Attention and Memory 2 Flashcards
What is the multiple-trace hypothesis of memory when talking about memory by time?
This is where different memory storage is relative to the duration of our different types of memory.
Iconic memory
The briefest form of memory
Short term memory (STM)
Are a littler longer in duration that Iconic (20s)
Long term memory (LTM)
The most enduring for of memory which can last for days or years.
What are the two types of memory?
Declarative
Things that we know we can tell people.
Nondeclarative (procedural)
Things that we tend to show by doing
What are the two subtypes of declarative memory?
Semantic memory
This is generalised memory like facts and figures as well as your birth date.
Episodic memory
This is autobiographical memory, personal experiences and how it felt on a particular event.
What is a feature of non-declarative memory, specifically conscious memory?
This is memory shown by performance. When it is shown without conscious awareness it is called implicit memory which can be contrasted with explicit memory, which is conscious awareness.
What are the three branches of non-declarative memory?
Skill learning
The unconscious acquisition of motor sequences.
Like knowing how to ride a bicycle
Priming
Where identification or production of an item is improved by an earlier encounter.
Being more likely to use a word that has been heard recently
Conditioning
Associating a neutral stimuli with another stimulus.
Salivating when you see a certain food
How have we understood what physiological brain structures are associated with memory?
From patients who have experienced lesions or neurophysiological brain damage. These have served as case studies to understand the implications of the neuroanatomical bases of memory.
What happened in the case of H.M.?
He suffered from seizures, and to stop these seizures the medial portions of his temporal lobe were removed in both hemispheres. This involved removing the medial portions of both temporal lobes including most of the hippocampus, amygdala and adjacent cortex (rhinal cortex) specifically the perirhinal cortex.
What was the functional impact of H.M’s surgery?
He was unable to form new long term memories, whilst preserving his STM such as perceptual skills, motor abilities and language.
He suffered from sever anterograde amnesia.
What are the two types of amnesia?
Retrograde
Loss of memory prior to the injury event
Anterograde
Loss of memory after injury event
What were the four tests that were used to assess H.M’s memory and thus implications of the medial bilateral temporal lobectomy?
The Digit span +1 test
Block tapping memory span test
Mirror drawing test
Incomplete pictures test
How does a digit span +1 test assess long term memory, how did this effect H.M.?
It is a test where a series of digits are presented one after the other, whilst repeating the first the second and so on digit in the sequence before adding another. For H.M. this showed the inability to form long term memory for verbal information as he would forget after a certain amount of digits.
How did the block tapping task effect H.M.?
This is similar to the digit span +1 test however instead of using verbal information he had to display memory through motor function. This showed that his memory was not limited to verbal information but his inability to form new memories was also haptic.
What was the phenomenon that happened when H.M. completed the mirror drawing test?
He performed the task over three days and become consistently more accurate over the test, almost perfecting the tracing on the third trail. However, H.M. had no memory of completing the trials, meaning is had no declarative memory but is non-declarative memory was intact. Meaning he suffered from anterograde amnesia for declarative memory and not non-declarative.
What did the Incomplete pictures test reveal about H.M.’s memory?
He was able to complete the task with greater accuracy overtime, however he still had no recollection in his declarative memory. Meaning that an aspect of his priming skills were retained.
