Memory Flashcards
What is learning?
Acquisition of new knowledge of skills
What is memory?
The retention of learned information
What are the 2 types of memory?
1.) Declarative
2.) Non-declarative
What is declarative memory?
Memory of facts and events
What is non-declarative memory?
Non-facts that are often subconscious (think muscle memory)
What is another name for non-declarative memory?
Implicit memory
What are 3 subcategories of non-declarative/implicit memory?
1.) Procedural; how to do things/habits
2.) Classical conditioning
3.) Emotional responses (often mix with innate instincts)
What are the 2 ways that Procedural Memory is built?
1.) Non-associative learning
2.) Associative learning
What is non-associative learning?
Change in response over time to the same stimulus
What are the 2 types of non-associative learning?
1.) Habituation
2.) Sensitization
What is habituation?
Learning to ignore a stimulus that has no meaning to you
What is sensitization?
Repeated intensification of response to a stimulus that previously had less/no meaning
What are 2 types of associative learning?
1.) Classical conditioning
2.) Instrumental conditioning
What is associative learning?
The formation of associations between two events
What is classical conditioning?
Pairing a stimulus that evokes a response to a second stimulus that normally does not evoke that response
What is instrumental conditioning?
Pairing a response to a meaningful stimulus (punishment or reward)
What is another name for declarative memory?
Explicit memory
What are 2 types of declarative memory?
1.) Episodic
2.) Semantic
What is episodic memory?
Memory of autobiographical life experiences
What is semantic memory?
Fact recall
What is long-term memory?
Can be recalled days, weeks, months, years later
What is short-term memory?
Held for minutes or hours; vulnerable to disruption
What is memory consolidation?
Converting a subset of ST memories into LT memories
What is working memory?
Very short duration; only lasts for seconds
How do you store information from working memory?
Rehearsal or repetition
What part of the brain is believed to be involved in working memory?
Pre-frontal cortex; humans/animals with lesions here perform more poorly on working memory tasks
What is a test used to check someone’s working memory?
Wisconsin card sorting test
What is amnesia?
Loss of memory or ability to learn
What is disassociated amnesia?
Amnesia without any other symptoms/pathologies
What are the 2 types of amnesia?
1.) Retrograde
2.) Anterograde
What is retrograde amnesia?
Loss of declarative memories from prior to the amnesia-inducing event
What is characteristic of the most common form of retrograde amnesia?
Loss of recent memories and retention of oldest memories
What is anterograde amnesia?
Loss of ability to form new declarative memories following amnesia-inducing event
What is characteristic of the most common form of anterograde amnesia?
Harder/slower to learn with more reps needed to create memories
What is transient global amnesia?
Anterograde amnesia that lasts for a period of hours or days
Combined with retrograde amnesia for recent events prior to the amnesia-inducing injury
What can cause transient global amnesia?
1.) Drugs
2.) Cerebral ischemia
3.) Concussive head injuries
What were 4 results of H.M.’s amnesia?
1.) Limited ability to learn new famous faces
2.) Some retrograde amnesia for more recent events
3.) Able to form new procedural memories
4.) Profound anterograde amnesia
What are the 3 major roles of the hippocampus?
1.) Binding sensory inputs together for memory consolidation
2.) Spatial memory for location of important things
3.) Storage of short-term memories for an undetermined time period
What were the results of the monkey models of MTL amnesia?
1.) Showed normal working memory
2.) Impaired memory consolidation/anterograde
What is synaptic consolidation?
Sensory areas in the cortex input to the hippocampus
What are the names for the 2 phases of the memory consolidation model?
1.) Sensory consolidation
2.) Systems consolidation
What is systems consolidation?
Memory moves from hippocampus back to variety of areas in the cortex
What are the 3 components of the multiple trace model of consolidation?
1.) Hippocampus is required to access LT memories
2.) Each time this happens, synaptic connections get stronger
3.) Makes older and more frequently accessed memories harder to lose with partial hippo damage
What structure is involved with procedural memory?
Corpus striatum of the basal ganglia
What are 2 components of Parkinson’s disease?
1.) Degeneration of substantia nigra
2.) Loss of dopamine release to the corpus striatum
What are signs of Parkinson’s disease?
Muscle tremors, rigidity, initiating movements, postural disturbances
What are 2 components of Huntington’s disease?
1.) Autosomal dominant hereditary disorder
2.) Affects the caudate and lentiform nuclei and parts of the parietal lobe of the cortex
What age does Huntington’s disease set on?
Around 30-40
What are signs of Huntington’s disease?
Cognitive deficits, dysarthric speech, chorea movements
What are 4 similarities of Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease?
1.) Both attach the BG
2.) Main symptoms are motor dysfunction
3.) Also have cognitive and learning components
4.) Major learning effects are in procedural memory more than declarative
Do patients with amnesia struggle more with declarative memory tasks or procedural tasks?
Declarative tasks
