Lecture 8 Flashcards
Why do we study memory
Memories are crucial to existence
What is learning
A behavioural experience associated with change. Where the change allows some form of adaptation - not from brain damage
What is memory
The encoding of the learning experience. Physical basis of memory is the change in the brain
What does biological psychology question about learning and memory
The psychology of these phenomena. The brain regions that are involved. Their cellular basis in terms of neurons and the connections between the,
What is associative learning
Based on associations between different phenomena
What is non-associated learning
Not based on associations. Habituation
What are habituations
Repeated exposure to a stimulus that offers no threat/benefit
Discuss Pavlov (1927)’s classical conditioning
It is an early idea that there in a connection that develops between two brain areas. Conditioned stimulus followed by unconditioned stimulus elicits an unconditioned response. After a while, the conditioned stimulus leads to a conditioned response.
Discus operant conditioning
Response is followed by a reinforcement or a punishment.
What are the functions of both associative and non-associative learning
Offer an adaptive advantage. Allow organisms to respond to the environment. Develop efficient responses to positive stimuli. Develop efficient avoidance of negative stimuli
Where did Karl Lashley suggest learning occurs and discuss this
He built on the idea that two areas in the brain develop a connection and thus searched for the engram - a physical representation of what has been learned. Made deep cuts in the rats brain to try and find the connection - learning was impaired by large lesions but not in a single area
What were the conclusions of Lashley’s study trying to find where learning occurs
Equipotentially - all parts of cortex contribute equally to complex behaviours. Mass action - cortex works as a whole
Discuss Richard Thompsons search for the Engram
Found increased response in lateral interpositus nucleus (LIP) in the cerebellum. He studied classical conditioning responses in rabbits by using a puff of air in the eye after a tone to make the rabbit blink.
Discuss a problem with Thompson’s findings of a change in the LIP
Just because an area changes during an activity, it doesn’t mean that learning takes place there - it may be a chain of structures. When LIP was suppressed during conditioning, the rabbits didn’t learn.
What have later experiments shown about the red nucleus
It is crucial for performance of a conditioned response, but not learning
What are the conclusions about LIP and red nucleus in terms of learning
Lateral interpositus nucleus in the cerebellum = an area of learning. Red nucleus = performance of learned behaviour. BUT complex tasks involve many different brain areas, working as a coordinated whole.
What did Hebb (1949) suggest about memory
The processes for immediate recall and past-event recall were different. Short term memory & Long term memory
Discuss the differences between short term memory and long term memory
Short term = limited capacity, lost after a few seconds. Long term = unlimited capacity (so far) and hints help you reconstruct these memories. BOTH = meaningful context helps us remember (consolidation)
Discuss the concept Baddeley & Hitch (1974) introduced
Working memory - stored information that is still in use, information that is still relevant and information crucial for complex cognitive activities
How would you find out which brain areas are used for working memory
Delayed response tasks - testing participants responses to stimuli they saw/heard a short while before, the record activity in the brain during the delay - where is this information being stored?
What changes at the cellular level during learning
Habituation - decrease in response to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly, e.g. squirting sea mollusc in the gills. Sensitization - increased responses to unpleasant stimuli after a shock, highly sensitive to sudden noises etc in the days after intense acute pain. Changes in synaptic activity produces behavioural plasticity - allowing organisms to respond appropriately to the environment
Discuss Hebb (1949)’s proposition of the hebbian synapse
Simultaneous activity in the pre-synaptic and post-synpatic neurons increase the effectiveness of each action potential, so if an axon stimulates a cell that has recently been stimulated, the response is increased
What is Long-term Potentiation
Axons bombard a dendrite with a rapid series of stimuli which leaves the synapses more responsive (Potentiated) for a period of time
What is Long-term Depression
When axons are active at low frequency, response reduces
