Week 9 - Memory & Motor Learning Flashcards
Two factors that can detrimentally affect our patient’s memory.
- Encoding (formation)
2. Consolidation
What are the two dimensions of classification for memory?
- Nature of the information stored (multiple memory systems)
- Time course of storage (multi-store model)
Declarative (explicit) memory consists of:
- Semantic memory
2. Episodic memory
What type of memory involves knowing facts about the world around you?
Semantic memory
What type of memory has the capacity to re-experience an event in the context in which it originally occurred and requires additional brain areas?
Episodic memory
What region of the brain mediates declarative memory?
medial temporal region, including hippocampus, amygdala, and hippocampal gyrus
Procedural (implicit) memory is:
- encompasses habits and motor behaviors
- recalled without conscious effort
- assessed through testing of motor skills
The multi-store model of memory proposes that memory is comprised of the following 3 components:
- sensory register
- short-term (working) memory
- long-term storage
Sensory register (aka somatosensory memory) has the following features:
- large, almost limitless, capacity
- very short duration (250-1000 ms) that is long enough to perceive stimuli
- ability to be discarded without selective attention (brain filters out unnecessary inputs, moves attended information to working memory)
Selective attention works between which two components of the multi-store model?
sensory register and working (short-term) memory
Working (short-term) memory features:
- plays active role in processing of conscious thoughts
- small, limited capacity (7+ items)
- brief duration (20-30 sec) that is lost without rehearsal
- chunking (grouping items to make larger collections in memory & identifying relationships between items)
Long-term memory features:
- relatively limitless capacity for rehearsed items
- possibly lifelong duration
- forgetting possible due to different types of interference or retrieval failure
- different types of information stored (declarative & non-declarative)
What are the 3 stages of memory formation?
- Encoding
- Consolidation
- Storage
encoding (def)
memory representation formed
rehearsal (def)
transform representation from working memory to long-term storage
consolidation (def)
memory becomes more permanent
stabilization (def)
maintenance of motor skill performance off-line without practice; not dependent on sleep
enhancement (def)
improvement in performance of a skill off-line; sleep dependent
storage (def)
maintenance of memory over time
reactivation (def)
memory brought out of storage for use
People are susceptible to interference and/or performance deterioration _________
While memory formation occurs, but before consolidation has occurred.
Encoding is (fast/slow) learning?
FAST LEARNING
- formation of the memory trace during active practice of task
- defined by rehearsal in working memory
- highly influenced by selective attention and active problem solving
Fast learning can also be called _____.
Within-session learning
What happens during fast learning in the encoding stage?
- learner processes relevant information about task
- makes associations between goal, movement, and movement outcome
- feedback used to modulate further responses
- manipulation of practice environment will influence cognitive processing (ex. random vs blocked practice)
Fast learning lasts ______.
minutes to hours
Is fast learning sensitive to disruption?
yes
The consolidation stage of memory formation encompasses:
- ability to stabilize and enhance memories off-line
- majority of learning takes place after practice within 3-4 hours
- molecular mechanisms give rise to structural changes at synapses (long-term potentiation, gene transcription, and protein synthesis)
Motor memory consolidation is susceptible to interference by _________
external influences
Susceptibility to interference (increases/decreases) in the course of time after motor memories are formed?
decreases (near-linear curve from 0-4 hours)
Learning and recall of movement skill can be enhanced by:
- increasing amount of original learning
- fostering understanding of task to be learned
- mnemonics
- contextual interference during practice
- spacing of practice (distributed practice)
Does exercise contribute to maintaining or enhancing cognitive function?
YES
Different stages of memory formation were facilitated depending on ______ of exercise performance.
time
Exercise performed before or during learning exposure activates mechanisms that lower threshold for acquisition. true/false
true
Long-term exercise does not improve memory significantly. true/false
true, but does effect mechanism for memory processing
What is unique to REM sleep?
EEG patterns are similar to normal wakefulness pattern
What stage of memory formation is enhanced by sleep?
Consolidation; motor memories are consolidated during repeated cycles of slow-wave and REM sleep
Which stage of consolidation (stabilization/enhancement) is dependent on sleep?
enhancement
Do older, healthy adults show significant sleep-dependent improvement in spatial learning or fine motor tasks after sleeping?
NO, just a little
What are clinical applications of sleep on motor learning?
- conduct PT session later in day/in evening
- quiet environment to ensure better sleep
- nap following PT session
- assess effects of depression, medication, and sleep apnea
