Lecture 7. Learning, Memory & Amnesia

Question 1

Deals with how experience changes the brain

Answer 1

learning

Question 2

Deals with how these changes (experiences) are stored and subsequently reactivated

Answer 2

memory

Question 3

Any pathological loss of memory

Answer 3

amnesia

Question 4

amnesia can be ___ or ____ loss of memory and is either ____ or ____

Answer 4

• partial
• complete
• temporary
• permanent

Question 5

2 main forms of amnesia

Answer 5

• retrograde amnesia
• anterograde amnesia

Question 6

removal of the medial portions of both temporal lobes, including most of the hippocampus, amygdala, and adjacent cortex

Answer 6

bilateral medial temporal lobectomy

Question 7

both hemispheres are experiencing seizure at the same time

Answer 7

general seizure

Question 8

classic test of verbal long-term memory

Answer 8

digit span +1 test

Question 9

An array of 9 blocks was spread out on a board in front and was asked to watch the neuropsychologist touch a sequence of them and then to repeat the same sequence of touches

Answer 9

block-tapping memory span test

Question 10

task was to draw a line within the boundaries of a star-shaped target by watching his hand in a mirror

Answer 10

mirror-drawing test

Question 11

subject was presented 5 sets of fragmented drawings having 20 items

Answer 11

incomplete-pictures test

Question 12

A tone was sounded just before a puff of air was administered to his eye; these trials were repeated until the tone alone elicited an eye blink.

Answer 12

pavlovian conditioning

Question 13

Amnesia that is associated with bilateral damage to the medial temporal lobes

Answer 13

medial temporal lobe amnesia

Question 14

2 memory systems

Answer 14

• implicit memory
• explicit memory

Question 15

Information that you remember unconsciously and effortlessly

Answer 15

implicit memory

Question 16

Information that you have to consciously work to remember

Answer 16

explicit memory

Question 17

reason why there are two memory systems

Answer 17

flexibility

Question 18

flexible memory system

Answer 18

explicit memories

Question 19

not flexible memory system

Answer 19

implicit memories

Question 20

test that assesses implicit memory in which participants are asked to examine a list of words

Answer 20

repetition priming tests

Question 21

2 categories of explicit memories

Answer 21

• semantic memories
• episodic memories

Question 22

category of explicit memory that is for general facts or information

Answer 22

semantic memories

Question 23

category of explicit memories that is for specific moments in one’s life

Answer 23

episodic memories

Question 24

disorder of memory that is most common in people who have consumed large amounts of alcohol

Answer 24

korsakoff’s syndrome

Question 25

korsakoff's syndrome is largely attributed to brain dysfunction associated with the ______ that often accompanies heavy alcohol consumption

Answer 25

thiamine deficiency

Question 26

korsakoff's syndrome is characterized by severe _____ and ____

Answer 26

- anterograde amnesia - retrograde amnesia

Question 27

essential for normal brain function

Answer 27

thiamine

Question 28

progressive disease beginning with mild memory loss and possibly leading to loss of the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to the environment

Answer 28

alzheimer's disease

Question 29

alzheimer's is the most common type of _____

Answer 29

dementia

Question 30

symptoms of alzheimer's disease

Answer 30

- Mild Deterioration of Memory - Progressive Cognitive Decline - Severe Dementia

Question 31

initial sign of alzheimer's disease

Answer 31

mild deterioration of memory

Question 32

temporary disturbance of consciousness produced by a nonpenetrating head injury is the most common cause of amnesia

Answer 32

concussion

Question 33

transient state of altered brain function that may follow a traumatic brain injury

Answer 33

posttraumatic amnesia

Question 34

effects of closed-head injury on memory

Answer 34

- coma - retrograde amnesia - period of confusion - anterograde amnesia

Question 35

pathological state of unconsciousness

Answer 35

coma

Question 36

provided a means of testing the assumption that the amnesia resulting from medial temporal lobe damage is entirely the consequence to hippocampal damage

Answer 36

monkey version of delayed nonmatching-to-sample test

Question 37

An apparatus representing the version of the delayed nonmatching-to-sample test for rats

Answer 37

mumby box

Question 38

play a major role only in explicit episodic memories

Answer 38

medial temporal lobe

Question 39

intact rats placed at various locations in a circular pool of murky water rapidly learn to swim to a stationary platform hidden just below the surface

Answer 39

morris water maze test

Question 40

several (e.g., eight) arms radiate out from a central starting chamber, and the same few arms are baited with food each day

Answer 40

radial arm maze test

Question 41

memory for the **general principles and skills** that are required to perform a task

Answer 41

reference memory

Question 42

**temporary memory** that is necessary for the successful performance of a task on which one is **currently working**

Answer 42

working memory

Question 43

type of neuron found in the hippocampus that respond only when a subject is in specific locations

Answer 43

place cells

Question 44

**area** of the medial temporal cortex that is a **major source of neural signals** to the hippocampus

Answer 44

entorhinal cortex

Question 45

**entorhinal neurons** that each have a repeating pattern of evenly spaced **hexagon-shaped** place fields that tile the surface of an environment

Answer 45

entorhinal grid cells

Question 46

location that causes each place cell to fire

Answer 46

place field

Question 47

major structures of medial temporal lobes

Answer 47

- hippocampus - amygdala - medial temporal cortex

Question 48

plays a role in **various forms of memory**

Answer 48

hippocampus

Question 49

plays a role in **emotion**

Answer 49

amygdala

Question 50

lies adjacent to the hippocampus and amygdala

Answer 50

medial temporal cortex

Question 51

areas of medial temporal cortex

Answer 51

- entorhinal cortex - perirhinal cortex - parahippocampal cortices

Question 52

type of graph that represents the occurrence of **neuronal trips** with respect to time

Answer 52

neural coding

Question 53

Highly selective and invariant

Answer 53

jennifer aniston neurons

Question 54

neuroscientists insert an **opsin gene** into particular neurons, after which they can then use light to either hyperpolarize or depolarize those neurons

Answer 54

optogenetics

Question 55

neurons that undergo a persistent change as the result of experience

Answer 55

engram cells

Question 56

2 identification of engram cells

Answer 56

- tagging stage - manipulate stage

Question 57

the neurons that are active during the learning task are induced to express opsins while an animal engages in a particular learning task

Answer 57

tagging stage

Question 58

the previously active neurons are now either inhibited or excited by **using light to influence** the activity of the opsin-tagged neurons

Answer 58

manipulate stage

Question 59

5 brain areas implicated in memory

Answer 59

- inferotemporal cortex - amygdala - prefrontal cortex - cerebellum - striatum

Question 60

Plays an important role in storing memories of **visual input** and is critically important for the **visual recognition** of objects

Answer 60

inferotemporal cortex

Question 61

Play a special role in memory for the **emotional** significance of experiences

Answer 61

amygdala

Question 62

Extensively involved in human memory, including **working memory processes** that support retention of information across short delays, and **episodic long-term memory** encoding and retrieval processes

Answer 62

prefrontal cortex

Question 63

participate in the storage of memories of learned **sensorimotor skills**

Answer 63

cerebellum

Question 64

Store memories for consistent relationships between **stimuli and responses**

Answer 64

striatum

Question 65

striatum is one of the main structures involved in _____

Answer 65

habit formation

Question 66

striatum-based learning =

Answer 66

habit-formation

Question 67

phenomenon that showed that there is a facilitation of synaptic transmission following high-frequency electrical stimulation applied to presynaptic neurons

Answer 67

long-term potentiation

Question 68

2 key properties of LTP

Answer 68

- LTP can last for a long time - Many forms of LTP develop only if there is co-occurrence of activity in the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons

Question 69

prominent at the synapses at which LTP is commonly studied

Answer 69

NMDA receptor

Question 70

variability of LTP

Answer 70

- long term depression - metaplasticity

Question 71

occurs in response to prolonged low-frequency stimulation of presynaptic neurons

Answer 71

long term depression

Question 72

refers to the fact that LTP and/or LTD induction can be modulated by prior synaptic activity

Answer 72

metaplasticity

Question 73

long term depression is the ____ of LTP

Answer 73

flip-side

Question 74

2 neuroplastic changes that occur outside the synapse

Answer 74

- epigenetic mechanisms in the cell nucleus - changes to the structure of axons

Question 75

remembering virtually nothing of the events of our infancy

Answer 75

infantile amnesia

Question 76

substances that are thought to improve memory

Answer 76

nootropics

Question 77

nootropics are also called

Answer 77

smart drugs