W9: Memory Systems

Question 1

define

Learning

Answer 1

The acquisition of new knowledge / skills.

Question 2

define

Memory

Answer 2

The retention of learned info.

Question 3

y/n, elaborate

Is there a clear limit to the no. of declarative memories the brain can store?

Answer 3

NO. However, there is great diversity in the ease and speed with which such new info. is acquired.

Question 4

list (2)

2 Types of Learning via which Procedural Memories are Formed

Answer 4

1) Nonassociative Learning
2) Associative Learning

Question 5

define

Nonassociative Learning

Answer 5

Describes a change in the behavioural response that occurs over time in response to a single type of stimulus.

Question 6

list (2)

Subtypes of Nonassociative Learning

Answer 6

1) Habituation
2) Sensitisation

Question 7

define

Habituation

Answer 7

Decreased responsiveness to a stimulus with repeated presentation

Question 8

define

Sensitisation

Answer 8

Increased responsiveness to stimulus with repeated presentation.

Question 9

define

Associative Learning

Answer 9

Behaviour is altered by the formation of associations between events.

Question 10

list (2)

Subtypes of Associative Learning

Answer 10

1) Classical Conditioning
2) Instrumental Conditioning

Both create a predictive relationship between action and consequence, but motivation plays such a large role in instrumental conditioning that the underlying neural circuits are considerably more complex than those involved in simple classical conditioning.

Question 11

define

Classical Conditioning

Answer 11

Pavlov

Question 12

define

Instrumental Conditioning

aka Operant Conditioning

Answer 12

Skinner

Question 13

define

Memory Consolidation

Answer 13

Process by which facts and events are stored in STM and a subset are converted into LTM and thus ‘stabilised’.

Question 14

define

Amnesia

Answer 14

Serious loss of memory and / or ability to learn.

Question 15

define

Dissociative Amnesia

Answer 15

Amnesia not accompanied by any other cognitive deficit.

Question 16

list (2)

Types of Amnesia

Answer 16

1) Anterograde Amnesia (->)
2) Retrograde Amnesia (<-)

Question 17

define

Transient Global Amnesia

Answer 17

Sudden onset of anterograde amnesia that lasts for only a period of minutes to days, often accompanied by retrograde amnesia for recent events preceeding the attack.

No exact cause known, but may be a consequence of brief cerebral ischemia.

Question 18

How is info. retained in the brain by WM long enough to be useful?

Answer 18

Research in both humans and non-human animals suggests that, rather than a single system, WM is a capability of neocortex found in numeours locations in the brain.

Question 19

Name Cortical Region

Major anatomical difference b/w primates and other animals

Answer 19

Primates (esp. humans) have particularly large frontal lobe (PFC more developed).

Question 20

recall experiment

Evidence of PFC-Involvement in Retaining Info. in WM

Answer 20

Delayed Response Task (1930s)
…

Question 21

recall experiment

Evidence of WM-Involvement in Problem-Solving

Answer 21

Wisconsin Card Sorting Task
…

those with pre-frontal

Question 22

list (2)

Cortical Areas Outside Frontal Lobe Containing Neurons Appearing to Retain WM Info.

Answer 22

1. Area 6 (pre-motor)
2. Area LIP (Lateral Intraparietal Cortex)

Question 23

recall experiment

Evidence of Area LIP Involvement in a Type of WM

Answer 23

Delayed Saccade Task
…

Question 24

define

Engram / Memory Trace

Question 25

# as define by Hebb Cell Assembly ## Footnote Hebbian Learning - LTP (LT Potentiation)

Answer 25

Proposition that the internal representation of an object consists of all the cortical cells that are activated by the external stimulus and imagined all these cells were reciprocally interconnected (-> mem. storage)

Question 26

# list (3) Key Structures of the Medial Temporal Lobes (MTL)

Answer 26

1. Hippocampus 2. Nearby Cortical Areas 3. Pathways that connect these structure w/ other parts of the brain

Question 27

# shape + localisation Hippocampus

Answer 27

*"Seahorse"* Folded structure situated medial to lateral ventricle. Contributes to specific memory recollection. **Basic Functions** 1. Critical role in binding sensory info. for purpose of memory consolidation 2. Supports spatial memory of location of objects of behavioural importance 3. Involved in storage of memories for some length of time ## Footnote Rodent Studies: place cells, grid cells, cog. map theory

Question 28

# List (3) Structures Surrounding the Rhinal Sulcus

Answer 28

* Enterorhinal Cortex * Perirhinal Cortex * Parahippocampal Cortex

Question 29

# describe results Electrical Stimulation of Human Temporal Lobes ## Footnote temporal - temples - tempus - time / memory

Answer 29

*As reported by minority of patients with abnormal cortex and epilepsy* Complex sensations that sounded like hallucinations or recollections of past experiences..... but it remains unclear what the nature of these sensations is and under what role they play across groups (not only epilepsy patients)

Question 30

# describe Atkinson & Shiffrin Modal Model of Memory

Answer 30

Sensory Input -> Sensory Register -> STM -> LTM

Question 31

# describe results Neural Recordings from Human MTL

Answer 31

*In patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, microelectrodes implanted to localise seizure origins* Some neurons respond selectively to categories like faces, objects, etc. A small subset of neurons showed extreme selectivity, responding to specific famous individuals. This selectivity extended to different representations of the same person (e.g. photos, drawing, printed names). These neurons may lie on a spectrum between visual processing and memory encoding, though not necessaruly essential for recognition. Instead, perhaps important for forming new memories of known individuals / items. ## Footnote Still, there's much left to be discovered and understood.

Question 32

H.M.: Type of Surgery (Removal)

Answer 32

**Bilateral Temporal Lobectomy** Remove 8cm of MTL * Anterior 2/3 of Hippocampus * Amygdala * Surrounding Cortex

Question 33

H.M.: Results of Surgery

Answer 33

* Anterograde Amnesia * Some retrograde Amnesia * WM mostly intact

Question 34

# list (2) Models of Memory Consolidations

Answer 34

* Standard Model * Multiple Trace **What they share:** temporal element by which there is an increased dependency on other cortical structures besides the hippocampus whose involvement declines (though to different extents and within different time frames)

Question 35

Standard Model of Memory Consolidation

Answer 35

... | Hippocampus-indepent over time

Question 36

Multiple Trace Model of Memory Consolidation

Answer 36

## Footnote Hippocampus always involved

Question 37

# define Reconsolidation

Answer 37

Idea that **memories can become unstable; once recalled / reactivated** , a memory re-enters a malleable state in which it can be modified, updated, or even erased -- anything can slip in (new info., emotions, distortions). *Hippocampal activity shown during this process.* ## Footnote N.B. think EMDR

Question 38

# describe Double Dissociation: Role of Hippocampus and Striatum in Memory Types

Answer 38

* **Hippocampus** - Procedural ✕ - Declarative ✓ * **Striatum** - Procedural ✓ - Declarative ✕ ## Footnote Striatum & Parkinson's -- struggle with associative learning

Question 39

# define Delayed Non-Match to Sample (DNMS)

Answer 39

Experiment where a (macaque) monkey learns to find a reward under a new object rather than a previously seen one, after a delay. Lesions impair performance, more errors with longer delays, indicating aterograde amnesia though perception and WM preserved. Memory deficits extended to touch, suggesting multisensory memory disruption.

Question 40

Perirhinal Cortex Damage

Answer 40

Causes most severe memory deficit

Question 41

Amygdala

Answer 41

Plays role in emotional memory, not recognition in memory.