Memory and Cognition Flashcards
What is cognition?
Integration of all sensory information to make sense of a situation
What are the three key components of learning and memory?
Hippocampus - formation of memories
Cortex - storage of memories
Thalamus - searches and accesses memories
What important function does the limbic system have in memories?
It gives events emotional significance
What function do the temporal and frontal have in memory?
They allow us to make sense of situations through learning
What function does the hypothalamus have in memory?
Link between emotion and ANS responses
Which four structures make up the limbic system?
Hypothalamus, hippocampus, cingulate gyrus and amygdala (assoc. with emotions)
What is the function of the limbic system?
Instinctive behaviour (thirst, sex, hunger etc.) and emotive behaviour
What feelings are associated with stimulation of the reward areas?
Well being, euphoria and sexual arousal
What feelings are associated with stimulation of the punishment areas?
Terror, anger and pain
What is the role of the hippocampus in memory?
It is central to learning and the formation of new memories
What happens to a person’s memory if they have bilateral hippocampal damage?
Their immediate memory and long term memory from before the damage are intact but they are unable to form new long term memories
Name the four different types of memories
Immediate/sensory
Short term
Intermediate long term memory
Long term memory
How are short term memories maintained?
Excitation from reverberating circuits
What is anterograde amnesia?
Inability to form new memories
What is retrograde amnesia?
Cannot access more recent old memories
How are intermediate long term memories created?
Chemical changes in presynaptic terminals: increasing calcium entry to presynaptic terminals which increases NT release
How are long term memories created?
Structural changes at the synapse:
- Increase in NT release on presynaptic membrane
- Increase in number of NT vesicles stored and released
- Increase in the number of presynaptic terminals
- Increased amplitude in graded membrane potential in the post-synaptic cell
What is declarative/explicit memory?
Abstract memory for events, words, rules and language - relies heavily on the hippocampus
What is procedural/reflexive/implicit memory?
Memory acquired through repetition including motor memory and rules for learning - based mainly in the cerebellum and is independent of the hippocampus
How are short term memories converted to long term memories?
Consolidation: selective strengthening of synaptic connections through repetition
What is a Papez circuit?
Reverberating activity between the frontal cortex, sensory and association areas
What happens to memory in Korsakoff’s Syndrome (chronic alcoholism)?
Vitamin B1 deficiency leads to damage of the limbic system - ability to consolidate memory is impaired
What happens to memory in Alzheimer’s disease?
Severe loss of cholinergic neurons throughout the brain including the hippocampus - gross impairment of memory
What happens to memory in those deprived of REM sleep?
Significant impairment of memory consolidation for complex cognitive tasks
