Learning And Memory (1-20) Flashcards
(35 cards)
What is the definition of learning?
Modification in behaviour due to increase in knowledge or skills
Involves acquiring new information and experiences
What is memory?
Ability to retain and recall information and experiences
Allows learned behaviour to persist over time so it can guide future behaviour
What type of memory is declarative (explicit) memory?
Systems-level memory that can be consciously recalled or verbalised
Includes facts and events
What did Lashley’s research in the 1920s-30s conclude about memory?
Memory is NOT localised to a single cortical region; it is distributed across the cortex
More cortex removed = worse memory, regardless of location
What was the conclusion of Penfield’s stimulation of the temporal lobes?
Temporal lobe plays a role in storing episodic memories
Some patients reported vivid recollections of past events
What was the outcome of Henry Molaison’s surgery?
Developed profound anterograde amnesia; could NOT form new long-term declarative memories
Procedural memory remained intact
What are the two main subtypes of declarative memory?
- Episodic memory
- Semantic memory
Define episodic memory.
Memory for specific events or experiences, tied to time and place
Involves mental time travel
Provide an example of episodic memory.
Remembering the first day at university
Involves recalling specific personal experiences
Define semantic memory.
General knowledge about the world, not personal but factual
Example: Knowing Paris is the capital of France
What is procedural memory?
Non-verbal, unconscious memory for skills and habits
Example: Knowing how to ride a bike
What brain areas are involved in procedural memory?
- Basal ganglia
- Cerebellum
Which brain regions are involved in long-term semantic and episodic memory?
Cerebral cortex, particularly temporal and frontal lobes
Also includes basal ganglia and limbic system
What role does the hippocampus play in memory?
Central for declarative memory, especially forming new long-term episodic memories
Part of the limbic system
What did Maguire et al.’s 1997 study on taxi drivers demonstrate?
Experience-dependent plasticity in the human hippocampus
Increased volume of posterior right hippocampus correlated with time spent as a taxi driver
What is the process of memory storage from short-term to long-term?
New info enters short-term memory, without rehearsal it is forgotten, with repetition it is encoded into long-term memory
Long-term retrieval is slower but stable
What is Hebb’s Rule?
Neurones that fire together, wire together
Repeated activation strengthens synapses
What is synaptic plasticity?
The basis of Long-Term Potentiation (LTP), where repeated activation strengthens connections between neurones
Underlies the mechanisms of memory
True or False: Inactive synapses are strengthened.
False
Inactive synapses are weakened or eliminated
What does the model of Hebbian plasticity explain?
How practice leads to memory and how neural networks are shaped by repeated activity
Active axons stabilise synapses
What organism did Eric Kandel study to explore synaptic plasticity?
Aplysia, a sea slug with a simple and well-mapped nervous system.
Kandel’s work focused on the gill withdrawal reflex in Aplysia.
What is sensitisation in the context of Aplysia’s learning?
Stronger gill withdrawal response after repeated shocks.
This indicates non-associative learning leading to synaptic growth.
What is the conclusion from Kandel’s work on Aplysia?
Non-associative learning can lead to synaptic growth and neuroplasticity.
Kandel won the Nobel Prize in 2000 for this foundational work.
What does the gill withdrawal reflex circuit diagram track?
Behavioral and synaptic change in Aplysia.
It shows the effects of single vs. repeated shocks on memory.
