Memory I: Processes and systems Flashcards
What is memory?
The faculty by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed
What are the three primary processes of memory?
Encoding, storage, and retrieval
What is encoding and the error?
Information enters memory system - or slips away
What is storage and the error?
Information is reserved for recollection in the future - or is forgotten
What is retrieval and the error?
Information is recollected - or sits ‘on the tip of your tongue’
Who is Clive Wearing and what happened to him?
Highly accomplished musician and conductor when he fell ill with herpes simplex encephalitis (1985).
Ever since, Clive has lost the ability to form new memories.
Lacks the ability to form new memories
Cannot recall aspects of held memories
Like waking from a comatose state
Anterograde and Retrograde amnesia
Retains the ability to play music
What does the case of Clive Wearing demonstrate about memory taxonomies?
Demonstrate that not all memories are the same
and multiple models exist to categorise memories
How do we categorise memories?
By time and by content
Who proposed the modal model of memory?
Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968
What is the modal model of memory?
Input –> sensory memory (a moment) –> short-term memory (a few seconds) –> long-term memory (permanent but not perfect)
What is the modality of sensory memory?
Modality specific -
Iconic memory (visual impressions) Echoic memory (auditory impressions)
What is the duration of sensory memory?
Very brief - 250ms-500ms for iconic memory. A few seconds for echoic memory
Describe Sperling’s study 1968
Partial report - How many letters of the middle row could you recall?
Sperling (1968) performed this experiment with tones to indicate which row to recall
High for top row – Low tone for bottom row
Participants reported complete rows even for large arrays - even when tone is presented following stimuli presentation
What did Sperling’s study show about the capacity of sensory memory?
The capacity of sensory memory is large - but can only recall a few select items
How do you retain information into your STM?
We have to apply attention to sensory information
What is the duration of short term memory?
Up to 30-50s
What is the capacity of short term memory?
Capacity of 5-9 information elements
How can you boost short term memory?
Boosted by active rehearsal and chunking.
Describe Miller’s 1956 magical number 7.
Participants are asked to memorise a series of letters/numbers. On average participants get 7 ± 2 correct. Informed us about the capacity of STM.
What is the link between STM and LTM?
Information can be transferred from STM to LTM
Information can be retrieved from LTM to STM
What is the duration of LTM?
Unlimited - but still not perfect.W
What is the capacity of LTM?
Unlimited - but still not perfect
How do we categorise memories by content?
By long term memory systems
What are the two branches of long-term memory?
Declarative and non-declarative
What is declarative memory?
Explicit - memories you are aware of and can express
What is non-declarative memory?
Implicit - memories difficult to bring in awareness and express
What type of memory is episodic memory?
Declarative memory
Describe episodic memory
Episodes of your life that you remember
Includes contextual information such as where and when they occurred
ie what you had for dinner, your last holiday
What type of memory is semantic memory?
Declarative memory
Describe semantic memory
General facts about the world that you know
Abstracted from contextual information
ie Paris is the capital of France
What type of memory is procedural memory?
Non-declarative memory
Describe procedural memory
Skills, habits.
ie how to ride a bike, how to play an instrument
What are other forms of implicit memory?
Conditioning, priming
Describe the relationship between memory processes and memory systems.
Memory processes (encoding, storage, and retrieval) and memory systems (taxonomies categorising memories) are not mutually exclusive.
They describe the same ability from different perspectives
What is working memory?
Storage and controlled processing of information in the present moment. A dynamic system to process and manipulate data
What are the three functions of working memory?
Maintaining information while being distracted
Making information in LTM accessible for processing, Combining information in novel ways
Is the STM a passive or a dynamic store?
Passive
Describe the reading span task by Daneman and Carpenter for WMS
Participants are presented with statements.
They need to decide whether it is true or false and remember the last word of each sentence.
Working memory requires manipulation and processing of information - rather than holding onto it
What is the capacity of the WM?
3-5 information elements
What is the duration of the WM?
Shorter than the STM - about 3s than 30-60s
What is one of the first widely influential models of the working memory?
The multicomponent model by Baddeley and Hitch 1974
What are the components of Baddeley and Hitch’s WM model?
Central executive
Visuospatial sketchpad + episodic buffer + phonological loop
Long-term memory
What is the central executive?
Coordination of storage systems and control of attention to stimuli
What is the visuospatial sketchpad?
Stores visual imagery (what) and spatial information (where)
What is the mental rotation task and what does it suggest?
Shepherd and Melzer
Is the object the same object, different, or are they mirrored.
Findings suggest that the more an object has been rotated from the original, the longer it takes an individual to determine if the two images are of the same object or enantiomorphs (mirror images)
How does the phonological loop work?
Auditory/linguistic input - phonological short-term store - subvocal rehearsal achieved through articulatory loop
What does the Word Length Effect show? Baddeley and Hitch
We can remember the number of words that we can articulate in approximately two seconds
If we cannot rehearse the items in the phonological store within 2 seconds, they decay
Recall more short words than long words, as long words take longer to articulate
What is the episodic buffer?
Binding of multimodal information to form episodic memories
What is long-term memory in terms of Baddeley and Hitch’s WM model?
Transfer of information between WM and LTM
What did Lashley’s 1950 study investigate and find?
Searched for the engram - neural representation of a memory; memory trace
Trained rats to navigate a maze
Created lesions in different parts of the brain and tested effects on maze performance
Not the location, but the size of lesion predicted performance.
What is the frontal cortex responsible for?
Coordination of information, working memory
What is the temporal cortex responsible for?
Spatial memory of storage. episodic memory storage
What is the amygdala responsible for?
Implicit and emotional memory formation
What is the hippocampus responsible for?
Explicit memory information
What is the cerebellum responsible for?
Implicit memory formation
What are other parts of the cortex responsible for?
Distributed memory storage
