference from other memories

Question 19

absentmindedness/encoding failure

Answer 19

the result of shallow encoding of events usually due to a failure to pay attention

Question 20

memory persistence and trauma

Answer 20

• three primary symptom clusters after an event that elicited fear, helplessness or horror
  1. avoidance symptoms, including loss of interest in social situations and emotional detachment
  2. psychophysiological reactivity in response to trauma-related stimuli, including exaggerated startle, hyper vigilance, elevated perspiration and shortness of breath
  3. re-experiencing the traumatic event through intrusive thoughts, nightmares, flashbacks and related phenomena that are often produced by reminders of the traumatic event (PTSD)

Question 21

memory for traumatic events

Answer 21

• in most cases memory of a traumatic event is enhanced
  arousal attention –> enhanced memory
• this is bc during the time of trauma you are very aroused = more likely to remember the event
• poor memory following trauma, is much less common and when it occurs, may be a result of context effects or a disruption of the biological processes

Question 22

errors contributing to memory distortion

Answer 22

• misattribution
• bias
• suggestibility

Question 23

misattribution

Answer 23

• distortion
• assigning a memory to the wrong source
  eg: falsely thinking that Richard Shriffrin is famous because his name is well known

Question 24

bias

Answer 24

• distortion
• influence of current knowledge on memory for past events
• remembering past attitudes as similar to current attitudes even though the past attitudes have changed

Question 25

suggestibility

Answer 25

• distortion
• altering a memory because of misleading information
• developing false memories for events that did not happen

Question 26

consolidation

Answer 26

• memory is not a video recorder, its a active process during which distortions can occur
• memory is a reconstructive process that builds on previous and current knowledge
  consolidation = the process by which newly found, fragile memories become stable and long lasting