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MCAT > Learning and Memory > Flashcards

Learning and Memory Flashcards

(75 cards)

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1
Q

Habituation

A

Repeated exposure to a stimulus can cause a decrease in response

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2
Q

Dishabituation

A

Recovery of a response to a stimulus after habituation has occurred

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3
Q

Associative learning

A

Creation of a pairing (association) between two stimuli or between a behavior and response

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4
Q

What are the two types of associative learning?

A

Classical conditioning

Operant conditioning

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5
Q

Classical conditioning

A

Takes advantage of the fact that some stimuli can cause an innate or reflexive physiologic response

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6
Q

Unconditioned stimulus

A

Stimulus that causes a reflexive response

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7
Q

Unconditioned response

A

Reflexive response

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8
Q

Neutral Stimuli

A

Stimuli that do not cause an unconditioned response

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9
Q

Conditioned stimulus

A

Stimulus that was previously neutral but eventually causes a reflexive response

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10
Q

Conditioned response

A

Reflexive response developed through association with a conditioned stimulus

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11
Q

Extinction

A

Loss of a conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus without the presence of the unconditioned stimulus

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12
Q

Spontaneous recovery

A

Weak conditioned response sometimes reappears even after extinction

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13
Q

Generalization

A

When a stimulus close to the conditioned stimulus produces the conditioned response

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14
Q

Discrimination

A

Organism learns to distinguish between two similar stimuli

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15
Q

Operant conditioning

A

Links voluntary behavior with consequences in order to alter the frequency of behaviors

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16
Q

Who is the main person associated with behaviorism?

A

BF Skinner

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17
Q

Behaviorism

A

Theory that all behaviors are conditioned

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18
Q

Positive reinforcement

A

Add a positive incentive after a desired behavior

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19
Q

Negative reinforcement

A

Remove something unpleasant after a desired behavior

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20
Q

Does reinforcement increase or decrease the likelihood of a behavior?

A

Increases

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21
Q

Escape learning

A

Negative reinforcement in which the role of the behavior is to reduce something that is unpleasant and already exists

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22
Q

Avoidance learning

A

Negative reinforcement in which the role of the behavior is to prevent something unpleasant in the future

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23
Q

What are the two types of negative reinforcement?

A

Escape and avoidance learning

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24
Q

Does punishment increase or decrease the likelihood of a behavior?

A

Decreases

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25
Positive punishment
Adds an unpleasant consequence after an undesired behavior
26
Negative punishment
Remove a pleasant incentive after an undesired behavior
27
Fixed-ratio schedule
Reinforce a behavior after a specific number of behaviors
28
Variable-ratio schedule
Reinforce a behavior after a variable number of behaviors (average to about the same as the fixed ratio)
29
Fixed-interval schedule
Reinforce a behavior the first time it is completed after a set amount of time
30
Variable-interval schedule
Reinforce a behavior the first time it is completed after a variable amount of time
31
What schedule is continuous reinforcement considered?
Fixed-ratio because the behavior is reinforced after every time it is completed
32
What schedule works fastest for learning a new behavior?
Variable ratio
33
Shaping
Process of rewarding increasingly specific behaviors - allows learning complex behaviors
34
Latent learning
Learning that occurs without a reward but then is done spontaneously when a reward is introduced
35
Instinctive drift
Difficult to overcome instincts when teaching behaviors
36
Preparedness
Capitalizing on natural instincts when teaching behaviors
37
Where are mirror neurons located?
Frontal and parietal lobes
38
What are mirror neurons?
Fire when an individual completes a task and when an individual watches someone complete a task, largely involved in motor processes
39
Encoding
Process of putting new information into memory
40
Automatic Processing
Information passively absorbed from the environment without effort
41
Controlled Processing
Active memorization
42
Semantic encoding
Put information into a meaningful contex
43
Self-reference effect
Semantic encoding is usually most effective when put in the context of one's own life
44
Method of Loci
Associate each item in a list with a location along a route that is already known
45
Peg-word system
Associate numbers with items that rhyme with or resemble the number
46
Where is short-term memory housed?
Hippocampus
47
How many items can be stored in short-term memory?
7 +/- 2
48
Where is working memory housed?
Hippocampus
49
What are the two types of long-term memories?
Implicit | Explicit
50
What is nondeclarative memory also known as?
Implicit, procedural
51
What is procedural memory also known as?
Implicit, nondeclarative
52
What is implicit memory also known as?
Nondeclarative, procedural
53
What does implicit memory consist of?
Skills and conditioned responses
54
What does explicit memory consist of?
Memories that require conscious recall
55
What is explicit memory also known as?
Declarative
56
What is declarative memory also known as?
Explicit
57
What are the two types of explicit memory?
Semantic | Episodic
58
What are semantic memories?
Facts
59
What are episodic memories?
Experiences
60
What type of memories are semantic memories?
Long term, explicit
61
What type of memories are episodic memories?
Long term, explicit
62
Serial position effect
Higher recall for the first and last items on a list
63
Primacy effect
Tendency to remember early items in a list
64
Recency effect
Tendency to remember the last items in a list
65
Sundowning
Increase in dysfunction during afternoon and evening in patients with Alzheimers
66
Confabulation
Process of creating vivid but fabricated memories
67
What is the likely cause of Korsakoff's Syndrome?
Thiamine Deficiency in the brain
68
What type of memory loss is associated with Korsakoff's Syndrome?
Retrograde and anterograde amnesia (loss of old memories and inability to create new memories)
69
Agnosia
Loss of the ability to recognize objects, people, or sounds
70
Proactive interference
Old information interferring with new learning
71
Retroactive interference
New information causes forgetting of old information
72
Misinformation effect
Leading language or expectations can affect a memory
73
Source-monitoring error
Confusion between semantic and episodic memory such as remembering the details of an event but getting the context wrong
74
What is the meurophysiologic bases of long-term memories?
Long-term potentiation
75
Long-term potentiation
Strengthening of neuronal responses to a stimulus by repetition

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