Week Six - Memory Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 3 stages of learning?

A

Encoding
Storage
Retrieval

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2
Q

What occurs in the encoding stage?

A

We process incoming information.
Acquisition: Registration and analysis of sensory input.
Consolidation: Creating a stronger representation over time.

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3
Q

What occurs in the storge stage?

A

Permanent representation of the information is stored and formed.

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4
Q

What occurs during the retrieval stage?

A

Stored information is retrieved back into conscious awareness.

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5
Q

What are the 4 types of memory?

A

Sensory - iconic (visual) & echoic (auditory)
Short-term and Working
Long-term Nondeclarative
Long-term Declarative

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6
Q

What are the Sensory memory characteristics?

A

Time course: milliseconds/seconds
Capacity: High
Conscious awareness: No
Mechanism of loss: Primarily decay

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7
Q

What are the short-term/working memory characteristics?

A

Time course: seconds/minutes
Capacity: limited (7 max) but can increase through chunking
Conscious awareness: Yes
Mechanism of loss: Primarily decay

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8
Q

What are the long-term nondeclarative memory (implicit) characteristics?

A

Time course: days/years
Capacity: high
Conscious awareness: no
Mechanism of loss: Primarily interference

Involves previous experience
EG riding a bike

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9
Q

What are the long-term declarative memory (explicit) characteristics?

A

Time course: days/years
Capacity: high
Conscious awareness: yes
Mechanism of loss: Primarily interference

Episodic (events) & Semantic (facts)
EG remembering who is president

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10
Q

What is included in the Medial Temporal Lobe?

A

Hippocampus

Parahippocampal, entorhinal and perirhinal cortices

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11
Q

What does damage to the Medial Temporal Lobe result in?

A

Severe amnesia

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12
Q

What connects the hippocampus to other subcortical structures?

A

The fornix

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13
Q

What are the other subcortical structures that are involved in memory?

A

Fornix
Anterior thalamic nuclei
Mammillary bodies
Amygdala

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14
Q

What cortical structures are involved in memory?

A

The prefrontal cortex

Inferotemporal cortex

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15
Q

What does the PFC do in relation to memory? What does damage do?

A

Is involved in the storage and retrieval of memory. Also important for working memory processes
Damage can cause amnesia for episodic memories (
temporal order of events)

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16
Q

What does the Inferotemporal cortex do in relation to memory? What does damage do?

A

Though to play a role in the storage of visual representations. Also aids in the retrieval of visual memories.

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17
Q

What is the Cerebellum and Striatum role in memory?

A

Implicit memory
Cerebellum: Sensory motor skill learning and classical conditioning.
Striatum: Habit formation (learning where there is relationship between stimuli and responses)

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18
Q

Explain the Atkinson & Shiffrin Modal Model of Memory

A

We have sensory information which enters the information processing system and is first stored in a sensory register.

Items are then selected via attention and moved into STM and then if rehearsed, moved into LTM.

Can be lost via decay or interference.

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19
Q

Explain Baddeley & Hitch’s model of working memory

A

Emphasises the processes involved in the maintenance and manipulation of information.

We bring information into our ST/working memory and manipulate that information by performing mental operations on it.

Information is encoded differently according to whether it is visual or verbal

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20
Q

Baddeley & Hitch’s model 3 components of working memory?

A

Central Executive: Decision making, planning of responses and coordinating the two other systems.

Phonological Loop: Deals with auditory and verbal info stored in an acoustic/verbal code.

Visuospatial SketchPad: Stores visuospatial code, visual imagery etc

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21
Q

What is Anterograde Amnesia?

A

An inability to acquire new long term memories

22
Q

What is Retrograde Amnesia?

A

A loss of memories that were acquired prior to the onset of amnesia

23
Q

What kind of amnesia did HM have?

A

Severe anterograde amnesia
- episodic particularly
Retrograde amnesia 2 prior to surgery.

Had spared STM and non-declarative memory

24
Q

What occurs for patients with medial temporal lobe amnesia on the Digit span +1 test?

A

After the limits of STM (7 +/- 2), this tasks becomes difficult

25
Q

What is an aspect in amnesics regarding the acquisition of new semantic memories (especially HM)?

A

They may acquire some new semantic memories but typically do not know the source of knowledge (source amnesia).

Represented in HM floor plan of house drawing ability

26
Q

Explain the case of KC

A

Severe anterograde and retrograde amnesia.

Some factual knowledge of life and intact general world knowledge

Showed intact conceptual priming (ability to learn semantic info)

27
Q

What do cases like HM and KC tell us about episodic and semantic memory?

A

That they are supported by dissociable systems in the brain and semantic memory relies less on the hippocampus than episodic

28
Q

How can implicit learning and non-declarative knowledge be tested?

A

Mirror tracing tasks

Serial reaction time tasks

29
Q

What was HM results on the mirror tracing task?

A

Was able to perform and improve despite having no recollection of learning it previously

30
Q

What does the Dual trace theory suggest?

A

That the hippocampus holds memory until it is stored elsewhere

31
Q

What is global cerebral ischemia?

A

Interruption of the blood supply to the brain

32
Q

What is transient amnesia?

A

A short term amnesic syndrome (typically lasting 4-6 hours)

Occurs due to disrupted blood flow to MTL and diencephalon

33
Q

What is Korsakoff’s syndrome?

A

Caused by chronic consumption of alcohol and results from thiamine deficiency.

34
Q

Which areas degenerate in Alzheimer’s?

A

The basal forebrain, MTL and hippocampus (also experience reduce acetylcholine)

35
Q

Predementia Alzheimer sufferers commonly experience deficits in what memory?

A

ST and implicit

36
Q

What is Posttraumatic Amnesia?

A

Follows from a closed head injury - results in both anterograde and retrograde amnesia

37
Q

Explain the difference between brain regions involved in memory consolidation in ‘initial rapid consolidation’ and ‘slower permanent consolidation’

A

Initial Rapid Consolidation: Involves hippocampus and MTL

Slower Permanent Consolidation: An interaction between the MTL and neocortex

Suggests different structures are involved in acquisition and storage

38
Q

Old memories and new memories compete?

A

Older memories are more likely to be spared whereas new ones are more likely to be lost - suggesting older memories are stored more permanently

39
Q

What is the current view of the role of the Hippocampus in memory consolidation?

A

Hippocampus stores memory every time it is recalled, becoming more resistant to disruption through engrams

40
Q

What is an engram?

A

A change in the brain that stores memory

41
Q

Hippocampal lesions affect what memory in rodents?

A

Spatial

42
Q

What does the Morris water maze reflect the importance of?

A

Reflects the importance of hippocampus for relational/contextual memory

43
Q

What are Entorhinal Grid Cells?

A

Neurons that each have an array of evenly placed cells which map corresponding environment.

They send signals to hippocampus

Head-direction cells: When head turns in particular direction
Border cells: Fire when animalis at border of a particular environment

44
Q

What are Time Cells in MTL?

A

Code time based aspects of an experience

45
Q

What are Social Space Cells in MTL

A

Facilitate learning about social organisations

46
Q

What are Concept Cells in MTL?

A

Respond to ideas or concepts of a person or thing rather than visual stimuli

47
Q

What are Engram Cells in the MTL?

A

Encode for specific memories

48
Q

What has been found regarding the Hippocampus activation in retrieval studies?

A

Hippocampus is only active during retrieval of correctly remembered words (not if thought of as familiar or wrong etc)

49
Q

What brain region has increased activation during recognition confidence?

A

The perirhinal cortex

50
Q

Explain the BIC Model of episodic memory

A

The binding of items and context.

Consists of:
what & who information
where & when information

Hippocampus is thought to bind this information together to produce relational/episodic memory