Chapter 12: Learning and Memory

Question 1

Who is Henry Molaison?

Answer 1

A young boy who cracked his skull while riding a bike and experienced frequent seizures. His case allowed for knowing more about how memory worked in the brain.

Question 2

What was removed in Henry’s surgery?

Answer 2

Medial temporal lobe specifically hippocampus and amygdala

Question 3

What happened after Henry’s surgery?

Answer 3

He functioned well and had fewer seizures but could not form new memories. He was only able to remember memories from before his surgery.

Question 4

What is anterograde amnesia?

Answer 4

The inability to form new memories after an injury

Question 5

What is retrograde amnesia?

Answer 5

The inability to recall old memories before the injruy

Question 6

What is needed to form new declarative memories?

Answer 6

hippocampus

Question 7

What is consolidation?

Answer 7

the process where the brain is forming a physical representation of memories

Question 8

What is retrieval?

Answer 8

The accessing of memories

Question 9

What is needed for consolidation and retrieval?

Answer 9

glutamate

Question 10

What happens when glutamate receptors are blocked?

Answer 10

It prevents consolidation and retrieval for memories

Question 11

Where are memories stored?

Answer 11

In the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus for consolidation and retrieval. Other areas in the brain are used to store physical memories.

Question 12

What are place cells?

Answer 12

Cells that fire when in a specific environment. These cells are found in both humans and primates.

Question 13

What is declarative memory?

Answer 13

knowing facts, people, and events

Question 14

What is non-declarative memory?

Answer 14

knowing memories of behaviors, skills, procedures, emotions

Question 15

What is needed for declarative memory?

Answer 15

the hippocampus

Question 16

What is needed for non-declarative memory?

Answer 16

striatum (a part of the basal ganglia)

Question 17

What memory was intact in Henry Molaison?

Answer 17

non-declaritive

Question 18

What is a working memory?

Answer 18

Where memory is temporarily stored. Working memory matches old memory with new memory.

Question 19

What is used in working memory?

Answer 19

the prefrontal cortex

Question 20

What is Hebb’s rule?

Answer 20

When neurons fire together, the synapse strengthen together.

“cells that fire together, wire together”

Question 21

What is long-term potentiation(LTP)?

Answer 21

synapses become stronger over time

Question 22

What is long-term depression(LDP)?

Answer 22

decrease in synaptic strength due to weak pre-synaptic activity towards post-synaptic cell

Question 23

What is associative LTP?

Answer 23

When a weak synapse is present when two strong synapses are together

Question 24

What stimulates LTP?

Answer 24

high frequency

Question 25

What stimulates LTD?

Answer 25

low frequency

Question 26

What is LTP used for?

Answer 26

forming and recalling memories

Question 27

What is LTD used for?

Answer 27

deleting memories, editing incorrect memories

Question 28

What is associative LTP used for?

Answer 28

classical conditioning

Question 29

How is learning measured?

Answer 29

theta waves from 4 to 7 Hz

Question 30

What is necessary for LTP?

Answer 30

two glutamate synapses which are AMPA and NMDA. AMPA opens sodium channels and causes excitatory postsynaptic potential. As well as NMDA that opens calcium channels

Question 31

What was concluded in the taxi study?

Answer 31

Drivers with more experience have large posterior growth in the hippocampus

Question 32

What two enzymes are necessary for consolidation?

Answer 32

CaMKII for the establishment of LTP and protein kinase M theta for long-term memory

Question 33

When does consolidation take place?

Answer 33

sleep

Question 34

What happens to neurons during learning?

Answer 34

hippocampus adds neurons (neurogenesis) as seen in taxi driver study.

Question 35

What is extinction?

Answer 35

The deleting of memories through learning requires the activation of NMDA. Similar to Pavlov's dogs that will stop doing a behavior and is still learning

Question 36

What is forgetting?

Answer 36

the active biological process of removing useless information through enzyme PP1 and rac protein

Question 37

What is reconsolidation?

Answer 37

during memory retrieval that corrects errors and refines memories. Can create false memories in the process.

Question 38

What was once believed about dementia?

Answer 38

Researchers believed that dementia was inevitable and was bound to happen

Question 39

What can memory loss be attributed to?

Answer 39

myelin/neuron loss and impaired LTP

Question 40

What can slow down memory loss?

Answer 40

enriched activities like crossword puzzles and even exercise

Question 41

What is the reserve hypothesis?

Answer 41

an active lifestyle can promote neurogenesis like reading or exercising

Question 42

What did the nun study conclude?

Answer 42

More elaborate writing journals can decrease memory loss

Question 43

What is Alzheimer's disease?

Answer 43

the deterioration of the brain that results in memory loss

Question 44

Who is affected by Alzheimer's disease?

Answer 44

10% of people who are over 65 and 50% of those over 85

Question 45

What are the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease?

Answer 45

aggressive, confused about environment and those around them, and loss of reason

Question 46

What are some neural abnormalities?

Answer 46

amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles

Question 47

What are amyloid plaques?

Answer 47

an interference in neural transmission. Clumps of amyloid protein will cluster around axon terminals and interfere with transmission signals

Question 48

What are neurofibrillary tangles?

Answer 48

An abnormal increase of tau protein causes neural death.

Question 49

What happens to the brain when one has Alzheimer's disease?

Answer 49

There is a loss of neurons in the temporal/frontal lobe, enlarged ventricles, and isolated hippocampus

Question 50

How many genes are confirmed for Alzheimer's?

Answer 50

4

Question 51

What is the breakdown of genes for Alzheimer's?

Answer 51

3 early onset for those less than 60 and 1 late on set for those older than 60

Question 52

What gene has the highest risk and is related to neural abnormality?

Answer 52

APOE ε4 that causes 3-8x more risk

Question 53

What are the 4 genes in Alzheimer's?

Answer 53

APP, Presenilin 1 &2, and APOE ε4

Question 54

What are some environmental factors that contribute to Alzheimer's?

Answer 54

pesticides, lead exposure, and chronic stress

Question 55

What are some treatments for Alzheimer's?

Answer 55

Memantine for glutamate, drugs that remove tangles and plaques that are somewhat effective but not really. Most of the treatment can slow down but will not cure it

Question 56

How is Alzheimer's detected?

Answer 56

brain scans like PET and MRI

Question 57

What is Korkasoff's syndrome?

Answer 57

brain deterioration that is caused by alcoholism.

Question 58

What is damaged in Korkasoff's syndrome?

Answer 58

mamillary bodies, medial thalamus as well as abnormal frontal lobe

Question 59

What deficiency is found in Korkasoff's syndrome?

Answer 59

Low thiamine (B1) where calories are taken in through alcohol rather than food

Question 60

What are the symptoms found in Korkasoff's syndrome?

Answer 60

anterograde amnesia, confabulation(reality vs. memory), but intact non-declarative memory

Question 61

What is confabulation?

Answer 61

the inability to distinguish what is real and a memory due to frontal lobe damage

Question 62

What is some treatment for Korkasoff's syndrome?

Answer 62

High thiamine intake but little treatment as it can't be reversed