Slide 2 Flashcards
(26 cards)
In the monkey studies for the medial temporal lobe, where was the lesion made
bilateral medial temporal lobe
What was the task used to study the effect of a bilateral medial temporal lobe lesion in monkeys?
delayed non-matching to sample task
How was the effect of a lesion of the bilateral medial temporal lobe in monkeys measured?
performance measured at various delays
Describe the 4 steps of the delayed non-matching to sample task
- monkey moves sample object to obtain food underneath
- screen lowered in front of monkey during delay
- monkey confronted with sample object and unfamiliar object
- monkey must remember familiar object but select unfamiliar object to obtain food underneath it
IN the non-matching to sample task, what was the result for control monkeys?
delays of few mins or less: 90%
In the non-matching to sample task, what was the result for experimental monkeys (with lesions)
- short delays: normal memory
- long delays: perform at chance
What are the three major areas of the medial temporal lobe?
- hippocampus
- amygdala
- medial temporal cortex
Which part of the medial temporal lobe is very important for object recognition?
rhinal cortex
2 parts of the rhinal cortex
- entorhinal
- perirhinal
Why are delayed non-match sample tasks more precise in rats than in monkeys?
- diffs in size/location of hippocampus in rats/monkeys
- in monkeys, hippocampectomy involves removal of large part of mtl
- not necessary in rats, therefore more precise
What was used to test rats in the non-match to sample tasks?
mumby box
what three types of rats were used in the mumby box experiment?
1) control (no lesion)
2) amygdala + hippocampus
3) mtl (amygdala + hippocampus + rhinal cortex)
What was the effect on rats with a whole mtl lesion in the mumby box experiment
impaired memory
What was the effect on rats with a hippocampus + amygdala lesion in the mumby box experiment?
intact memory
What is the conclusion from the mumby box experiment?
- rhinal cortex is necessary for object recognition
- hippocampus + amygdala is not necessary for object recognition
Why must one be cautious when analyzing data from a subject like HM?
- other MTL structures are involved in memory
- not only hippocampus
What is spatial memory
memory for where things are in the environment
What is the rat experiment for spatial memory?
Morris Water Maze
Which brain area plays a critical role in remembering spatial locations and navigating through space?
hippocampus
What does the hippocampus use to represent spatial information
-place cells
What are place cells?
neurons which fire preferentially when animal is in specific locations
Who ‘discovered’ place cells?
John O’Keefe
Which animals have a larger hippocampi?
food-caching birds
What were the results of the London Cab Driver experiment?
-cab drivers had larger hippocampi
(posterior)
-recalling routes around London activates hippocampus
