Memory 4 Flashcards
know everything
What may be some negative consequences of synesthesia?
Sensory overload, it might be hard to concentrate and they might be confused due to all the stimuli they are experiencing
What do all mnemonists do, at least to some extent (on purpose or spontaneously)?
All mnemonists connect what they want to remember with images or patterns in their mind.
What is hypermnesia?
Hypermnesia is the ability to remember things in unusually great detail or to recall more information than normal.
What may be a risk of psychotherapies that aim to produce hypermnesia?
A risk of psychotherapies that aim to produce hypermnesia is the creation of false memories.
What is amnesia?
Severe loss of explicit memory.
Explain retrograde amnesia and list at least three of its potential causes.
Loss of memory prior to the trauma that induced the memory loss (dissociative- extreme psychological trauma, post-traumatic- brain injury, stroke…, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy)
Explain anterograde amnesia and list at least three of its potential causes.
The inability to remember/form new memories after the trauma that induced the memory loss (Korsakoff’s syndrome, drugs, brain injury)
How can anterograde amnesia be treated?
There is no cure but with family support keeping diaries and therapy some sort of improvement can be done.
How do amnesias typically affect explicit and implicit memory?
Amnesias typically impair explicit memory (like facts and events) but often leave implicit memory (like skills and habits) mostly unaffected.
What are the typical differences between declarative and procedural knowledge tasks in
amnesias?
In amnesias, people usually struggle with declarative knowledge tasks (like recalling facts or events) but can still perform procedural knowledge tasks (like riding a bike or solving a puzzle they’ve practiced).
Explain the rationale behind studying dissociations in neuropsychology.
The rationale behind studying dissociations in neuropsychology is to understand how different mental functions are controlled by separate parts of the brain by seeing which abilities are lost or kept when specific brain areas are damaged.
What is a limitation in drawing conclusions about brain areas and memory from the
dissociation studies?
A limitation is that dissociation studies often involve brain damage that affects multiple areas, making it hard to know exactly which part is responsible for the memory changes.
What are double dissociations?
Double dissociations occur when two people (or groups) have opposite impairments—one can do Task A but not Task B, and the other can do Task B but not Task A—showing that the two tasks rely on different brain systems.
What are the distinctions between different types of memory that have so far been
supported by double dissociations?
Double dissociations have shown that different types of memory, like explicit (conscious recall of facts and events) and implicit (unconscious skills and habits) memory, are controlled by different brain areas, with damage to one affecting only one type of memory while leaving the other intact.
What is Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that causes memory loss, confusion, and changes in behavior, primarily affecting older adults, and is linked to the buildup of abnormal proteins in the brain that damage brain cells.
Which cerebral structure has been shown to be involved in various aspects of memory?
he hippocampus has been shown to be involved in various aspects of memory, particularly in the formation and retrieval of explicit memories.
For extra credit: How did E. McGuire explain that?
E. McGuire explained the hippocampus’s role in memory by suggesting that it acts as a crucial structure for encoding and integrating new information into long-term memory, particularly for spatial and episodic memory. McGuire’s research also highlighted how the hippocampus helps in the formation of mental maps of the environment and in processing complex associations between events.
What is long-term potentiation?
Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a process where repeated stimulation of certain brain cells (neurons) strengthens the connections between them, making it easier for them to transmit signals, which is thought to play a key role in learning and memory.
