pychfinal

the acquisition of new information

the retention of learned information-the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of information

• declarative (what)
• non declarative (how)
• Short term memory
• working memory
• long term memory

• memory for facts and events accessible to conscious recollection. Memory for things that one can recall and declare.
• easily formed and forgotten
• episodic--memory for past personally experienced events
• semantic-memory for facts

• procedural memory-skills and operations not stored regarding time and place
• recalled without conscious recollection.
• takes longer to form

• short term memory-temporary storage with limited capacity. involves multiple sites and continued rehearsal.
• storage without distraction

short term recall & temporary storage of information to complete a task. though of as working with memory.

memory that has been consolidated or stored so that it is available after distraction

this is a linear model that considers memory as a process beginning with sensory registration and finally leading to the consolidation of some information into long term and or remote memories

stimulus>sensory registration>attention>short term memory>consolidation>long term memory>remote memory

• retrograde
• anterograde
• transient global amnesia

loss of memory from one point back in time

loss of memory from one point forward. called post traumatic amnesia (PTA) following traumatic brain injury

brief cerebral ischemia produces sudden loss of memory (minutes or days;retrograde)

• highlighted the important role that the hippocampus plays in the processes of learning and memory
• 1953
• HM suffered from intractable epilepsy and suffered from partial seizures for many years, then several tonic clonic seizures and convulsions following his 16th bday
• localized epilepsy to his medial temporal lobe

his bilateral medial temporal lobe resection included a removal of the hippocampal formation and adjacent structures including most of the amygdaloid complex and entorhinal cortex

• high average intelligence
• can converse normally
• can perform mental math
• no personality changes

• had partial retrograde amnesia (10 yrs)
• severe anterograde amnesia-impaired ability to store new memories
• normal short term memory and remote memory
• procedural memory was intact

• up to 80% of alcoholics have a deficiency in thiamine
• some of these people will go on to develop this syndrom
• WKS is a disease that consists of 2 seperate syndromes, a short lived and severe condition called Wernicke's encephalopathy and a long lasting debilitating condition known as korsakoffs psychosis

• mental confusion
• paralysis of the nerves that move the eyes (oculomotor disturbances)
• difficulty with muscle cordination
• patients may not exhibit all three symptoms at the same time

• approximately 80-90% of alcoholics with Wernicke's encephalopathy also develop Karsafoff's psychosis
• a chronic and debilitating syndrome characterized by persistent learning and memory problems
• although these patients have problems remembering old information (retrograde amnesia) it is their difficulty in laying down new information (anterograde amnesia) that is the most striking

• prefrontal cortex
• hippocampus
• nucleus accumbens
• amygdala
• ventral tegmental area

dopanime

• An agonist is a chemical that binds to a receptor and activates the receptor to produce a biological response
• facilitate

• blocks the action of the agonist
• inhibits

the drugs ability to bind to the receptor (lock and key)

the drugs tendency to activate the receptor

• increase and decrease the synthesis of the neurotransmitter
• increase its release
• decrease its reuptake
• block its breakdown into inactive chemicals
• action on the post synaptic receptors

• increase the presence of dopamine in the presynaptic terminal
• they inhibit the dopamine transporter which reabsorbs released dopamine
• inhibits reuptake

• increase release of dopamine into corresponding brain arease
• how:
• inhibit the inhibitor GABA
• leads to an increased firing of neurons in the ventral tegmental area
• results in increased exposure to dopamine.

• inhibit the effects of GABA
• increase the stimulation of the dopamine receptors in corresponding brain areas

• a persons reason for taking the drug
• dosage
• quickness of the effect
• magnitude of effect
• length of effect

• the euphoric effects of a drug decreases
• it takes a higher dose of the drug to achieve a high
• several underlying mechanisms of tolerance, one being:
• down regulation-decrease in receptors due to prolonged exposure to druge
• receptor desensitization

psychology and physical symptoms that arise due to a drug cessation

• one of the main causes of alcoholism
• thiamine (vitamine b1) depletion
• poor nutrition
• inflammation of the stomach lining
• thiamine is essential for glucose metabolism (fuel for the brain)

• problems with learning new information
• inability to remember recent events
• long term memory gaps
• patients may confabulate

• the mammilary bodies
• they play a role in recognition memory (events, people objects)
• neurodegeneration of the mammilary bodies
• neurochemical signaling is disrupted, especially those responsible for storing and retrieving memories.

• oral supplements of thiamine for approximately 3-12 months
• giving up on alcohol
• symptoms may improve
• approx 25% of patients recover completely