Module 13.1 Flashcards
Describe the relationship among the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli and the unconditioned and conditioned responses in classical conditioning.
The conditioned stimulus is presented first (though it is not conditioned yet). Then the unconditioned stimulus is presented, which causes the unconditioned response. After repeated pairing of the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus, the individual begins making a new response to the conditioned stimulus called the conditioned response.
What is the fundamental difference between classical and operant conditioning?
in operant conditioning, the outcome depends on the individual’s response. In classical conditioning the CS and UCS occur at certain times regardless of the individual’s behavior
Define reinforcement in terms of operant conditioning.
any event that increases the future probability of the response
Define punishment in terms of operant conditioning.
an event that suppresses the frequency of the response
Why is bird song learning so difficult to classify?
The bird hears the song of his own species and imitates it. The song was not paired with any other stimulus, as in classical conditioning and he learned the song without reinforcers or punishments, so it isn’t operant conditioning either.
What is an engram?
a physical representation of what has been learned
What did Lashley discover in his search for the engram?
that the location of the cut is not important, but the amount of cortex destroyed was. So there isn’t a specific specific area that memory and learning rely on.
What brain area was found by Richard F Thompson to be important for classical conditioning of the eye-blink response in rabbits?
The LIP in the cerebellum
What are was important for the expression of the motor response, but not for initial conditioning?
red nucleus
Which areas showed increased activity on PET scans during eye-blink conditioning in humans?
red nucleus, cerebellum, and other areas
Define short-term memory.
memory of an event that just happened
Define long-term memory.
memory of an event that is not currently held in attention
What is the delayed response task?
animal must respond on the basis of a signal that it remembers, but is no longer present
What brain area seems especially important for the delayed response task?
prefrontal cortex
Describe prefrontal cortex activity in older adults with declining memory.
They have declining activity in the prefrontal cortex.
Why were H.M.’s hippocampi removed bilaterally?
Because of evidence that epilepsy originates in the hippocampus, so they removed it from both hemispheres
How successful was H.M.’s treatment?
it was successful in treating his epilepsy
What were the side effects of H.M.’s surgery?
emotional placidity and developed an inability to form new memories (anterograde amnesia) and also had some retrograde amnesia
What is the difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia?
Anterograde amnesia is when the person can’t form any new memories. Retrograde amnesia is when the person loses memories from before the brain damage.
What amnesia is more evident in H.M.?
anterograde amnesia
Distinguish between declarative and procedural memory.
Declarative memory is memory that a person can state in words. Procedural memory is the memory of how to do something.
Is declarative or procedural memory more impaired in H.M.?
declarative
What is a test for procedural memory?
*
For what three types of memory is the hippocampus hypothesized to be important?
Delcarative memory, spatial memory, and context of memories
Judging from the work with amnesia patients, what is the major function of the hippocampus?
long-term declarative memory (consolidation)
Describe the delayed-matching-to-sample and delayed-nonmatching-to-sample tasks.
Delayed matching-to-sample task is when an animal sees an object (the sample) and then, after a delay, gets a choice between two objects, from which is must choose the one that matches the sample. The delayed-nonmatching-to-sample task is the same as the delayed mathcing-to-sample task except they have to pick a different object than the one presented.
Damage to what structure impairs performance on the delayed matching-to-sample task and the delayed-nonmatching-to-sample task.
hippocampus
What type of memory is tested by the radial maze and the Morris search?
spatial memory
What two kinds of errors can rats make in the radial maze?
entering a never-correct arm or entering a correct arm twice
What type of error do rats make after damage to the hippocampus?
enter a correct arm twice
Describe the Morris Search Task.
A rat must swim through murky water to find a rest platform that is just under the surface
What deficits in this task are seen in hippocampally-damaged rats?
it learns to find the platform if it always starts from the same place and the rest platform is always in the same place, but if the starting point or the rest plaform are moved, the rat is disoriented
What is context learning?
details of an event (or of learning something?)
Describe the effects of stress on memory.
Stressful (or emotionally exiting) events cause epinephrine and cortisol to be released. Cortisol activates the amygdala and hippocampus, where they enhance the storage and consolidation of recent experiences. The amygdala in turn stimulates the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, which are both important for memory storage. But prolonged stress impairs memory.
What is the “autobiographical memory bump”?
the ages from which people remember the most events for
When does the”autobiographical memory bump” occur?
age 10 to age 30
What is the immediate cause of Korsakoff’s syndrome?
prolonged thiamine deficiency
What are the symptoms of Korsakoff’s syndrome?
apathy, confusion, memory loss, and confabulation
In what groups of people does Korsakoff’s syndrome usually occur?
chronic alcoholics
Which brain areas show neuronal loss in Korsakoff’s syndrome?
dorsomedial thalamus and frontal cortex
What is confabulation?
when you make stuff up to fill in memory gaps
What is the best way for most people to learn lists? What about people with Korsakoff’s syndrome?
For most people, the best way to learn lists is to read the list and then test yourself. People with Korsakoff’s syndrome learn much better by reading the list over and over, because if they test themselves, they tend to confabulate.
Describe the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
Memory loss, confusion, dpression, psychosis, restlessness, sleeplessness, hallucinations and delusions, and loss of apetite
Why are some cases of Alzheimer’s disease thought to be related to a gene on chromosome 21?
People with Down syndrome (who have a mutation on chromosome 21) almost always get Alzheimer’s disease.
What is amyloid precursor protein?
A protein caused by the genese controlling early-onset Alzheimer’s that damages axons and dendrites.
What other protein is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease? What is its normal function?
Tau protein; it’s normal function is supporting structure of neurons
What are two temporary means of alleviating Alzheimer’s disease?
stimulating acetylcholine receptors or prolonging acetylcholine release (with drugs)
What dietary factors may be preventative?
decreasing amyloid-beta production by increased consumption of antioxidants and curcumin
What have we learned about memory from amnesic patients?
People do not lose all aspects of memory equally
What brain area is most important for fear learning?
amygdala
Describe the symptoms of damage to the parietal lobe.
impairs a person’s ability to associate one piece of information with another when recalling events
Describe the symptoms of damage to the anterior and inferior temporal lobe.
suffer semantic dementia. which is a loss of semantic memory
Distinguish between the roles of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex in reward learning.
The ventromedial prefrontal cortex responds based on what reward is expected, based on past experiences. The orbitofrontal cortex respond based on how that reward compares to other possible choices.
Describe the characteristics of the neurons in the prefrontal cortex in people likely to gamble.
show greater prefrontal cortex reactions than other do when they incur disappointments or losses
Describe the relationship between birds’ dependence on finding previously hidden food and the size of the hippocampus.
The more a bird depends on finding previously hidden food (because of altitude of habitat), the larger the hippocampus.
