Test #2 Flashcards
Pattern Separation
process that parses similar events into
more distinct, non-overlapping representations
Pattern completion (PC):
process that interacts with partial
information to reconstruct a complete event
The MTL Memory System
The MTL memory system includes the hippocampal formation (CA fields, dentate gyrus, subicular complex), perirhinal, entorhinal, and parahippocampal cortices.
Episodic encoding and binding in MTL
MTL believed to be responsible for binding features into an
integrated memory trace
• receives highly processed input from many brain areas
when an event is encoded
• MTL then binds together input at encoding
Content Addressable Memory
ANy aspect of the content of memory can serve as a reminder that could access the experience
retrieval cue often consists
of some of the input processed at encoding.
processed retrieval cue converges on MTL, triggers pattern
completion within the hippocampus, which in turn
reactivates information in neocortex
Encoding
At encoding—an event is processed by regions associated with different features of event; processed information converges at hippocampus and features are bound
Retrieval
At retrieval-- cue processed by regions associated with features of cue, and then converges to hippocampus; if retrieval successful, cue then connects with memory trace and projects to regions associated with memory
Describe the Episodic Retrieval Process
episodic retrieval: processes by which stored memory
traces are retrieved
• assumed that retrieval produces subjective experience of
consciously remembering the past
• episodic retrieval is assumed to depend on hippocampal
regions that support pattern completion and frontal lobes
that support strategic retrieval – thus, there are multiple ways in which a retrieval cue
can access memory trace, and partial information may
be enough to access memory trace
Hippocampus is activated during successful retrieval but not unsuccessful.
What are some retrieval tasks
Brewer et al., 1998
• Indoor/outdoor judgments to complex scenes during eventrelated fMRI
• Subsequent memory test 30 min. after scanning (new vs. old) – Remember (distinct recollection of having seen photo) vs.
know (feeling of familiarity) vs. forgotten
Recall of public events
What is the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
an extreme form of pause where the word takes a noticeable time to come out - although the speaker has a distinct feeling that he/she knows exactly what he/she wants to say.
Retrieval (Textbook)
The process of recovering a target memory based on one or more cues, via associative connections linking them together subsequently through a process of spreading activation, bringing that target into awareness.
Target Memory or Trace
A particular fact, idea or experience
Associations or Links
Traces in memory are believed to be linked up to one another by connections. Example; Fruit/banana.
Spreading Activation (Retrieval)
Each memory has an internal state of its own, reflecting how excited or active it is, a state referred to as the memories activation level.
Memories spread activation to other memories to which they are associated.
Activation Level
The variable internal state of a memory trace that contributes to its accessibility at a given point.
Cortical Reinstatement
neural activity of a trace memory that was present at that experience reactivates in the various regions of the brain associated with the properties of that memory.
What are the factors determining Retrieval Success
1) Attention to Cues - Diminishing attention may make a cue less useful
2) Relevance of Cues - Must be related to target
3) Cue-Target Strength - Retrieval success depends on how associated the cues are to the target, which depends on the time and attention we spend encoding the association.
4) Number of Cues - Retrieval often improves when more relevant cues are added.
5) Strength of Target Memory - If a memory is weakly encoded, even a good cue may be insufficient to trigger retrieval.
6) Retrieval Strategy - Retrieval can be influenced by the strategy one adopts.
7) Retrieval Mode - The cognitive set, or frame, of mind, that orients a person towards the act of retrieval, ensuring that stimuli are interpreted as retrieval.
Encoding Specificity Principle
The more similar the cues available at retrieval are to the conditions present at encoding, the more effective cues will be.
Context Cues
Retrieval cues that specify aspects of the condition under which a desired target was encoded, including, for example, the time and location of an event.
Direct/Explicit Memory Tests
Any of a variety of memory assessments that overtly prompt participants. Recalling the past requires context as a cue.
Free Recall: Necessitates the use of strategies for generating answers in some order.
Cued Recall: Requires context as a cue but context is ss supplemented with specific information that focuses search. Easier then free recall and doesn’t rely heavily on retrieval strategies.
Recognition Test: Easiest type of direct test that simply requires making a decision.
Indirect Memory Tests
Measure the influence of experience without asking the person to recall the past.
Recognition Memory
A person’s ability to correctly decide whether he/she has encountered a stimulus previously in a particular context.
Signal Detection Theory
- A model of recognition memory
- Memory targets have signals and noises on a recognition test
- Possess attribute known as strength or familiarity
- occurs in graded fashion
- Provides analytic tools that separate true memory from judgment
Dual-process theories of recognition
A class of recognition models that assumes that recognition memory judgments can be based on two independent forms of retrieval process: recollection and familiarity.
Familiarity Based Recognition
A fast, automatic recognition process based on the perception of a memory’s strength. Proponents of dual-process models consider familiarity to be independent of the contextual information characteristic of recollection.
Remember/Know Procedure
A procedure used on recognition memory tests to separate the influences of familiarity and recollection on recognition performance. For each test item, participants report whether it is recognized because the person can recollect contextual details of seeing the item (classified as a remember response) or because the item seems familiar, in the absence of specific recollections (know response).
Process Dissociation Procedure (PDP)
A technique for parceling out contributions of recollection and familiarity within a recognition task.
Source Monitoring
The process of examining the contextual origins of memory in order to determine whether it was encoded from a particular source.
Is interference effect from DA at retrieval material- or process-specific?
free recall is disrupted by competition for phonological or word-form representations during retrieval • equally resource-demanding picture-based distracting task produced significant interference with memory retrieval, but the effect was significantly smaller in magnitude
