Learning and Memory Flashcards
(32 cards)
What is classical conditioning?
A learning process where pairing two stimuli changes the response to one of them; pioneered by Ivan Pavlov.
What is instrumental (operant) conditioning?
Learning in which an individual’s response is followed by a reinforcer or punishment.
What is a reinforcer?
An event that increases the probability that a response will occur again.
What is a punishment?
An event that decreases the probability that a response will occur again.
What was Lashley’s hypothesis about the engram?
That a knife cut between connected brain areas would abolish the learned response.
What were Lashley’s two principles?
Equipotentiality and mass action.
What is equipotentiality?
All parts of the cortex contribute equally to complex functioning behaviors.
What is mass action?
The cortex works as a whole, and more cortex is better.
What did Thompson suggest about the engram?
That it is located in the cerebellum, specifically the lateral interpositus nucleus (LIP).
What are Hebb’s two types of memory?
Short-term memory and long-term memory.
What is working memory?
Temporary storage of information to actively attend to and manipulate it.
What brain area is associated with working memory?
The prefrontal cortex.
What kind of memory impairment did patient H.M. have?
Severe anterograde and partial retrograde amnesia.
What memories remained intact for H.M.?
Short-term/working memory and procedural memory.
What is semantic memory?
Memory for factual information.
What is episodic memory?
Memory of single personal events.
What is implicit memory?
The influence of past experiences on behavior without conscious awareness.
What is procedural memory?
Development of motor skills and habits.
What is the role of the hippocampus in memory?
Crucial for forming new long-term declarative and spatial memories.
What tasks test hippocampal function in animals?
Delayed matching/non-matching-to-sample tasks, radial mazes, and the Morris water maze.
What is contextual memory?
Memory for the context in which an event occurred.
What causes Korsakoff’s syndrome?
Prolonged thiamine deficiency, often due to chronic alcoholism.
What are symptoms of Korsakoff’s syndrome?
Apathy, confusion, memory loss, and confabulation.
What is Alzheimer’s disease?
A neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive memory loss.
