[W5] - CH12

Question 1

The three stages of Learning and Memory

Answer 1

Learning and memory are typically conceptualized into three hypothetical stages: encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Encoding is the processing of incoming information to be stored.

Storage is the result of acquisition and consolidation; which creates and maintains a permanent memory trace.

Retrieval is the conscious recall or recognition of previously learned and stored memories.

[SNP will try to determine (among other things) if memory problems are a function of encoding, storage, retrieval - or a combination of the three]

Question 2

Atkinson and Shiffrin’s Modal Model of Memory

Answer 2

Consists of sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Question 3

Atkinson and Shiffrin’s Sensory Memory

Answer 3

Sensory memory has a high capacity for information but a very short life of just a few milliseconds.

Visual sensory memory is referred to as iconic memory (or an iconic store).

Verbal sensory memory is referred to as echoic memory.

Sensory memories are like background noise; if we do not attend to them, they decay rapidly. It is NOT measured directly by school neuropsychologists.

Question 4

Atkinson and Shiffrin’s Short-Term Memory

Answer 4

Short-term memory has a limited capacity for information and a long duration based on continual rehearsal.

Short-term memory retention is measured in seconds to minutes. If you mentally rehearse a number verbally in your head, you can hold onto it in short-term memory. However, as soon as you get distracted, the number is lost to conscious memory.

The capacity of short-term memory has been shown to be seven pieces of information, plus or minus two.

Question 5

Declarative Memory

Answer 5

Long-term memory is measured in days or years and represents near-permanent memory storage. It is subdivided into…

Declarative memory: Knowledge that we have conscious access to, including personal and world knowledge.

Declarative memory can be further subdivided into episodic memory (our autobiographical memories) and semantic memory (our knowledge of basic facts).

The major tests of memory, learning, and intelligence measure semantic memory. Episodic memory is difficult to measure because it’s personal and lacks objective verification. In severe cases of memory loss due to trauma or disease, it can be informally assessed using a clinical interview and verified by a third party (e.g., parents).

Question 6

Nondeclarative Memory

Answer 6

Knowledge that we have no conscious access to, such as motor and cognitive skills, perceptual priming, and simple learned behaviours that derive from conditioning, habituation, or sensitization.

The only nondeclarative memory aspect that may be included in a school neuropsychological assessment is procedural memory. Procedural memory involves the learning of a variety of motor skills such as riding a bike; or cognitive skills, such as knowing to start reading from left to right. The disruption of procedural memories may be questioned in a clinical interview or directly observed by an SNP.

Question 7

Evidence for and Against the Modal Model of Memory

Answer 7

The serial-order position effect provides support for the distinction between short- and long-term memory. That is; when asked to remember words from a list some people are better at recalling words at the beginning of the list (primacy effect) whereas others are best at recalling words at the end of the list (recency effect). The primary effect is thought to be reflective of long-term memory and the recency effect is thought to reflect short-term memory.

Experimental and theoretical evidence has repeatedly failed to support Atkinson and Shiffrin’s model of memory. They proposed that rehearsal was the key factor in transferring information from sensory memory to short-term memory - and from short-term memory to long-term memory. However, other factors appear to also influence long-term memory.

The Levels of Processing Model - Craik and Lockhart (1972): The more meaningfully a stimulus item is processed, the more it is consolidated and stored in long-term memory.

Gazzaniga and colleagues (2002) found that some patients with brain damage could not form new short-term memories, yet they were still able to form new long-term memories. This suggests that short-term memory is NOT the only “gateway” to forming long-term memories.

Question 8

A Conceptual Model of Learning and Memory for School Neuropsychologists

Answer 8

This model divides learning and memory into three divisions: immediate memory, working memory, and long-term memory.

Question 9

The Neuroanatomy of Learning and Memory Processes

Answer 9

Medial Temporal Lobe [Hippocampus/Amygdala]; Midline Diencephalon [dorsomedial nucleus of the Thalamus] = Essential brain structures for the learning and retention of new information. Permit the storage of information until consolidation is complete (damage prevents the formation of long-term memories)

Amygdala = emotionally-charged memories.

Damage to the Temporal Lobe = retrograde amnesia - while new memories can still be formed.

Prefrontal Cortex = Encoding and retrieval of information. Episodic retrieval seems to activate the Right Prefrontal cortex while Semantic retrieval activates the Left prefrontal cortex.

Question 10

Phonemic vs. Semantic encoding errors

Answer 10

Information may be stored incorrectly based on how something sounds; a phonemic encoding error (e.g., the word bat is stored as hat) or information may be stored inaccurately based on a semantic encoding error (e.g., car is stored as truck).

Question 11

Anterograde amnesia:

Answer 11

The inability to learn and recall new information.

Question 12

Central Executive

Answer 12

Responsible for selection, initiation, and termination of processing routines (e.g., encoding, storage, and retrieval).

Question 13

Focal retrograde amnesia

Answer 13

Severe and lasting retrograde amnesia that occurs with relatively new learning ability preserved.

Question 14

Memory Span and Metamemory

Answer 14

Memory span: The amount of information that can be repeated immediately with complete accuracy. Memory span is assumed to be a measure of short-term memory capacity.

Metamemory: Knowledge about the nature and contents of one’s own memory.

Question 15

Paired-associate learning

Answer 15

A memory task that assesses the ability to learn the relationship between paired stimuli (e.g., ice-cream).

Question 16

Proactive vs. Retroactive Inhibition

Answer 16

Proactive inhibition: Decreased learning of new information as a result of learning something in the past.

Retroactive inhibition: Impairment in recall of previously learned materials due to newly learned material.

Question 17

Prospective Memory and Topographical Amnesia

Answer 17

Prospective memory: Memory for plans, appointments, and actions anticipated to occur in the future.

Topographical amnesia: Specific loss of memory for places

Question 18

The Questions on the NPCC-3 pertaining to learning and memory difficulties

Answer 18

General Learning Efficiency:
- Difficulty learning new verbal information.
- Difficulty learning new visual information.
- Difficulty integrating verbal and visual information.

Long-Term Memory Difficulties:
- Forgets where personal items or schoolwork were left.
- Forgets to turn in homework assignments.
- Forgets what happens days or weeks ago.
- Does well on daily assignments but does not do well on end of the week quizzes.
- Limited knowledge of basic facts for places, events, and people.

Question 19

The classifications of Learning and Memory within the Integrated SNP/CHC Model

Answer 19

Broad:
Learning and Memory Processes

Second-Order: (6)
- Rate of New Learning
- Immediate Verbal Memory
- Delayed Verbal Memory
- Immediate Visual Memory
- Delayed Visual Memory
- Verbal-visual associative learning and recall.

Question 20

ADHD and repetition

Answer 20

List-learning tests should be a regular part of most neuropsychological test batteries and the student’s learning curve across trials should be compared to the learning curve of the student’s same-aged peers (generally a steady increase in the number of correctly identified words from a repeated list-learning task).

Students with ADHD will typically score a below average number of correct words on the first trial, but this number does improve with repeated exposure to the same list. The lower number of correctly recalled words at first could be due to initial distractibility.

A student whose learning curve does not improve with repeated exposure suggest an inability to learn the content. This could be representative of an auditory processing disorder/difficulty with learning verbal information. Their visual learning skills may be stronger.

Question 21

Word Recall Error Types

Answer 21

Intrusion errors are words that are recalled that were not part of the original list.

Phonological errors are recalled words that sound like the originally presented words (e.g., far for car).

Semantic errors are recalled words similar in meaning to the originally presented words (e.g., truck for car).

Sometimes students recall non-list words that are neither phonological nor semantic errors, which could be indicative of more serious learning and memory problems

Question 22

Relevant Learning and Memory Subtests

Answer 22

• NEPSY-II’s Narrative Memory Free Recall
• NEPSY-II’s Memory for Designs test
• WISC-V Integrated’s Coding Recall and Spatial Span subtests

Question 23

The value of verbal-visual associative learning

Answer 23

Assessing verbal–visual associative learning is often overlooked but it is an important aspect of learning and memory.

It plays a major role in the early stages of reading acquisition. In order for the automaticity of reading to develop, a child must learn sound-symbol associations.

Verbal–visual associative learning is the cognitive process that facilitates verbal fluency in reading.