Week 4 Flashcards
(19 cards)
What is the typical capacity of STM?
7 ± 2 items (Miller’s Magic Number)
What is the typical duration of STM without rehearsal?
15–30 seconds
What does the Brown-Peterson task demonstrate?
Rapid forgetting in STM due to trace decay or interference when rehearsal is prevented
What are the serial position effects and their implications?
Primacy effect (early items → LTM)
Recency effect (recent items → STM)
Supports STM–LTM distinction.
What did Craik & Tulving’s Levels of Processing theory propose?
Deeper (semantic) processing involves better LTM retention than shallow (surface) processing
What are the four components of Baddeley’s Working Memory model?
Phonological Loop
Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
Central Executive
Episodic Buffer
What is the function and neural basis of the Phonological Loop?
Processes auditory/verbal info
Located in left fronto-temporal areas
What is the function and neural basis of the Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad?
Handles visual/spatial info
Located right occipital-parietal regions
What does the Central Executive do and where is it based?
Coordinates other components, manages attention
Located in the prefrontal cortex
What is the Episodic Buffer’s role and neural basis?
Integrates multi-modal information into episodes
Relies on parietal association areas
What are the two major divisions of long-term memory?
Declarative (explicit)
Non-declarative (implicit)
What are key features of declarative memory?
Conscious, hippocampal-dependent
Involves facts and personal experiences
What are the two types of declarative memory?
Episodic (personal events, context)
Semantic (general knowledge, facts)
What are the features of non-declarative memory?
Unconscious, automatic, not hippocampal-dependent, shown via performance
What are types of non-declarative memory?
Procedural memory
Priming
Classical/operant conditioning
Habituation
Sensitization
What is retrograde amnesia?
Inability to recall memories from before a brain injury—often temporally graded.
What is anterograde amnesia?
Inability to form new declarative memories after injury.
Who was H.M. and why is his case important?
A patient with bilateral hippocampal removal
Showed severe anterograde amnesia but intact procedural memory
What did H.M.’s case show about the role of the hippocampus?
It is critical for consolidating declarative memories but not for procedural memory or working memory
