Learning and Memory Flashcards
Memory
the ability to store and retrieve information
Learning
acquiring new and enduring information leading to a modification of behavior
Retrograde amnesia
the loss of memories formed before the onset of amnesia
Anterograde amnesia
the inability to form memories after the onset of amnesia
Why did patient H.M have memory loss?
He suffered from seizures, the root of his seizures was in the medial temporal lobe, so his doctors removed the hippocampus and amygdala
What kind of memory loss did H.M experience?
extreme anterograde amnesia and minor retrograde amnesia
Mirror tracing task
H.M. could still learn, but he doesn’t remember ever learning. He got better at the task throughout the sessions but did not remember ever doing it
(non-declarative memory)
Declarative
things you know that you can tell others (hippocampus). Facts and information acquired through learning
Non-declarative
things you know that you can show by doing. Shown by performance rather than recollection
Delayed non-matching-to-sample task
object recognition memory test requiring monkeys to declare what they remember. Works by giving two objects to a monkey and always putting a treat under a new object that the monkey has not seen.
Delayed non-matching-to-sample task HYPOTHESIS
certain portions of the temporal lobe are required for the formation of new declarative memories
Delayed non-matching-to-sample task RESULTS
The more tissue that you take away, the more memory damage. The amygdala had no clear effects on memory.
What can disrupt new declarative memory?
disruption is due to damage to both to hippocampus itself, and to the nearby cortex
Patient N.A.
had amnesia due to accidental damage to the dorsomedial thalamus and mammillary bodies. No hippocampal damage, which suggests a larger memory network. He had short-term memory but could not form declarative long-term memories
Patient K.C.
could not retrieve personal memory due to damage to the cortex (frontoparietal cortex) and had some hippocampal shrinkage (not as important)
Where did Clive Wearing have damage?
damage to the temporal lobe, frontal lobe, and hippocampus
What is Clide’s function for episodic and semantic memories?
He has no episodic memory (retrograde and anterograde)
He cannot create new semantic memories, but he can remember old ones (anterograde)
What parts of the brain are responsible for episodic memory storage?
frontal and parietal cortexes
semantic memory
generalized declarative memory, more facts and knowledge
episodic memory
detailed autobiographical memory
What is the model of declarative memory formation
sensory processing in cortex → parahippocampal, entorhinal, perirhinal cortex → hippocampus → medical diencephalon including mammillary bodies → declarative memory storage in cortex
What will damage to the medial temporal lobe or the medial diencephalon/mammillary bodies prevent?
damage will prevent the formation of any new declarative memories, without the loss of previously formed memories
What are 4 types of nondeclarative memory?
Skill learning
Priming
Conditioning
Spatial memory
Skill learning
Learning to perform a challenging task through repetition. Skill learning is impaired with damage to the basal ganglia
