Lecture 6 - Learning and Memory in Mammals I Flashcards

1
Q

By what 2 factors is memory classified?

A
  1. Temporality - the time course of information storage
  2. Nature of the information stored
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2
Q

What are the three time courses of memory?

A
  1. Working memory (on task memory)
  2. Short-term memory
  3. Long-term memory
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3
Q

Working memory is the part of short-term memory that deals with immediate processing. How is it distinct from short-term memory?

A

It allows stored information to be updated/manipulated.

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4
Q

Working memory characteristics:

  • Task …, ordered in … and … as required
  • … capacity system that temporarily holds information available for …
  • Important for … & guiding … behaviour
  • … … – few bits of information at a time
  • … after use
  • … memory that can be disturbed easily, prone to …
  • If the information is … (e.g. due to interference/distraction) there is no retrieval
A
  • Task specific, ordered in time and space as required
  • Limited capacity system that temporarily holds information available for processing
  • Important for reasoning & guiding decision-making behaviour
  • Limited capacity – few bits of information at a time
  • Deleted after use
  • Dynamic memory that can be disturbed easily, prone to interference
  • If the information is lost (e.g. due to interference/distraction) there is no retrieval
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5
Q

Explain this classic rodent working memory task:

8-arm radial maze test.

A

Every arm is baited with a piece of food. Animals are free to explore arms, but to be efficient they have to remember during the task which arm has already been visited.

The information is of no value after the task has been completed, so it’s deleted. Memory is reset for the next task.

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6
Q

Name 4 characteristics of short-term memory.

A
  • Storage of information, but information is not manipulated (e.g. remembering a phone numberto use later)
  • Limited capacity (approx. 7 items)
  • Often data rich, but not suitable to store all information in the long-term
  • Selectively transferred over to long-term memory (hopefully only pertinent information)
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7
Q

What is one difference between long-term memory and WM and STM?

A

It has possibly unlimited capacity.

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8
Q

The two classifications of long-term memory are declarative (explicit) memory and non-declarative (implicit) memory.

Name three characteristics of each classification.

A

Explicit/declarative:

  1. Recalled consciously - conscious memory
  2. Episodic (events) and semantic (facts)
  3. Flexible - multiple pieces of information are associated with the memory you recall

Implicit/non-declarative:

  1. Recalled unconsciously - unconscious memory e.g. procedural skills
  2. Inflexible - tightly connected to conditions under which the learning occurred
  3. Can be associative or non-associative
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9
Q

Explain the characteristic “flexible” of explicit/declarative memory.

A

Flexible, meaning that multiple pieces of information are associated with the memory when you recall it.

For example, “what did you have for lunch?” - you don’t only think of the sandwich, you think of where you had the sandwich, with whom you had the sandwich, etc.

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10
Q

Explain habituation: meaning, why it’s important, active or passive process.

A
  • Repeated exposure to stimulus that is not relevant will decrease response.
  • It’s important to suppress irrelevant or misleading information.
  • It’s an active process, not a passive loss of activity.
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11
Q

Explain sensitisation: meaning, why it’s important, an example.

A
  • Repeated exposure to a key stimulus will enhance the response.
  • It’s important to focus on relevant information.
  • For example, the cocktail party phenomenon (someone mentioning your name).
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12
Q

Associative memory is the learning about the relationship between two stimuli or a stimulus and a response.

What are the two forms of associative implicit memory?

A
  • Classical conditioning - Pavlov’s food paradigm
  • Operant conditioning - Skinner’s trial and error learning.
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13
Q

Name two tests of operant conditioning.

A
  • Rat in an operant box.
  • 5-choice serial reaction time task

…nog opzoeken…

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14
Q

What are the first two distinct operations of explicit learning?

A
  1. Encoding - attending to the relevant information & linking it with an established memory. Influenced by motivation.
  2. Storage - neural mechanisms by which memory is retained over time. Information is lost if it’s not consolidated.
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15
Q

Describe the last two distinct operations of explicit learning.

A
  1. Consolidation - temporary and labile information becomes more stable. This involves gene expression, protein synthesis and structural synaptic changes.
  2. Retrieval - retrieve stored information.
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16
Q

What is the unofficial 5th distinct operation of explicit learning?

A
  1. Re-consolidation - once recalled information is actually labile and can be altered slightly (false-memories).
17
Q

Why has patient H.M. been so important for ‘learning and memory’ research?

A

Studies on HM showed that memory is a distinct cerebral function, separate from other cognitive and perceptual functions, and is not just an integral part of these functions.

We discovered that the medial temporal lobe plays an important role in memory function (hippocampus, amygdala, parahippocampal cortex).

18
Q

Patient HM had uncontrollable temporal lobe epilepsy, bilateral lesion of the temporal lobes. Even though, big bits of the brain had been removed:

A
  • Same IQ
  • Working memory and semantic memory intact
  • No retrograde amnesia
  • Intact motor skills, but would forget he’d done the task the day before
19
Q

Patient HM had devastating and specific anterograde amnesia. What does this mean?

A

Memory only lasts a couple of minutes. New short-term memories are not converted into long-term memory.

20
Q

Brain areas involved in different type of learning:

  • Neocortex
  • Prefrontal cortex
  • Parietal lobe
  • Cerebellum
  • Occipital lobe
  • Temporal lobe:
    • Hippocampus
    • Amygdala
      *
A
  • Neocortex = storage place for long-term memory, tends to be specialized.
  • Prefrontal cortex = executive function, working memory, influences memory.
  • Parietal lobe = navigation.
  • Cerebellum = motor memory (e.g. riding a bike)
  • Occipital lobe = visual processing.
  • Temporal lobe:
    • Hippocampus = memory encoding, consolidation and retrieval.
    • Amygdala = emotional memory.
21
Q

The Morris Water Maze: developed as a simple spatial task that avoids olfactory cues in the maze. Animals are trained to find submerged platform to escape from the water. External cues in the room are used for navigation.

What are the measuring parameters of this task?

What is expected as the animal progresses through the days?

A

Parameters:

  • Time to find the platform (latency)
  • Lenght of the swim path measured (distance)

As animal progresses through the days: the path it takes to get to the platform is shorter and it takes shorter time.

22
Q

Explain the memory recall test (probe trial) of the morris water maze.

A

The platform is taken out of the maze to find out where the animal is searching. If a memory has been formed the animals should spend more time in the quadrant where the platform used to be.

This is impaired in rats with hippocampal lesion and in mice with B-amyloid (dementia).

23
Q

Functions of the hippocampus:

In rodents, what will a lesion of the hippocampus impair?

In humans, what will a lesion of the hippocampus impair?

A

In rodents, lesion of the hippocampus impairs complex association learning, spatial learning and memory, and memory consolidation.

In humans, hippocampal lesions impair transfer of short-term memory to long-term memory (a problem with encoding or consolidation?).

24
Q

Hippocampus plays a crucial role in … short-term memories to … memories by processing … and temporarily storing them prior to … storage in the … .

A

Hippocampus plays a crucial role in converting short-term memories to long-term memories by processing new memories and temporarily storing them prior to permanent storage in the cortex.