Chapter 11 - Learning, Memory and Amnesia Flashcards

1
Q

Learning

A

deals with how experience changes the brain

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2
Q

Memory

A

how the changes, which occurred because of the learning, are stored and subsequently reactivated

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3
Q

Amnesia

A

any pathological loss of memory

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4
Q

Bilateral medial temporal lobectomy

A

the removal of the medial portions of both temporal lobes, including most of the hippocampus, amygdala and adjacent cortex

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5
Q

Hippocampus

A

A structure of the medial temporal lobes that plays a role in various forms of memory

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6
Q

Amygdala

A

structure in the anterior temporal lobe, just anterior to the hippocampus, plays a role in emotion

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7
Q

Lobectomy

A

an operation in which a lobe, or a major part of one, is removed from the brain

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8
Q

• Lobotomy

A

an operation in which a lobe, or a major part of one, is removed from the brain

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9
Q

• Retrograde amnesia

A

Loss of memory for events or information learned before the amnesia-inducing brain injury (backward acting)

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10
Q

• Anterograde amnesia

A

Loss of memory for events occurring after the amnesia-inducing brain injury (forward-acting)

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11
Q

• Short-Term memory

A

storage of information for brief periods of time while a person attends to it

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12
Q

• Long-term memory

A

storage to new information once the person stops attending to it

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13
Q

• Digit span

A

the longest sequence of random digits that can be repeated correctly 50% of the time – most people have a digit span of 7

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14
Q

• Global amnesia

A

amnesia for information presented in all sensory modalities

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15
Q

• Block-tapping memory test

A

kind of like “Simon says” lol, an array of nine blocks was spread out on a board in front of the patient, who is asked to watch the instructor to repeat the sequence of blocks he is touching; normal range is around 5

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16
Q

• Incomplete pictures test

A

A test of memory measuring the improved ability to identify fragmented pictures that have been previously observed

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17
Q

• Remote memory

A

memory for experiences in the distant past

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18
Q

• Memory consolidation

A

the translation from short-term memories to long-term memories

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19
Q

• Explicit memories: = declarative memory

A

conscious, long-term memories

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20
Q

• Implicit memories

A

memories that are expressed by improved performance without conscious recall or recognition

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21
Q

• Medial temporal lobe amnesia

A

Amnesia associated with bilateral amnesia to the medial temporal lobes; its major features are anterograde and retrograde amnesia for explicit memories with preserved, intellectual functioning

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22
Q

• Semantic memories

A

explicit memories for general facts or information

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23
Q

• Episodic memory

A

explicit memories for specific events (i.e., episodes) of one’s life

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24
Q

• Global cerebral ischemia

A

an interruption of blood supply to the entire brain; people who have experienced this often suffer from medial temporal lobe amnesia

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25
Q

• Pyramidal cells

A

large multipolar cortical neurons with a pyramid-shaped cell body, an apical dendrite and a very long axon

26
Q

• Pyramidal cell layer

A

one of the major layers of cell bodies in the hippocampus

27
Q

• CA1 subfield

A

a region of the hippocampus that is commonly damaged by cerebral ischemia

28
Q

• Transient global amnesia

A

defined by its sudden onset in the absence of any obvious cause in otherwise normal adults; [ a sudden onset severe anterograde amnesia and moderate retrograde amnesia for explicit episodic memory that is transient (vorrübergehend) – typically lasting only between 4-6 hours

29
Q

• Korsakoff’s syndrome

A

disorder of memory common in people who have consumed large amounts of alcohol; the brain damage is largely attributable to the brain damage associated with the thiamine deficiency that often accompanies heavy alcohol consumption; in its advanced stages it is characterized by a variety of sensory and motor problems, extreme confusion; personality changes and a risk of death from liver, gastrointestinal or heart disorders

30
Q

• Mediodorsal nuclei

A

a pair of thalamic nuclei, damage to which is thought to be responsible for many of the memory deficits associated with Korsakoff’s syndrome

31
Q

• Medial diencephalic amnesia

A

amnesia that is associated with damage to the medial diencephalon

32
Q

• Alzheimer’s disease

A

: the most common form of dementia in the elderly; it’s three defining characteristics are neurofibrillary tangles, amyloid plaque and neuron loss

33
Q

• Basal forebrain

A

a midline area located just above the hypothalamus, brain’s main source of acetylcholine

34
Q

• Posttraumatic amnesia (PTA):

A

amnesia following a nonpenetrating blow to the head

35
Q

• Electroconvulsive shock (ECS)

A

intense, brief, diffuse, seizure-inducing current that is administered to the brain through large electrodes attached to the scalp

36
Q

• Engram

A

a change in the brain that stores a memory

37
Q

• Standard consolidation theory/ dual trace memory

A

the theory that memories are temporarily stored in the hippocampus until they can be transferred to a more stable cortical storage system

38
Q

• Delayed nonmatching-to-sample test

A

a test in which the subject is presented with an unfamiliar sample object and then, after a delay, is presented with a choice between the sample object an unfamiliar object, where the correct choice is the unfamiliar object

39
Q

• Medial temporal cortex

A

cortex in the medial temporal lobe that lies adjacent to the hippocampus and amygdala

40
Q

• Mumby box

A

an apparatus that is used in the rat version of the Delayed nonmatching-to-sample test

41
Q

• Morris Water maze test

A

: a widely used test of spatial memory in which rats must learn to swim directly to a platform hidden just beneath the surface of a circular pool of murky water

42
Q

• Radial arm maze test

A

a widely used test of rats’ spatial ability in which the same arms are baited on each trial, and the rat must learn to visit only the baited arms once per trial

43
Q

• Reference memory

A

memory for the general principles and skills that are required to perform a task

44
Q

• Working memory

A

Temporary memory that is necessary for the successful performance of a task which one is currently working on

45
Q

• Place cells

A

neurons that respond only when the subject is in specific locations

46
Q

• Entorhinal cortex

A

an area of the medial temporal cortex that is a major source of neural signals to the hippocampus

47
Q

• Grid cells

A

entorhinal neurons that each have an extensive array of evenly spaced place fields, producing a pattern reminiscent of graph paper

48
Q

• Jennifer Aniston Neurons

A

Neurons, such as those found in the medial temporal lobe, that respond to ideas or concepts rather than to particulars; also known as concept cells

49
Q

• Engram cells

A

neurons that maintain an engram [change in the brain that stores memory]

50
Q

• Inferotemporal cortex

A

cortex of the inferior temporal cortex), complex visual functions

51
Q

• Prefrontal cortex

A

the area of the frontal cortex anterior to the motor cortex

52
Q

• Cerebellum

A

a metencephalic structure that is thought to participate in the storage of memories of learned sensorimotor skills

53
Q

• Striatum

A

structure of the basal ganglia that is the terminal of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway; thought to store memories for consistent relationships between stimuli and responses (the type of memory that develop incrementally over many trials) –> sometimes this striatum-based learning is referred to as habit formation

54
Q

• Long-term potentiation (LTP

A

the enduring facilitation of synaptic transmission that occurs following activation of synapses by high-intensity, high-frequency stimulation of presynaptic neurons

55
Q

• NMDA receptor

A

: = N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors – Glutamate receptors that play key roles in the development of stroke-induced brain damage and LTP at glutaminergic synapses

56
Q

• Dendritic spines

A

tiny protrusions of various shapes that are located on the surface of many dendrites

57
Q

• Transcription factors

A

: intracellular proteins that bind to DNA and influence the operation of particular genes

58
Q

• Long-term depression (LTD

A

a long-lasting decrease in synaptic efficacy (the flip side of LTP) that occurs in response to prolonged low-frequency stimulation of presynaptic neuronsv

59
Q

• Metaplasticity

A

refers to the fact that LTP and/or LTD can be modulated by prior synaptic activity

60
Q

• Infantile amnesia

A

we remember virtually nothing of the events from our infancy

61
Q

• Nootropics/ smart drugs

A

substances (drugs, supplements, herbal extracts,) that are thought to improve memory