Lecture 5 - Neural Mechanisms of Learning and Memory

Question 1

(lecture):

read slide 2 in the relevant powerpoint.

Answer 1

(lecture):

Question 2

(lecture):

Draw and label a neuron.

Why is does information travel very fast across neurones?

Answer 2

(lecture):

See slide 3 in the relevant powerpoint.

Information travels fast by jumping from each nodes of ranvier down the axon.

Question 3

(lecture):

How do you measure what happens inside a neuron?

Answer 3

(lecture):

You can record the axon potentials of neurones.

See slide 4-6 of the relevant powerpoint.

Question 4

(lecture):

Read about the studies listed on slide 7. (and read slide 8)

Answer 4

(lecture):

Question 5

(lecture):

Describe what type of neural circuit supports memory.

Answer 5

(lecture):

See slide 9+10 in the relevant powerpoint.

Question 6

(lecture):

Aplysia Californica is a type of sea slug, they have quite large brains that we can measure. The slugs can’t perform complex cognitive processes, so what behaviour should we choose to measure learning?

Answer 6

(lecture):

A simple form of learning:

Habituation
- Where a model stimulus will elicit some sort of reaction to a novel stimulus, if that behaviour is repeated over several minutes or days, you become used to it and do not produce a reaction.

Question 7

(lecture):

When measuring habituation in sea slugs, what response/reaction do we measure?

Answer 7

(lecture):

The gill withdrawal response.
(it will withdraw the gill inside its own body to protect it from damage)

If you touch a snails eye multiple time eventually it doesn’t retract, it just keeps its eye there.

See slide 12-16 in relevant powerpoint.

Question 8

(lecture):

Read slides 18-23 in the relevant powerpoint.

Answer 8

(lecture):

Make notes if you’d like.

Question 9

(lecture):

Example of essay question
What is the process by which neurons communicate with each other and how is memory supported by such processes?

Answer 9

(lecture):

Question 10

(lecture):

MCQ:

According to Eric Kandel, what is the cellular process called that leads to habituation in Aplysia:

A. Synaptic excitation

B. Pre-pulse inhibition

C. Spike modulation

D. Homosynaptic depression.

Answer 10

(lecture):

D. Homosynaptic depression.

Question 11

(reading Chapter 1 esp pp 31-47)

Answer 11

(reading Chapter 1 esp pp 31-47)

Make notes if you want or just read

Question 12

(reading Chapter 12 esp pp 359-362)

Answer 12

(reading Chapter 12 esp pp 359-362)

Make notes if you want or just read