Memory Flashcards
What is memory?
Process involving interactions of the brain/behaviour/environment (biopsychosocial)
Sensory Memory
- Shortest-term element of memory
- First level of memory
(E.g. when a person sees an object briefly before it disappears)
What makes up Sensory Memory?
Iconic Memory > Visual sensory memory
Echoic > Auditory sensory memory
Short-term Memory
Preservation of recent experiences, with retrieval of information from long-term memory
How is Short-term memory retained?
- Repetition
- Rehearsal
- Chunking
What is chunking?
Taking single items of information and recoding them on the basis of similarity or another organising principle (phone numbers)
What are the key aspects of STM?
- Limited capacity > (7 +/- 2 items stored at a time)
- Limited duration > fragile - info can be lost (30 sec)
- Encoding > primarily acoustic -translating visual info to sounds
How can information be forgotten in STM?
- Decay > no rehearsal/contemplation
- Displacement > new memories replace old ones
- Interference > distortion due to similar memories
Can be proactive or retroactive
Proactive interference
Old memories interfere with new ones
Retroactive interference
New memories interfere with old ones
Encoding
Process by which a mental representation is formed in memory
Long Term Memory
Memory processes associated with the preservation of information for retrieval at any later time
Types of LTM
Declarative (explicit)
Procedural (implicit)
Declarative (explicit) Memory
Available in consciousness
- Episodic memory > specific events and images
- Semantic Memory > facts and general information
Procedural (implicit) Memory
Automatic retrieval processes - how to use objects
E.g. drive a car, use a computer
Forgetting
Time dependent decline in memory
How can information be lost in LTM?
Decay > memory loss, perhaps due to CNS injury or disease
Retrieval > memory trace is present but cannot be accessed
Evidence for lifetime memory traces > (E.g. on the tip of my tongue)
Retrieval
Recovery of stored information from memory
Methods of retrieval
- Recall
2. Recognition
Recall
Method of retrieval in which an individual is required to reproduce information previously presented
Recognition
Method of retrieval in which an individual is required to identify stimuli as having been experienced before
Anterograde Amnesia
Inability to form explicit memories for events that occur after the time of physical damage to brain
Retrograde Amnesia
Inability to retrieve memories from the time before physical damage to the brain
Encoding specificity
Subsequent retrieval of information is enhanced if cues received at the time of recall are consistent with those present at the time of encoding
Primary effect
Improved memory for items at the start of a list
Recency effect
Improved memory for items at the end of a list
Serial position effect
Characteristic of memory retrieval in which the recall of the beginning and end items on a list is often better than recall of items appearing in the middle (e.g. list of words)
Contextual distinctiveness
Assumption that the serial position effect can be altered by the context and distinctiveness of the experience being recalled
Why is memory important in health care?
> Diagnosis - patients memory of clinical history
> Communication - patient storing relevant information
> Compliance - patient remembering to follow instructions
> Memory disorders - CNS impairment (dementia etc.)
What do health professionals have to be mindful of in regards to memory?
Attention rehearsal - Was the information encoded in LTM?
Depth of processing - Was info meaningful?
Interference - Conflicting info from diverse sources?
Cue-dependent - Where did encoding happen?
Mood-dependent - What was patients emotional state?
State-dependent - Was the patient on medication?
Amnesia/Dementia - Does the patient have a CNS injury?
