Unit 3.2.6 The Role of Episodic + Semantic Memory

Question 1

Autobiographical memory

Answer 1

• Memory system
• Consisting of episodes
• Recollected from an individual’s life
• Based on a combination of episodic + semantic memory

Question 2

Possible imagined futures

Answer 2

• Hypothetical experiences + situations
• That an individual has the ability to create + conceptualise
• In their mind

Question 3

How is episodic memory involved in constructing possible imagined futures?

Answer 3

• Allows individuals to construct a PIF that is subjective + includes more richly detailed elements
• Allows us to ‘relive’ the past + use past experience to imagine the future

Question 4

How is semantic memory involved in constructing possible imagined futures?

Answer 4

Allows individuals to envision possible scenarios that are consistent + fit in with what they already know about the world

Question 5

Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 5

• Neurodegenerative disease
• Characterised by the progressive deterioration of brain neurons

Question 6

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 6

• Memory loss
• Decline in cognitive + social skills
• Personality changes

Question 7

Neurodegenerative disease

Answer 7

• Diseases
• Characterised by the progressive loss of neurons in the brain

Question 8

Neurodegeneration

Answer 8

• The death of neurons
• Increases over time

Question 9

Types of brain lesions that can result from Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 9

• Neurofibrillary tangles
• Beta amyloid plaques

Question 10

Neurofibrillary tangles

Answer 10

• The abnormal build up
• Of proteins
• Within the neurons
• That inhibit the transport of essential substances through the neuron
• Eventually killing it entirely

Question 11

Amyloid plaques

Answer 11

• The abnormal build up
• Of beta-amyloid proteins
• Between neurons
• That inhibit the communication between neurons

Question 12

Aphantasia

Answer 12

• Disorder
• Characterised by the inability to visualise mental imagery