Long-term Memory Flashcards
declarative memory
the conscious recall of events and detail
subdivisions of declarative memory
semantic memory
episodic memory
semantic memory
knowledge about the world
episodic memory
recollection of content and context of own events
what is semanticisation?
when some degree of semantic memory is required for episodic memory
non-declarative memory
unconscious recall of movement sequences which cannot be explicitly retrieved
subdivisions of non-declarative memory
procedural memory
priming
conditioning
procedural memory
performing actions and skills over gradual learning
priming
prior encounters with similar stimuli can influence the processing of later stimuli
semantic dementia
degeneration affecting the anterior temporal lobe, resulting in impaired semantic memory
impaired episodic memory
semantic knowledge is retained but memories cannot be related to real life (not episodic)
how is explicit and implicit memory different in encoding?
- explicit information is processed top-down as it can be reorganised
- implicit information is bottom-up as it is encoded in the same way it was perceived
how is explicit and implicit memory different in retrieval?
- explicit memory requires conscious recollection of prior experience
- implicit memory is not dependent on conscious memory that experience is being used
causes of amnesia
- acute virus infection
- PD
- brain resection as epilepsy treatment
- physical accident
- korsakoff syndrome
- psychological disorders
what type of amnesia did patient HM experience?
anterograde amnesia
caused by bilateral medial-temporal lobe resection
anterograde amnesia
forgets everything new after a few minutes
retrograde amnesia
loss of memory for information learned in the past
in anterograde amnesia, _____ ______ is still possible but there is no ________ _______
implicit learning
explicit memory
disconnecting implicit memory
patient JK had impaired implicit memory after developing PD
how was patient JK impaired?
could not perform usual procedural tasks but could still recall explicit events (declarative)
neural circuits for explicit memory
- medial temporal region
- hippocampus- amygdala
- entorhinal cortex
- parahippocampal cortex
- frontal cortex (dorso and ventro)
- connections between fronto-temporal regions
neural circuits for implicit memory
- basal ganglia
- ventral thalamus
- substantia nigra
- premotor cortex
what is dementia?
a neurological disorder caused by progressive cell death
how is dementia characterised?
by memory and another impairment:
- aphasia (language)
- apraxia (motor memory)
- agnosia (sensory memory)
- executive function/abstract thinking
degenerative dementia
have a degree of genetic cause, from cortical (AD) and subcortical (PD) areas
nondegenerative dementia
heterogenous group with diverse origin, KS, vascular dementias, infectious dementia
memory impairments in AD
- difficulty learning or retaining information
- information retrieval deficits
- episodic memory impairments
- declarative memory more than procedural
language impairments in AD
- list-generation deficits
- word finding and verbal fluency difficulties
- less complex sentence structure
- language and auditory comprehension intact
- executive function impairments
cortical dementia in AD
- cell loss in the entorhinal cortex explains early memory problems
- limbic cortex, inferior temporal cortex, and posterior parietal cortex
- spared primary sensory and motor areas
how can consolidation be evidenced?
in forgetting curves
where memory traces are most vulnerable shortly after learning
theories on forgetting
- decay (fading of memory trace) is dependent on the time elapsed
- interference (memory traces are disrupted) occurs as a result of interpolated events
cognitive neuroscience has found two stages to memory consolidation:
- temporary memory storage in the hippocampus to create traces
- transferred to cortex, which involves distributing involvement to several areas
consolidation and sleep
fewer memories formed (during sleep) led to less disruption of the consolidation process
