Memory- capturing the moment

Question 1

Episodic vs semantic memory

Answer 1

Semantic memory: context-independent fact

Episodic memory: unique event + context

Question 2

What is an episodic memory made up of?

Answer 2

1. Details about an event eg. who was there
2. Contextual information: time + location, what we were thinking
3. Relations (associations) of details: people + time + location
4. A one-shot memory
5. When these details come to mind we often have a sense of “reliving the past” = recollection

(And an event is made up of parts. In memory theory these are thought of either in terms of associations – bindings between elements of events – or in terms of items plus context. This means that if we recall part of an event we also recall the surrounding information –it’s fundamental that events have a where and a when)

Question 3

Episodic memory in the lab: study phase vs test phase

Answer 3

Study phase: encoding (forming new memories) new ‘events’
Mini-’events’ are often as simple as an item with some kind of context, here it’s where on the screen and what colour. It’s also implicit that when memory is tested in the lab, the events in question occurred IN THIS EXPT. This too is context that is part of the memories.

Test phase: retrieving these ‘events’

Between stages there is some interval which may be long or short, but in which people are prevented from rehearsing the new information in WM.

Eg.
1) Study phase- object in a particular location and colour
2) Test phase- recognise if they have seen it before and asked where it was and what colour it was

Question 4

Name the stages of memory

Answer 4

1. Encoding
2. Storage
3. Retrieval

Question 5

What does dividing attention during encoding cause?

Answer 5

Dividing attention during encoding markedly impairs memory
ie. if you do something else at the same time you will not learn much!

Question 6

In the brain: attention and memory

Example of study vs test phase

Answer 6

Study phase: new mini events encoded eg. attend to location on others, attend to colour on some trials

Test phase: retrieved again eg. what colour?, what location?

Question 7

The hippocampus:
1- what scanning is used?
2- what did attention boost?
3- when is the hippocampus activated more?

Answer 7

1- fMRI scanning when attending to colour or location
2- attention boosted source memory for the attended feature
3- hippocampus activated more when people encoded the attended features

Question 8

The hippocampus:
1- what is it essential for?
2- known from?
3- what does it suggest about attention?

Answer 8

1- hippocampus essential for binding items with context to create memories
2- known from effects of amnesia (H.M)
3- Further suggests attention may modify input to hippocampus

Question 9

What did the study by Uncapher & Rugg (2009) test and show?

Answer 9

fMRI study looking at attention effects. People on different trials been told to attend to colour sometimes to location. The brain imaging showed hippocampus only involved in encoding of attended features, whichever they were.

Question 10

• what is attention import for?
• what might attention boost?

Answer 10

• encoding new memories
• inputs to the hippocampus

Question 11

1- what is easier to remember: pictures or words?
2- what is also easier to remember?

Answer 11

1- Pictures often easier to remember than words (picture superiority effect)
2- Mentally imageable words and concrete words (words that refer to objects) are also easier to remember

Question 12

Explain Paivio’s (1971) Dual Code Theory + limitation

Answer 12

Paivio’s (1971) Dual Code Theory – an image plus a verbal code (word) produces a richer memory trace (is therefore easier to remember than just verbal information)

But this theory ONLY explains the picture superiority effect (and did not predict it)

Question 13

What is distinctiveness theory?

Answer 13

An item that pops out is going to be better remembered

Question 14

What is the Von Restorff (1933) (isolation) effect?

Answer 14

A memory boost from processing difference in the context of similarity (Hunt 2013)

Question 15

Distinctiveness and picture superiority:
What did Ensor, Suprenant & Neath (2019) do?

Answer 15

Abolished the picture superiority effect by making the words more distinctive using colour & fonts

Better memory for the items that were visually distinctive and colourful

Supporting the idea of superiority effects

Question 16

Predictors of Memorability:
1- what made data visualisations memorable?
2- what did not do as well?
3- what is more memorable?

Answer 16

1- objects, colour and complexity made data visualisations memorable
2- scientific figures did not do as well as infographics
3- varying contexts: distinctive images more memorable

Question 17

When are images more memorable?

Answer 17

Images are more memorable with people compared to natural scenes.

Images are less memorable where their concepts share more features with other concepts
Naspi et al. (2021)

Question 18

What study technique was used in Naspi et al. (2021)

Answer 18

Model based metrics derived from feature models of semantic memory

Question 19

What info is more memorable?

Answer 19

• Pictures and imageable verbal material
• Colourful and complex images

Distinctiveness is important

Question 20

What was found when people were asked to re-draw “droodles”?

Answer 20

Free recall much better once the ‘story’ was known

Understanding assumed to reflect prior knowledge schemes

Question 21

What did van Kesteren, Rijpkema et al. (2013) find when studying new facts within degree courses either studying facts related (existing schema) to previous year’s content or unrelated (no schema) to previous year’s content?

Answer 21

Memory better for course-related (schema) information 24 hours later

Question 22

Van Kesteren, Rijpkema (2014) conducted an fMRI while encoding new facts, what brain regions where associated with schema-related facts?

Answer 22

• Activated the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) more
• Activated the medial temporal lobe (MTL) less (includes hippocampus)
• Medial PFC schema-related activation predicted Y2 course performance

In sum: mPFC= schema- unrelated, MTL= schema-related

Schema unrelated facts activated the hippocampus

Question 23

Prediction error/ distinctiveness effect and schema effect

Answer 23

Prediction error/ distinctiveness effect – unexpected objects also better remembered than neutral
Schema effect – expected objects better remembered than neutral objects

Question 24

Incoming info that relates to prior knowledge is ___________?

Answer 24

Better encoded

Question 25

The baker baker paradox
- what is it?
- limitation

Answer 25

People remember more words associated with faces when these words refer to an occupation (baker) rather than to a proper name

Eg. if told someone was called baker might not remember but if you knew that was her job, you have a story and meaning so you perform better. Therefore processing for meaning often helps memory encoding.

BUT idea of ‘depth’ doesn’t tell us why or when this semantic processing will help

Question 26

‘Depth’ of processing in the brain
- what brain region is activated by semantic vs. phonological processing?
- when is it also activated?

Wagner et al. (1998) and Kim (2011) meta-analysis

Answer 26

Brain regions like ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (A: VLPFC) are activated by semantic vs. phonological processing

Also activated when words are successfully encoded into memory

Question 27

Elaboration as a processing strategy
1- what involves relating new material to your prior knowledge?
2- what does elaboration involve?
3- what boosts memory?
4- important to?
5- what are semantic encoding tasks like?

Answer 27

1- Any semantic processing
2- But elaboration means going further and may capitalise on other distinctive processing as well as meaning
3- Meaningful mental imagery linking unrelated pieces of information boosts memory (Reed, 1918)
4- Important to relate new to known material!
5- Effective semantic encoding tasks range from naming, through category decisions like living/ non-living, to subjective evaluations like pleasantness

Question 28

What is semantic elaboration?

Answer 28

The processing that goes beyond simple recognition of something

Question 29

• what is the bigger picture from Levels of processing?
• what does this have implications for?

Answer 29

• memory encoding is a by product of ongoing processing
• This has implications for active learning

Question 30

What can the PFC impair?

Answer 30

Memory control

Question 31

What is the role of Dorsolateral PFC and Ventrolateral PFC?

Answer 31

Dorsolateral PFC: organisation in encoding (and executive functions like information updating)

Ventrolateral PFC: semantic (‘deep’) encoding (and semantic control)

Question 32

What did dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) during encoding predict later?

Answer 32

Semantic clustering, i.e. recall organised by meaning

The hippocampus was also more activated

Question 33

Organisational memory and what did Long et al show?

Answer 33

Organisational memory- grouping a list of words
(this can boost memory later)

Long et al showed this in an fMRI study where they asked people to recall lists of words later, and engaging their DLPFC in the study phase helped them to do this. It also boosted the hippocampus activation.

Degrees to which people did this - predicted how people organised their information later

Question 34

Distinctive processing
Carr, Engel, Knowlton (2013; see Hunt, 2013)
- what did the study involve?
- what was found?

Answer 34

fMRI study
Faces were more likely to be recollected if people judged their distinctiveness (taxi driver)
Compare with judging similarity (casting director)

When encoding memories, this processing for distinctiveness boosted activation of the hippocampus

Question 35

As well as memorability of the material, what else is critical for forming new memories?

Answer 35

The way we actively process information is critical (e.g. elaboration, distinctiveness, organisation)

This involves many cortical brain regions including prefrontal cortex – as well as the hippocampus

Question 36

How can we capture the moment?

Answer 36

‘Trying to remember’ doesn’t always help

But these active learning strategies can:
- Attending to what you want to remember
- Using mental imagery
- Processing actively for meaning
- Processing material so it is more distinctive
- Organising material mentally

An early brain imaging study showed that performing a difficult secondary task led to reduced prefrontal cortex activity during memory encoding (Shallice et al., 1994)

Question 37

What is the main role of the hippocampus in episodic memory encoding?

Answer 37

• Binding items to context
• Associating items (or features) with each other

Question 38

Give two ways that people can boost their hippocampus’ activity and therefore help to encode new information

Answer 38

• Attention/ paying attention
• Distinctiveness/ processing for distinctiveness
• Semantic organisation/ Organising the material by meaning