Memory-Berry Flashcards
What are the basic categories of memory?
Declarative: Episodic & Semantic
Nondeclarative
T/F Memories are not subject to alterations.
False. They are! Every time you bring up a memory you make it subject to alterations.
Describe episodic & semantic memory. Which of these is NOT affected by amnesia?
Episodic–autobiographical
semantic–knowledge or facts about the world.
**these are both declarative memory.
**semantic memory not usu affected by amnesia.
What is non-declarative memory?
this is the type of memory that tells you to turn right in a store or how to get home
autopilot so you don’t have to think all the time!
What are the 4 categories of non-declarative memory?
skills & habits
priming
conditioning
nonassociative
What is working memory?
this is considered executive function
it lasts for like 30 seconds
you can only handle 4 +/- 1 things
What are the peaks that you see in autobiographical memories?
reminiscence bump in adolescence & early adulthood: 16-25 yo b/c experiencing so many new things
another peak of recent memory (last couple years)
**but there is childhood amnesia
What did the incredible shrinking machine tell us about childhood amnesia?
it showed that kids could only recall 1 year the later the objects that they could name.
Could remember the shrinking horse, but not the shrinking xylophone.
**shows that memory seems to require sufficient language development & neural wiring.
Which clinical populations seemed to have difficulty with autobiographical memory with lack of event details & reported repeated events?
**those with depression, schizophrenia, PTSD, Anxiety Disorders
If the hippocampus is the memory center, then what is the amygdala?
amygdala: highly emotional memory center
What was the deal with the woman with bilateral amygdala damage?
she had semantic knowledge of fear but had no conditioned fear responses.
had no emotional memories in her autobiographical memories.
What are flashbulb memories?
personal memories of surprising events
maybe of public or personal tragedies
**have a high level of confidence about these memories, but not a high level of accuracy
How does the accuracy & confidence level of flashbulb memories compare to everyday memories?
they have similar accuracy
but people have much higher confidence level of their flashbulb memories.
Where is the center of the brain that causes a person to have confidence in a memory?
- *the IPL: inferior parietal lobe
- *if this area is severely damaged, people will remember an event, but not whether it happened to them or in a move or something.
T/F we use similar parts of our brain to recall past events as we do to predict & construct future events.
True.
What happened to HM who had bilateral excision of the medial temporal lobes?
he had no new episodic memories
normal distant long term memories
he had normal semantic, procedural, & priming
had anterograde amnesia, and 1 year’s worth of retrograde amnesia.
What was HM’s learning curve like after the bad surgery?
he would never remember that he had played a difficult game, but he would still get better at it each time.
T/F Although those with amnesia have difficulty remembering past events, they have not trouble constructing/predicting possible future events.
False. They struggle with this too. Same area of the brain.
What happens in Wernicke Korsakoff’s Syndrome?
damage to mammillary bodies
sometimes from chronic alcohol abuse (thiamine deficiency)
**affects memory
What can obstructive sleep apnea damage?
could damage the mammillary bodies
What type of memory loss is observed in patients with Alzheimer’s disease?
mainly anterograde at first
as the disease progresses–>get some retrograde amnesia too!
What is herpes encephalitis?
caused by herpes simplex virus
causes acute encephalitis & can be fatal
causes intense hemorrhagic necrosis of the affected tissue, especially in the medial temporal lobe
**can get serious neurological deficits–including amnesia & global dementia
Cortical association areas–>_____ areas (near the temporal lobe)–>hippocampus–>thalamus & hypothalamus via the fornix. Hippocampus also communicates back to the cortical association areas.
parahippocampal & rhinal cortical areas
Which area of the brain is important for spatial processing?
the medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus & the enterorhinal complex
