Synaptic Plasticity Flashcards
Define learning.
An active process that involves the extraction of meaning from sensory input by paying attention to it long enough to reach working or short-term memory.
What are the three basic elements of memory?
Encoding.
Storage.
Retrieval.
Define encoding in terms of memory.
Information gets into our brains in a way that allows it to be stored.
Define storage in terms of memory.
Information is held in a way that allows it to be retrieved later.
Define retrieval in terms of memory.
Information is reactivated and recalled in a form similar to what was encoded.
Name the two categories of long-term memory.
Declarative.
Non-declarative.
Name the two categories of declarative memory.
Episodic.
Semantic.
Name the four categories of non-declarative memory.
Procedural.
Priming and perceptual learning.
Simple classical conditioning.
Non-associative learning.
What is episodic memory?
Personal episodes in time and space.
What is semantic memory?
Facts, meanings, concepts and knowledge about the external world.
What is procedural memory?
Skills and habits.
Which brain regions are involved in episodic memory?
Hippocampus.
Medial temporal lobe.
Neocortex.
Which brain regions are involved in semantic memory?
Lateral and anterior temporal cortex.
Prefrontal cortex.
Which brain regions are involved in procedural memory?
Striatum.
Cerebellum.
Motor cortex.
Which brain regions are involved in priming and perceptual learning memory?
Neocortex.
Which brain regions are involved in simple classical conditioning memory?
Amygdala.
Cerebellum.
Which brain regions are involved in non-associative learning memory?
Reflex pathways.
Describe the two main elements of the hippocampal circuit for memory.
Sensory information converges in the entorhinal cortex.
The hippocampus adds contextual and temporal information.
Define anterograde amnesia.
An inability to form new long-term memories; short-term memory is generally intact.
Explain the Hebbian cell assembly.
Presentation of a stimulus activates a small network of neurons, and the connections between them are strengthened.
Partial presentation of the original stimulus activates only a subset of cells in the assembly.
Since the connections have been strengthened, the partial stimulus is sufficient to reactivate the memory.
What is thought to underlie memory?
Changes in the strength of synaptic connections between neurons.
Define post-tetanic potentiation (PTP).
A transient increase in EPSP amplitude resulting from high frequency presynaptic stimulation.
