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Neuroscience of Learning and Memory > Exam 2 Material > Flashcards

Exam 2 Material Flashcards

1
Q

Aplysia californica

A

A mollusk that feeds on algae in the shallows of
the Pacific ocean on the coast of the US &
Mexico

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2
Q

why are we talking about sea slugs in a
psychology/neuroscience class?

A

-Relatively small nervous system (~20,000 cells)
-Their neurons are identifiable
-Learning & memory in Aplysia’snervous system can
be fully understood

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3
Q

non-associative learning

A

when mere exposure to a stimulus alters the
magnitude or intensity of subsequent responses

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4
Q

Habituation

A

when a response to a stimulus decreases with repeated exposure. The process by which experience allows you to “get used to it”

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5
Q

Sensitization

A

when a response to a stimulus increases with repeated exposure, or with exposure to a different stimulus (cross-sensitization). The process by which experience makes you increasingly reactive

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6
Q

Gill withdrawal reflex

A

the siphon (thru which water
is expelled) receives a light manual stimulus,
triggering a reflex that causes the siphon & gill to
retract

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7
Q

Repeated light touch to the siphon causes the reflex
to become ____ intense (i.e. habituate)

A

less

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8
Q

Shock applied to the tail causes the response to
____ to its original intensity (i.e. dishabituate)

A

return

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9
Q

Habituation allows animals to _______, while sensitization and dishabituation reinstate and enhance ________ reactions

A

adjust; defensive

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10
Q

Gill Withdrawl Circuit

A

A simple circuit in the abdominal ganglion of Aplysiamediates gill withdrawal and encodes
the habituation and sensitization learning processes that alter this defensive reflex

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11
Q

Short Term Habituation (STH)

A

A decrease in the magnitude of a response that lasts for a relatively brief period, hours in the case of Aplysia’sgill withdrawal reflex

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12
Q

STH is mediated by __________ __________

A

Synaptic Depression

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13
Q

Synaptic depression is rapidly _______
in dishabituation

A

reversed

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14
Q

Long Term Habituation (LTH)

A

A long-lasting decrease in the magnitude of response, days-weeks in the case of Aplysia’s gill withdrawal reflex

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15
Q

What induces LTH?

A

Protein synthesis plays a crucial role

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16
Q

LTH is also mediated by __________ _________

A

synaptic depression

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17
Q

Short Term Sensitization (STS)

A

An increase in the magnitude of the response that for a relatively short period, minutes in the case of Aplysia’sgill withdrawal reflex

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18
Q

STS is mediated by ________ ________

A

synaptic facilitation

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19
Q

The facilitation is caused by

A

increased neurotransmitter release from the siphon
sensory neuron

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20
Q

What causes the increase in
neurotransmitter release?

A

-Serotonin release onto the terminal of the siphon sensory neuron causes an increase in the duration
of the action potential
-A longer action potential causes more calcium ions to enter the terminal, increasing neurotransmitter
release
-Neurotransmitter release is triggered by calcium, which enters the presynaptic terminal when the
action potential arrives

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21
Q

Long Term Sensitization (LTS)

A

An increase in the magnitude of a response that lasts for a long period, days-weeks in the case of Aplysia’sgill withdrawal reflex

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22
Q

LTS is a __________ process

A

multistage

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23
Q

STH & STS

A

brief synaptic depression or
facilitation mediated by changes in
neurotransmitter release

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24
Q

LTH & LTS

A

long-lasting synaptic depression or
facilitation mediated by addition or
subtraction of synapses

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25
LTH & LTS require
protein synthesis-dependent consolidation
26
Procedural Memory
Implicit/non-declarative, acquired through associative & non-associative mechanisms
27
Pavlovian Learning/Classical Conditioning
A form of associative learning about the relationship between otherwise neutral stimuli in the environment and the motivationally salient stimuli & outcomes they predict
28
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
a ‘neutral’ sensory cue that does not elicit a major response when presented alone
29
Unconditioned Stimulus (US):
a cue, event, or outcome that can elicit a behavioral response (known as the unconditioned reaction or UR) when presented alone
30
Conditioned Reaction (CR)
the learned response elicited by the CS once it has become associated with the US
31
Rescorla-Wagner model λ-ΣV=ΔV
New learning (ΔV) will result if the US you get (λ) differs (-) from what you expect (ΣV)
32
Where Does Eye Blink Conditioning Occur in the Brain?
The cerebellum
33
Cerebellum
Plays a key modulatory role in motion, contributing to timing and precision
34
Lesions of the rabbit cerebellum prevent the __, but not the __
CR, UR
35
Reflex
an involuntary motor reaction that occurs in response to a particular sensory stimulus
36
Parallel fibers
granule cell axons that contact Purkinje cells
37
Purkinje cell
large inhibitory neuron that is the primary out put of the cerebellar cortex
38
Climbing fiber
axon that arises from cells in the inferior olivary nucleus; carries info about air puff (US) to the Purkinje cell
39
Mossy fiber
axon that arises from cells in the pontine nucleus; carries info about tone (CS) to the Purkinje cell via granule cells (blue)
40
Presentation of the CS causes Purkinje cells to _____ the rate at which they fire action potentials. The magnitude of the ______ correlates with the size of the eye blink CR
decrease
41
Purkinje cells _________ the eye blink CR pathway
disinhibit
42
Both CS and US form excitatory (glutamate) synapses on Purkinje cells, yet experimental manipulations of these projections that should produce associative LTP instead produce ___
LTD
43
LTD is mediated by a decrease in AMPA receptor function at parallel fiber synapses on Purkinje cells
*The flow of sodium ions through AMPA receptors is reduced *AMPA receptors become less sensitive to glutamate *Fewer AMPA receptors in the postsynaptic membrane
44
Emotion
A psychological state, triggered by external stimuli, that rapidly organizes and implements a complex, coordinated response that is appropriate/adaptive for a given situation
45
Once triggered, emotions organize a coordinated response at multiple levels:
*Conscious: feelings *Cognitive: decision making *Behavioral *Autnonomic/physiological
46
Constructionist Definition of Emotion
Emotions are a mix of other, more fundamental psychological components, and thus do not have dedicated circuits underlying them.
47
The amygdala
A brain structure in the temporal lobe that plays a key role in emotional processing
48
Klüver-Bucy Syndrome
removal of the monkey amygdala causes a series of bizarre emotional and motivational responses
49
Capgras Syndrome
The delusional belief that significant figures in your life have been replaced with imposters
50
Capgras Syndrome damage location
Neurological damage impacts the ‘ventral stream’, which carries visual information from the occipital lobe to the temporal lobe and amygdala
51
a Capgras sufferer will remember ________ about a person (i.e. no amnesia), but still believe that they have somehow been replaced
everything
52
Emotional memory
Stored information that triggers an emotional reaction
53
Fear conditioning
a form of Pavlovian learning in which a neutral cue (conditioned stimulus) comes to predict an aversive outcome (unconditioned stimulus)
54
Freezing:
immobility with increased muscle tension
55
Freezing is a _________ behavior
respondent
56
Increased cardiovascular function
heart rate and blood pressure increase when the CS is presented
57
Conditioned analgesia
the animal becomes less sensitive to pain when the CS is presented
58
Hormonal changes
the CS increases corticosterone concentrations in the blood
59
Galvanic skin response (GSR)
emotionally arousing stimuli cause you to sweat imperceptibly, change the electrical conductance of your skin to change in measurable ways
60
Lateral Amygdala (LA)
contains multimodal cells that respond to auditory CSs AND shock USs, thought to be a crucial ‘locus of association’ in fear conditioning
61
Basal Amygdala (BA):
plays a role in routing information around the amygdala and to other structures
62
Central amygdala (CeA)
a major output region of the amygdala that contacts all the other structures involved in producing conditioned reactions to the CS
63
the locus of association
the LA
64
____ in LA is necessary for fear learning
NMDA
65
Periaqueductal gray (PAG)
brainstem structure crucial for freezing & conditioned analgesia *PAG lesions prevent both effects *Drugs that block opioid receptors injected into PAG prevent conditioned analgesia
66
Dorsal vagal complex (DVC)
brainstem structure involved in conditioned changes in heart rates
67
Lateral hypothalamus (LH)
brainstem structure involved in conditioned hormonal responses
68
CeA works via a complex _______ microcircuit
inhibitory
69
Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)
Region of the brain crucial for ‘executive function’ – a broad term for various forms of cognitive control and self regulation necessary to facilitate complex tasks and the attainment of long term goals
70
____ plays an inhibitory role, regulating emotional responses that might interfere with other adaptive behavior
mPFC
71
Intercalated Cells (ITC)
inhibitory neurons between amygdalar nuclei that receive mPFC input
72
mPFC lesion ________ conditioned freezing
enhances
73
Extinction Learning
Repeated presentation of the CS absent the US reduces the expression of a Pavlovian fear memory
74
Extinction produces a new ________ memory- the association between the CS and the absence of the US
inhibitory
75
Cognitive Map
stored information about the attributes and layout of the environment that is used to navigate through space
76
The traditional behaviorist interpretation
animals learn behavioral responses through reinforcement (an event or outcome that makes the preceding response more likely)
77
Tolman’s Maze Experiment
Behaviorist hypothesis: food at the end gradually reinforces efficient maze running trial by trial Cognitive map hypothesis: using a variety of sensory inputs, the subject generates a stored representation of the maze that allows them to run it more efficiently
78
Food ______ behavior, but, according to the cognitive map hypothesis is not necessary for spatial learning
motivates
79
latent learning
information that is acquired and stored but does not necessarily impact behavior until the correct test is performed
80
Contextual fear memory
The chamber in which conditioning occurs can act as a CS, and becomes associated with the US through Rescorla-Wagner learning rules. Later, the chamber itself will elicit conditioned reactions such as freezing
81
When does contextual fear memory occur?
Contextual fear conditioning occurs when shock US is unsignalled (no tone CS presented)
82
immediate shock deficit (ISD)
if shock is delivered within 10-20 secs of the first time an animal is placed in a new chamber, no contextual association is formed. Relatively weak conditioning will occur within the first 20-120 secs.
83
Does contextual fear memory require the formation of a cognitive map?
Place cells begin to show location-specific firing over a period of seconds to minutes, paralleling the times needed in the chamber to produce a strong contextual association.
84
Do contextual fear memories require NMDA?
no
85
The role of the amygdala is _____ required for contextual conditioning when only one or a few shocks are given during training
always
86
Hippocampus & amygdala are _______ at the time of learning to produce life-long contextual fear memory
needed

Neuroscience of Learning and Memory (2 decks)

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