Types of learning and memory Flashcards
What are the 4 types of learning?
- motor learning
- perceptual learning
- relational learning
- stimulus-response learning
What are the types of memory?
- unconscious memory
- consciously accessible memory
What are the two types of consciously accessible memory?
- episodic
- semantic
Which areas of the brain are associated with perceptual learning?
neocortex and sensory association areas
Which areas of the brain are associated with relational learning?
hippocampus and neocortex
Which areas of the rbain are associated with motor learning?
cerebellum, basal ganglia, thalamus, motor cortex
Which are the types of memory that allow us to classify them based on their stability?
- sensory memory
- short-term memory
- long-term memroy
What is the mode of perceptual learning?
Modification of the strength of the connestion between neurons in primary and association sensory cortices
What is the mode of motor learning?
- learn through feedback
- rapid component
- between-session learning (passive memory consolidation)
What causes visual agnosia?
damage to the ventral stream of visual information (cannot make sense of the image, but can perceive it)
What are the two types of stimulus-response learning?
- classical conditioning
- instrumental conditioning
What type of learning is visual agnosia related to?
perceptual learning
What is the difference between classical and instrumental conditioning?
instrumental learning is associated with learning from the consequence of your actions, whereas classical learning is associated with watching how the world works and understanding how to respond to your knowledge of the world
What are the two main pathways between sensory and motor cortices?
- direct transcortical connections
- basal ganglia
What is the role of the basal ganglia?
Integrate all sensory and motor information from throughout the brain, allowing it to detect succesfull behaviors that are repeated over and over again. This allows it to automate the stimulus-response process, creating habitual ways of responding, which diminishes the cognitive load of the transcortices connections
What is the role of dopamine in learning?
controls synaptic plasticity in the basal ganglia
Where does most of the input to the basal ganglia synapse?
the striatum
what does the overall amount of dopamine in the striatum reflect?
- motivational state of the animal
- value of moving in/engaging with the env. for the animal
Which type of learning is conscious?
Perceptual learning
What is the role of the hippocampus in learning?
consolidation of short term memories in learning memories through memory consolidation
What is the impact of damage to the hippocampus?
inability to form new memories (retrograde amnesia)
What are the steps of memory processing?
1) sensory information, if paid attention to enters the short-term memory
2) rehearsal keeps the information in the short-term memory zone
3) the information makes its way into long-term memory, where it will be permanently stored
What causes Korsakoff syndrome?
cells in the hyppocampus undergo apoptosis due to a lack of vitamin B1
What are the main effects of Korsakoff syndrome?
- permanent anterograde amnesia
- confabulation
What is confabulation?
reporting of memories of events that did not take place without intention to deceive
What are the different types of amnesia?
- Anterograde amnesia
- Retrograde amnesia
- Complete amnesia
What are the possible causes of anterograde amnesia?
bilateral damage to the hippocampus, korsakoff syndrome
What types of amnesia did patient HM display?
retrograde AND anterograde amnesia
What types of learning are amnesic patients capable of? What is particular about their learning?
- perceptual, motor, stimulus-response (all types of non-declarative learning)
- they are not conscious of the fat they have learned/are learning
What is the type of learning that amnesic patients are incapable of?
Relational learning
What type of memory tasks necessitate the hippocampus?
declarative memory tasks
