C5. P6 Flashcards
(43 cards)
Which part of the brain is most “central” to our working memory?
Prefrontal cortex
What role does the hippocampus play in memory?
Integrates present information with past information. It more involved in forming and consolidating explicit memories
What is the hippocampus?
A limbic system structure that extends into the brain’s temporal lobe and is highly involved in encoding explicit memories
What are two important things about the hippocampus?
1) Responsible for encoding new explicit memories into long term memories
2) Not the primary structure in the brain for accessing explicit memories from long term memory
What is the left hippocampus involved in?
The formation of explicit, declarative memories for factual information, episodes, and our personal autobiography
What is the right hippocampus involved it?
More involved with remembering spatial coordinates and locations
In the hippocampus, is the part that is involved in world learning the same for spatial locations?
No, word learning differs from the part that helps us form memories for spatial locations
What is memory consolidation?
The strengthening and modification of memories in long-term memory
What is the difference between encoding and consolidation?
Encoding takes the memories to long term memory, while consolidation only strengthens those memories
What does consolidation of memory do?
1) Tends to make the memory easier to retrieve in the future
2) Modify or update memories
What is the theory behind the hippocampus involvement of long term memory?
The theory is that the hippocampus somehow transfers information to other parts of the brain where it is consolidated into long-term memory
When does consolidation occur?
When asleep
What three structures are involved in implicit memory formation?
Hippocampus, cerebellum, and basal ganglia
What roles does the hippocampus play in implicit memory?
1) Automatic encoding of memories for time, space, and frequency
2) We do not consciously intend to retain this information, but it is there for retrieval
What is the basal ganglia?
A subcortical structure in the brain that interacts with the brainstem and hindbrain structures
What role does the basal ganglion play in implicit memory?
It’s involved, our ability to learn to associate things
Which parts of the brain are most involved in associative procedural memory?
Basal Ganglia and cerebellum
What happens with people who have damaged basal ganglia?
Patients with damaged to the basal ganglia networks show difficulty in learning new motor skills
What is the cerebellum?
The hindbrain structure behind the brain stem that is heavily involved in movement, balance, and procedural learning
What role does the cerebellum play in procedural memory?
It’s most important for timing and executing well-learned movements and procedures
What happens as procedural memory gets more and more managed by the cerebellum?
It becomes more automatic and requires less and less attentional resources from working memory
What structure hosts the most neural connections devoted to memories?
Prefrontal cortex
Which part of the brain is rich with association areas?
Cortex
Where can the neural connections that form our memory be found?
Association areas
