Memory Lecture

• how long information is retained, created when something's learned
• 1) sensory memory
• 2) short-term
• 3) long-term

retention if sensory information that lasts from milliseconds to seconds; ex: when we recall the last thing said to us when we're not really paying attention; has a steep forgetting curve

sensory memory for vision; internal representation of an event imprinted on retina

sensory memory for audition/speech; persistence of auditory sound

retention of memory from seconds to minutes; a short term buffer for information; after rehearsal, it can be stored for longer

retention of memory for days or years; physical sensory input is transmitted via electrical signals

knowledge to which we have conscious access (including personal/world knowledge like events and facts); declarative should bring to mind the idea that declarations can be made about this knowledge and that we're aware we possess the information; includes episodic and semantic memory; dependent on the MTL; type of LTM

things we recall about our own lives, including when and what happened; form of declarative memory dependent on the HIPPOCAMPUS; (LTM); think Episodic is Events

FACTS or knowledge about the world; form of declarative memory dependent on the MTL/Cortex (LTM)

knowledge to which we have no conscious access, implicit forms of memory; includes procedural memory, perceptual priming, and simple learned behaviors derived from conditioning, habiutation, or sensitization; involves processes that are learned automatically without much effort; STM; BASAL GANGLIA

involves the learning of a variety of motor skills (typing, riding a bike, juggling) and cognitive skills (how to read); form of nondeclarative memory (STM); BASAL GANGLIA

form of nondeclarative memory (STM) acting within the perceptual system in which the structure and form of objects and words can be primed by prior experience & can be later revealed through implicit memory tests (experiencing something at time 1 changes how you respond at time 2; usually improves efficiency); VENTRAL STREAM/MEDIAL TEMPORAL LOBE (MTL)

component of nondeclarative memory (STM) that consists of a form of simple learning such as habituation and sensitization

component of nondeclarative memory (STM) that consists of conditioned responses between two stimuli (Pavlov, CS US CR UR); CEREBELLUM OR MTL

diferent mental functions can be localized to different regions of the brain --- phrenology

different mental functions could be localized to different parts of the brain, BUT by correlations between behavior and brain damage; led to demonstration that functions could be localized in brain

had damage to the medial temporal lobe; complete loss of episodic (couldn't remember the location of his new home after a move) and semantic (language was frozen in the 50's) memory

the inability to form new memories

the inability to recollect old memories; more rare than anterograde; is worse for memories that were formed near the event

unstable new memories are converted into memories not dependent on the hippocampus

was intact; he had a normal diget span and his rate of forgetting was within range UNLESS interupted (he needed constant rehearsal)

• damaged to certain degrees; the monkeys (behind bars are presented with food hidden under something, then vision is blocked and they have to say which side has the food)
• -damage in hippocampus impairs memory ability
• -hippocampal memory = memory performance declines as a effect of the delay period

temporary but almost total disruption of short-term memory with a range of problems accessing older memories; profound forgetfulness regardless of modality of information (names, faces, places, odors and music all forgotten) & regardless of how information is presented (visual, auditory, olfactory); person recalls only the last few moments of consciousness plus deeply-encodeded facts of the individual’s past (their name)

new memories are still dependent on the hippocampus

when increased synaptic efficacy arises from the presynaptic cell's repeated stimulation of the postsynaptic cell; mechanism for synaptic plasticity; there's either a change in dendrite structure or intracellular machinery

proved Hebbian learning; the idea that when you excite a cell with an electrode and record from the cell it projects to many times, there will be greater synaptic strength between the 2 cells; the 2nd cell's activity (magnitube of EPSP) will become increasingly correlated with the 1st cell

the synthesis of new proteins; if you can block synthesis, you can block memory formation

hippocampus; it is necessary for establishing new memories and retrieving fresh memories

Johnson & Rugg? Might just have to read the study

implicit; this was shown by the fact that anterograde amnesiac pianists were able to learn new pieces; procedural memory is INTACT in amnesiacs (because it doesn’t depend on the hippocampus)

when a response elicited by one stimulus is excited by another similar stimulus (facilitation of perceptual performance with repetition)

occurs where related ideas are used to prime the response (ex. 'hat' may prime for 'head'); facilitation of processing items when they’re related to the primer

supposed to say 1st word that comes to mind; if you’re primed (have been exposed to the word/idea before); a repetition priming task

a word is flashed then you see numbers or something; you're asked, what did you see?

have to decide whether something is a word or not (ex. mave?)

priming (exposure to a stimulus) improves detection of stimulus at a subsequent time

if you show someone in a scanner objects a repeat a certain one, using fMRI to look at activity of brain during 1st and 2nd showing of same object, SECOND presentation shows less activity; LESS activity for repeated than for novel objects in visual/prefrontal areas

used repetition of faces to show that priming reduces activity after exposure to stimuli multiple times; model states there’s a sharpening of neurons and show that fewer neurons need to be activated once they’ve been exposed to same stimuli; network undergoes pruning; the system gets more efficient in the amount of time needed to represent the face

greater efficiency = less activity

8 conclusions about repetition supression

form of associative learning; learning stimuli or events in environment are associated with each other in a predictable way

in the air puff study: when the tone (CS) is immediately followed by an airpuff to the eye --- after conditioning, a blink (CR) occurs when the subject hears a tone; THIS depends on plasticity of CEREBELLUM

when the tone (CS) is again immediately followed by airpuff to eye (US) --- but after conditioning, a delay is placed between the tone (CS) and the airpuff (US)