Memory

Question 1

Which type of memory is affected in Alzheimer’s disease?

Answer 1

Autobiographical memory

Question 2

How does memory occur?

Answer 2

Attention from sensory input enters short term memory and repetition through encoding allows it to enter long term memory.

Question 3

What is attention bottleneck?

Answer 3

Limited capacity for attention in short term memory

Question 4

What causes long term memory retrieval failure?

Answer 4

Interference due to similar memory, different location from the original area and encoding failure

Question 5

How is long term memory encoded which reduces interference?

Answer 5

Encoding memory which is associating it with a feature, especially via semantics (applying a meaning to it.) Also, retrieving in the same area in which you learnt.

Question 6

What causes short term memory retrieval failure?

Answer 6

Distractions due to the attention bottleneck

Question 7

What is amnesia?

Answer 7

Loss of long term memory due to damage to the hippocampus and its associated structures such as the amygdala, dorsal lateral thalamus and the fornix and mamillary bodies.

Question 8

What is the cause of amnesia?

Answer 8

Damage to the medial temporal lobes (hippocampus, amygdala, etc) due to infection via herpes simplex encephalitis which spreads via the facial and cranial nerves to the brain. Anoxia which can be caused eg by CO poisoning, head injury, Alzheimer’s or Korsakoff’s long term alcoholic syndrome.

Question 9

What is Korsakoff’s syndrome?

Answer 9

Non-progressive type of dementia caused by chronic alcohol misuse which damages the thalamus and hypothalamus.

Question 10

What is the temporal gradient of amnesia?

Answer 10

Spectrum of amnesia- retrograde amensia is issues with memory before the injury and antrograde amnesia is following the injury. Amnesia generally has lack of Long-term memory following the injury and loss of memory shortly before the injury.

Question 11

What is preserved in amnesia?

Answer 11

Semantic information (facts with meaning), childhood memory and long term-unconscious memory through motor action. This indicates this is not stored in the hippocampus.

Question 12

What are the memory systems?

Answer 12

Divided into long term and short term memory. Long term memory is split into a non-declarative memory branch and declarative memory.

Question 13

What is non-declarative memory?

Answer 13

Memory which includes perceptual priming (identifying two similarly worded objects) classical conditioning and physical skills and habits

Question 14

What is declarative memory?

Answer 14

Includes episodic memory stored in the hippocampus and semantic memory stored in the neocortex

Question 15

What is the role of the hippocampus?

Answer 15

For episodic memory and linking aspects of a memory together such as location, place and time

Question 16

What is preserved in amnesia?

Answer 16

Long term memory from childhood and non-declarative memory because this is stored in the neocortex surrounding the hippocampus

Question 17

What is semantic dementia?

Answer 17

Subtype of frontotemporal dementia. There is damage to the anterior temporal lobes which leads to loss of semantic memory and childhood memory.

Loss of:
Distant episodic and semantic memory, visual agnosia

Preserved:
Recent episodic memory, phonation (making sounds) and syntax (language), visuospatial skills (using directions by reading a map), writing skills, abstract thinking.

Question 18

Where are the stores of declarative long term memory?

Answer 18

Hippocampus and anterior temporal lobes.

Question 19

Which areas of the brain stores episodic memory?

Answer 19

Hippocampus

Question 20

Which area of the brain stores semantic memory?

Answer 20

Anterior temporal lobes

Question 21

Role of the inferior temporal cortex

Answer 21

Semantic memory of objects

Question 22

Role of parahippocampal area

Answer 22

Semantic memory of location