Neuropsychology of memory COPY Flashcards
AMNESIA
i) how is intelligence affected?
ii) how is attention span affected?
iii) is personality affected?
iv) what is severely and usually permanently affected?
v) is verbal/visual short term memory in tact or affected?
vi) is digit and spatial span in tact?
i) intelligence in tact
ii) attention span in tact
iii) personality isn’t affected
iv) ability to take in new information is affected
v) verbal and visual short term memory is in tact (phonol loop and VSS)
vi) digit and spatial span are in tact
ANATOMY OF AMNESIA
i) what is the defining feature?
ii) which area of which lobe is usually damaged? name another connected region that also may be damaged
iii) name three conditions this may occur in
i) not being able to take in new information
ii) medial temporal lobe or connected area eg thalamus
iii) head injury, Alzheimers, epilepsy, stroke
MEMORY
i) label A and B
ii) which type of memory is not impacted in amnesia?
i) A = episodic memory
B = semantic memory
ii) implicit (unconcious)
ANTEROGRADE AMNESIA
i) are memories before or after the brain injury affected?
ii) which type of memories are severely affected?
iii) does the approach of memory recall affect if a person can recall memories?
iv) is declarative (conscious) or implicit (unconscious) memory impacted in amnesia
i) after brain injury
ii) episodic memories (personal events
) iii) no memory regardless of which approach or test is used
iv) declarative
PROCEDURAL MEMORY
i) what type of memory is it?
ii) is this in tact in amnesia?
iii) in a pursuit rotor task (tracing a moving line) healthy controls and individuals with which disease showed normal learning? which patients showed impaired learning?
iv) what does the above task give evidence for?
v) which brain area is dedicated for procedural memory? what condition is this affected in?
vi) what is learning of motor skills therefore distinct from? what happens when a skill becomes automatic?
i) a type of implicit memory (allows to do certain tasks)
ii) procedural memory is in tact in amnesia
iii) pursuit rotor task - healthy controls and Alzheimers showed normal learning - huntingtons patients showed impaired learning
iv) evidence for an independent procedural memory system
v) basal ganglia dedicated to procedural memory therefore impacted in HD
vi) learning of motor skills (procedural) is distinct from explicit long term memory - when a skill is automatic it can operate in the absence of awareness
PRIMING
i) what does it involve? how can an individual be primed?
ii) when repeatedly showed pictures - who needs less of the picture each time to be able to identify? healthy or amnesics?
iii) what is different about ability to identify pics by amnesia patients?
i) show a person degraded pictures and ask them to identify what it is - response is speeded up by exposure to the degraded picture but you don’t need awareness that you’ve seen it before
ii) both healthy and amnesics need less of the pic when theyve seen it before
iii) amnesics can identify the picture but they are not conscious that they have seen the pictures before
ANTEROGRADE AMNESIA & SQUIRES DECLARITIVE MEMORY THEORY
i) what is squires declarative memory theory? ii) which type of memory is poor?
iii) what is semantic memory? can new semantic memories be formed despite amnesia according to squires declarative memory theory?
iv) when testing new vocab (with foil words) in healthy and amnesics who did better at recalling?
v) are people with damage to hippocampus early in life able to make new semantic memories? does this support squires theory?
I) individuals have poor semantic memory after brain injury
ii) episodic memory
iii) semantic = knowledge of facts, concepts, words, meanings - new semantic memories cant be formed
iv) healthy did better at recalling v) yes - does not support squires theory
ANTEROGRADE AMNESIA AND MEMORY
i) how are episodic memories affected in anterograde amnesia?
ii) what is the evidence for new semantic learning in amnesia?
i) episodic memories are always impaired in anterograde amnesia
ii) evidence for new semantic learning is mixed and at best is limited
RETROGRADE AMNESIA
i) from what point can memories not be retrieved?
ii) according to the declarative memory theory - which brain area do all declarative memories depend on?
iii) what does the standard model of consolidation state?
iv) according to the standard model of consolidation - can memories be retrieved in MTL damage? explain
i) before brain injury
ii) medial temporal lobes
iii) over time, declarative memories become consolidated in other brain regions (outside the medial temporal lobe)
iv) yes - because over time they are consolidated in other brain areas eg the cortex
RETROGRADE AMNESIA - BAYLEY ET AL
i) according to bayley et al - is episodic memory in from the distant past intact?
ii) is there differences in semantic or episodic memory recall compared with controls? what model does this support?
i) yes episodic memory is in tact
ii) semantic and episodic recall is similar to controls - supports Squires standard model of consolidation
RETROGRADE AMNESIA - VISKONTAS ET AL
i) according to the studies is episodic memory in tact?
ii) what effect did they find on episodic and semantic memories when testing patients with unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy?
iii) does this support squires standard model of consolidation?
i) no
ii) episodic memories were severely affected but semantic memory was not iii) no
RETROGRADE AMNESIA OVERVIEW
i) is semantic knowledge learnt long ago in tact? what model does this lend itself to?
ii) what is the evidence for preserved remote episodic memory?
iii) what is a possible explanation of patients showing good recall of episodic memories? what may account for inter patient variability?
i) yes - supports squires model of consolidation (memories are consolidated in other brain areas over time)
ii) mixed evidence
iii) good recall may be due to highly practiced - differences can be accounted for by different lesion locations etc
SEMANTIC DEMENTIA
i) what type of memory is lost? what does this make it difficult to do? (2) ii) which brain area is affected? which side?
iii) what does the patient have poor knowledge of?
iv) do they find it difficult to name things?
v) is it one or multiple systems that may be damaged?
i) semantic memory loss - hard to name things and loss of conceptual knowledge
ii) affects lateral temporal cortex on the left side iii) poor knowledge of meaning of words or concepts
iv) yes eg calling a rabbit a dog
v) may affect multiple systems eg recognising sounds
FRONTAL LOBES AND MEMORY
i) when patients with lesions were given info and had to recall it - what is the only part that they had trouble with?
ii) do lesions in the frontal lobes affect basic memory processes eg can the person recognise things?
iii) do frontal lobe lesions affect control processes eg is what I am saying true?
i) only had trouble when asked where they learnt the info, they did well at recalling it
ii) basic memory processes aren’t affected
iii) control processes are affected eg incorrectly apply info
CONFABULATION i) what is it?
ii) what is provoked confabulation? give an example
iii) what is spontaneous confabulation? give an example
iv) which brain area is usually affected?
v) which type of confabulation is not due to damage to memory storage but a breakdown in control of whether retrieved memories are relevant?
i) when memories are either false or result from true memories that are in a misplaced context/inapprop retrieved or interpreted
ii) provoked = false memory in response to a specific question eg saying they have been shown something before when they havent
iii) person acts on erroneous memories (people act on belief) eg leaving hospital to get to work
iv) usually ventromedial temporal lobe is affected v) spontaneous confabulation
