Neuro 74: Memory, emotions, & the brain Flashcards
Sensory memory
- encodes sensory stimuli
- 0-2 sec
Short term memory
- most recent info
- 30 sec
Working memory: what is it and what 2 locations is it stored?
- brief storage of verbal, visual, and spatial info
- linked to reasoning, comprehension, learning, and long term memory
- cognitive function is assessed clinically by testing working memory
- stored = left and right parietal and prefrontal cortex
Long term memory
-relatively permanent
Semantic memory: what is it and where is it stored?
- memory of facts/general world knowledge
- form of long term memory
- stored = temporal lobe
Episodic memory: what is it and where is it stored?
- memory of personal events, linked to place/time
- form of long term memory
- stored = distributed throughout the association areas of the cortex
Procedural memory: what is it and where is it stored?
- memory of how to do something (motor)
- form of long term memory
- stored = motor association complex
What 2 types of memory are often affected by disease proesses?
- working memory
2. episodic memory
What is usually impaired to cause the memory deficits seen in dementia?
-consolidation
Consolidation
-the process of taking short term memories and making them long term memories
How is episodic LTM stored?
- via consolidation which includes anatomical changes at synapses that require protein synthesis
- hippocampus transfers episodic info to cortex functional areas –> becomes a more stable LTM
Where is the hippocampus?
- lg structure that looks like a banana or jelly-roll
- found deep in the temporal lobe, in the temporal horn of the lateral ventricle
Papez circuit
- involves memory
- hippocampus –> fornix –> mamillary body (hypothalmus) –>anterior nucleus of the thalmus –> cingulate gyrus –> entorhinal cortex –> hippocampus
- function of this pthwy is not completely known –> BUT if the circuit is damaged anywhere then consolidation will not be able to happen
What is special about hippocampal neurons? + what is this enhanced and impaired by?
- new neurons are generated in the hippocampus throughout life
- have stem cells that undergo differentiation and become new neurons
- effects memory consolidation
- enhanced by: exercise and mental stimulation
- impaired by: depression, stress, ages, dementia
Working memory deficits: where, effects, causes?
- caused by lesions in the parietal cortex, the frontal cortex, or their interconnections in white matter
- impairs the temporary storage of verbal, visual, spatial info & its processing & its manipulation
- can be caused by stroke, trauma, or degenerative diseases