Exam 3: Learning and Memory

Question 1

Learning

Answer 1

A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge due to experience.

Question 2

Memory

Answer 2

The ability to encode, store, and retrieve information.

Question 3

Long-Term Memory

Answer 3

A type of memory that can store information indefinitely.

Question 4

Short-Term Memory

Answer 4

A limited-capacity store for information being actively used.

Question 5

Working Memory

Answer 5

A system for temporarily holding and manipulating information.

Question 6

Patient Hm

Answer 6

A famous case study who lost the ability to form new declarative memories after MTL removal.

Question 7

Consolidation

Answer 7

The process of stabilizing a memory trace after initial acquisition.

Question 8

Recall

Answer 8

The act of retrieving information from memory without external cues.

Question 9

Reconsolidation

Answer 9

The process by which retrieved memories become susceptible to change.

Question 10

Medial Temporal Lobe (MTL)

Answer 10

A brain region including the hippocampus, essential for declarative memory.

Question 11

Declarative Memories

Answer 11

Memories of facts and events that can be consciously recalled.

Question 12

Semantic Memories

Answer 12

General world knowledge, like facts and concepts.

Question 13

Episodic Memory

Answer 13

Memory for personal events and experiences.

Question 14

Retrograde Amnesia

Answer 14

Loss of memories formed before the onset of amnesia.

Question 15

Anterograde Amnesia

Answer 15

Inability to form new memories after the onset of amnesia.

Question 16

Infantile Amnesia

Answer 16

The inability to recall memories from early childhood.

Question 17

Alzheimer’s Disease

Answer 17

A neurodegenerative disorder characterized by memory loss and cognitive decline.

Question 18

Procedural Memories

Answer 18

Memory for skills and actions, often preserved in amnesia.

Question 19

Basal Ganglia

Answer 19

A group of subcortical structures involved in procedural learning.

Question 20

Mirror Tracing Task

Answer 20

A task used to demonstrate procedural learning even in amnesic patients.

Question 21

Nonassociative Learning

Answer 21

Learning that involves a change in response to a single stimulus.

Question 22

Habituation

Answer 22

Decreased response to a repeated, benign stimulus.

Question 23

Sensitization

Answer 23

Increased response following a strong or noxious stimulus.

Question 24

Associative Learning

Answer 24

Learning that involves forming a connection between two events.

Question 25

Classical Conditioning

Answer 25

Learning through association between a neutral stimulus and a reflexive response.

Question 26

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

Answer 26

A stimulus that naturally elicits a response.

Question 27

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Answer 27

A previously neutral stimulus that elicits a response after conditioning.

Question 28

Conditioned Response (CS)

Answer 28

The learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Question 29

Operant Conditioning

Answer 29

Learning based on consequences of behavior.

Question 30

Positive Reinforcement

Answer 30

Adding a stimulus to increase a behavior.

Question 31

Negative Reinforcement

Answer 31

Removing a stimulus to increase a behavior.

Question 32

Positive Punishment

Answer 32

Adding a stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Question 33

Negative Punishment

Answer 33

Removing a stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Question 34

The Hippocampus

Answer 34

A brain region critical for forming new declarative memories.

Question 35

Limbic System

Answer 35

A network involved in emotion, motivation, and memory.

Question 36

Entorhinal Cortex

Answer 36

A gateway between the neocortex and the hippocampus.

Question 37

Spatial Memories

Answer 37

Memory for the location of objects or navigation of space.

Question 38

Morris Water Maze

Answer 38

A test of spatial learning and memory in rodents.

Question 39

Radial Arm Maze

Answer 39

A behavioral task measuring working and reference memory in animals.

Question 40

The Amygdala

Answer 40

A brain region involved in emotion and emotional memory.

Question 41

Fear Conditioning

Answer 41

A type of classical conditioning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with fear.

Question 42

Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)

Answer 42

Involved in working memory, decision-making, and retrieval of long-term memories.

Question 43

Striatum

Answer 43

A subcortical structure important for habit formation and procedural learning.

Question 44

Cerebellum

Answer 44

Plays a role in motor coordination and certain types of learning like eyeblink conditioning.

Question 45

Encoding

Answer 45

The initial process of perceiving and learning information.

Question 46

Engram

Answer 46

The physical trace of a memory in the brain.

Question 47

Donald O. Hebb

Answer 47

Proposed that neurons that fire together wire together; a basis for synaptic plasticity.

Question 48

Retrieval

Answer 48

The process of accessing stored information from memory.

Question 49

Place Cells

Answer 49

Hippocampal neurons that fire when an animal is in a specific location.

Question 50

Grid Cells

Answer 50

Neurons in the entorhinal cortex that represent space using a grid-like pattern.

Question 51

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

Answer 51

A long-lasting increase in synaptic strength following high-frequency stimulation.

Question 52

Long-Term Depression (LTD)

Answer 52

A long-lasting decrease in synaptic strength following low-frequency stimulation.

Question 53

AMPA Receptors

Answer 53

Glutamate receptors involved in fast synaptic transmission and LTP.

Question 54

NMDA Receptors

Answer 54

Glutamate receptors critical for synaptic plasticity and LTP induction.

Question 55

Calcium-Calmodulin Dependent Protein Kinase ii (CAMKII)

Answer 55

An enzyme activated by calcium that plays a key role in LTP.