memory final Flashcards
cognitive economy
in order to save “room” we minimize processing and resources
Spreading activation model (5)
Collins and Loftus
no hierarchy, free association
a lot of connections between sematic info
how strong connections are is based on meaning
activation and probing
Priming and brain activation consistent with this model
Does organization of semantic memory how its stored or how its retrieved?
major problem with studying any type of LTM
semantic memory storage
is all over the cortex but NOT in a random way, in a very specific way
semantic memory storage
is all over the cortex but NOT in a random way, in a very specific way
pattern “assembiles” of activity for a specific memory and if some of those neurons die the pattern will still be recognizable
patterns can also change when you add more connections
Are there “categories” in the brain?
people can be “blind” to inanimate objects but can “see” animate objects so that might mean there is categories so we must be putting things into different boxes
sensory functional theory
Farah and MccClelland
living things rely more on sensory information compared too non-living things where we look at it as its function “how do you know its a bear” by how it looks (sensor cortex) vs “how do you know its a table” because we use it to eat (motor cortex)
Hippocampus and semantic memory
- the formation of semantic LTM takes time
- hippocampus is critical for consolidation probably for the whole process
- hippocampus acts as a facilitator to connect all the brain regions associated with the memory , not where the memory is actually stored, once this is in LTM hippocampus is not necessary (H.M)
- also provides neural bases of Ebbinghaus “extra learning” or over learning and savings
Once the activity pattern is engrained what is not needed
hippocampus
Concept formation
similar to skill steps
movement of controlled (frontal lobe in the brain, and more related to episodic memory) to autonomous (temporal/partial lobe)
In what manner does info move from episodic to semantic
prolonged and very complex
that’s why first thing to go in Alz is retrieval of episodic memory
explicit memory
complex connections, more than one area becomes active in a certain pattern
retrograde message (5)
1.affects only the PRE neurons that were active at that time
2.Post neuron can send info to pre neurons
this strengthens the connections of the neurons
3. NO is the gas NT that is released by POST that goes into the PRE neuron
4.This is how semantic memory occurs, hippocampus is involved but don’t know how
5. increases LTP
Nitric Oxide Mechanism
seems to help bind neurons into active assemblies
Episodic memory
conscious recollection of an experience, personal time travel, Tuvling
Do animals have this memory?
source memory
very important for EM
difference between sm AND em
when it comes to interference, sm more connections easier to retrieve and helpful
em more you do something or more connections its harder to remeber
Ex- more weddings you go to the harder it is to remember the individual wedding
hippocampus and retrieval
- active when retrieving EM memory
- involved in encoding of EM and SM
- involved in reorganizing memory when retrieved s2weyi8u7/Fre 9
hippocampus and De ja vu
familiarity to something has to do with this
related to revelation effect “AH HA” moment
hippocampus and spaitial memory
study in taxi drivers found that the posterior part of their hippocampus was larger and the rest of it was smaller for the average person
gives eveidence, like hm, that posterior part of hippoampus is involved in spaital memory
general episodic memory vs autobiographical
- studies show that AB pictures activated the medial prefrontal cortex and visuospatial area
- general EM pictures activated the hippocampus and prefrontal region
AB memory in the brain
occipital lobe
ventral stream
left pre-frontal lobe- initially active than occipital and temporal lobe
when people lie the frontal lobe is active but not the occipital lobe
levels of AB memory
- thematic (lifetime events)
- general
- specific
levels of Semantic memory
superordinate
basic
subordinate
autonoetic
capacity to reflect on our thoughts
behavioral definition of EM
the recall of what where and when of an event, animals have to be able to do this (Caching birds, like scrub jays)
Tulving def for EM
mental time travel
Levels of AB memory
- thematically organize- themes, early childhood, vague
- general events- repeating or extending, like a first job, learning how to drive
- specific events- a specific wedding, most basic level, has much more details and infos
* * hard to switch between different themes meaning these are put in catogires
heuristic
- rule of thumb
- how to solve a problem, 3. what is the most likely situation
- not has organized as semantic because the organization can change depending on the event
* * suggestion not a guarantee like an algorithm
left hemisphere damage to partial
the patient could remember the general information of AB memory but not the details of what he did, left side of brain is good for details
right hemisphere (3)
guesult, big picture, holistic
like at the whole, artistic
emotions
characteristics of AB memory
- we tend to remember what sticks out, same as sensory memory (unexpected and important/relevant)
- AB memory changes over a lifespan, IF and RB
- many factors influences storage and retrieval because they are highly inaccurate
- tendency to exaggerate our role, and blame for failures, influenced by self-esteem
- highly tied to emotions
infantile amnesia
- people can not remember before 3 years old
2. can still effect you implicitly but no explicit memory
reminiscence bump
from ages 15-30 is the age range where people can recall the most AB memory with the greatest detail
why AB is not as accurate
some people believe that people remember things in a way to preserve their self-esteem that is why it might not be accurate
residual egocentrism
- reason why AB is not as accurate
- also look at happens to us from our own prospective and can’t understand other’s POV
* starts as a child, look up
AB memory and depression
- increased activity in the right hemisphere as well as the amygdala in AB memory
- depressed people tend to recall negative memories more than positive memories
- studies show that depressed people have less detailed AB memories, memories are more general only
* * they don’t know what mad them mad because they don’t have the detailed memory
Flashbulb memories
- brown and kulik, proposed a new memory system because of responses of JFK killing, no STM, LTM or consolidation involved in this type of remember, bc people gave very specific AB memory
- Problem- do we need a new memory system for this? and are these memories really more unique and detailed compared to normal AB? Because we know memories that are tied to emotion or are important are better stored and recalled
- They are unqiue events and only happens once or twice a life time therefore it should not be hard to recall bc with EM it is better recalled if there was just one event
- because we go over the event over and over again (news and talking about) the better the details will be preserved
Intrusive/involuntary memories
- similar to flashbulb memories
- it is a PTSD flashback, memories just appear without being able to stop it, exact memory trace
- as you get older you remember positive memories over negative memories and frequency of intrusive thoughts lowers but intensity increases
reappearance hypothesis
study found that the amount of detailed ppl had for the tsunmai depend upon how much emotion they had tied to that event
because people who were affected might think of the event and what they could have done to stop it therefore they are reinforcing the memory by thinking about
retrieval Def
- reactivating a memory trace based upon a cue (intrusive memoires are not cued)
- components target, cues, and associations/links/ spreading activation
retrieval strategy
- various between people and can vary in an person over time
- Pichert and Anderson- subjects required to be a burglar or homebuyer while reading a story then asked to recall specific items from the story, so you can change retrieval strategy based on perspective
Retrieval mode
what you get into before you use your retrieval strategy
“frame of mind” before retrieval stragegy is picked
Reading a non-fiction book vs reading a novel, pick retrieval mode before starting reading
***frontal lobe is where RM activity is seen
Reconstructive Memory
recall, active, and inferential (meaning you fill in the gaps)
short answer
effected by schema at time of retrieval
Frame
like a schema but for an object
recognition memory
did we have this experience or not,
true/false type of questions
biggest problem, whether or not someone guessed ( can use signal detection theory)
Recognition memory 2 processes
- familiarity based recognition,-knowing that you know ( might be related to tip of the tongue idea)
- recollection- knowing how you know that, more negatively impacted by interference (in any part of the memory stages)
- you can have the first process without knowing the second process
- *de ja vu can be just knowing the first process and not the 2nd process
- **frontal lobe because requires a lot of attention for #2 and #1 is more implicit
Tip of the Tongue
- it reveals. individual organization, retrieval processes, and distraction
- inaccessilibitlity and imminence
- target can be seen visually or phonologically, usually visual representation
encoding specificity principle
the cues used to retirve this memory has to be the same cue that was there when the memory was encoded, which memory is not known
more cues you have additive and different cues the better you will retrive the memory
***video returning and kitchen table example
Types of cues
context cues, spatial and temporal (time and place)
people learned a poem while on the beach or diving, they retrieved the poem much better when they were doing it where they learned
1. environmental- time and place
2.state (drunk/sober)
3.Mood- congruent easier to remember when you are in the same mood state as whatever you are remembering you encoded the memory
**for example when your in a fight it is easier to recall memories that you felt that same way
and dependent(your emotions)
4. Cognitive context- bilingual speakers change recall based on what language they were speaking
Factors determining retrieval success
- how many cues you have
- how strong the memory trace is how familar it is
- attention to the relevant cues
what’s the key to learning
true learning is being able to recall in a novel context or in a different context
source monitoring
don’t need for semantic info but for episodic memory
identifying what, who, where of the memory
source misattribution errors
can remember the memory trace but not the source of the memory
often leads to errors
**memory and source can be stored in two different places
what brain area needed for EM and not for SM
prefrontal cortex
what is the best way to improve memory
study it under different conditions
**remove from the context and store it as semantic memory
why is elaborative rehearsal better
because it takes longer time then maintenance and the more time you spend the better the memory will be stored
**exception, patterns
single most important factor to improving memory
intention to learn
what you want to learn is what really is going to be memorized better,
better to apply rather than to memorize
why is forgetting a thing
bc it helps the brain clear out not important info so that the important info is easier to access
Define forgetting (3)
- lack of initial encoding
- loss of stored memory trace
- retrieval failure ( most likely)
but almost impossible to determine at what stage
**inability to produce a memory
normal vs abnormal forgetting
based on STAT of the population but is very common
motivated forgetting (2)
- though stopping, trying not to remember something purposely
- extreme- psychogenic amnesia repression because of trauma
could be physical or psychological
contextual fluctuations
things that happen with age that contribute to forgetting
affects retrieval cues and most older people move around therefore new contexts
why is there more forgetting as you age
more interference and more experiences which makes it harder to retrieve episodic memory
When does forgetting level off
two years post event
permastore
things that don’t get forgotten
but needs to be retained and used frequently
savings
ebbinghuas
relearning something
you can recognize it but not recall
easier to learn something even if the memory isn’t that strong it makes it easier to learn it
“shadow”
explains why relearning something is easier
Causes of forgetting
- interference at any stage of memory (number 1 reason)
- Decay of memory trace with time, is it loss or neurons or because no activation of the trace, decay of neurons but doesn’t account for a lot of forgetting
- motivated forgetting, small percentage
two types of interference
Barnes and underwood
- retroactive- older memories harder to retrieve bc of new ones (like getting a new phone number or password)
- Proactive- new memories can be hard to retrieve because of old memories that are stored really well
* *could explain why “old dogs can’t learn new tricks”
**this also explains the you remember the first and last in the list
what does retrieval depend upon
the organization of how it was stored (like a closet easier to get something if its organized vs if its messy)
cue-overload principle
example of interference as a cue becomes more connected to many different memories it is harder to retirve the memory **taking her class example different classes hard to remember when she said something
Part-set cueing impairment
when trying to remember something and someone else gives you a cue but isn’t the cue you needed to recall this memory
**can explain collaborative inhibition which is when there is more info there is more inhibition to get to the memory and TOT
Retrieval influenced inhibition
attempting to retrieve something can actual decrease the success of the recalling
selective retrieval
the more likely it is to retrieve something, people learn something pair of words, the one they retrieve the most is easier to retrieve in the future but it actually causes inhibition of the path less retrieved
**its not just strengthen a memory but also inhibiting a memory that is related to that memory
**could indicate a change in how we study
NOT GETTING READY OF MEMORY JUST RETRIEVEAL
retrieval practice paradigm
- used to demonstrate RIF
- They found that it is harder to retrieve a word when you practice two words but this isn’t seen when you don’t practice either
- explains why repeated questioning of the same thing can effect them recalling other important information because it is being inhibited
RIF can be…..
contagious and self propagating
Ex- a car jump the curved and keep talking about that memory but not about the child running meaning this memory is going to be harder to retrieve