Learning and Memory: Types/ Explicit

Question 1

What did Descartes compare memory to in 1664?

Answer 1

An imprint left on linen cloth after needles pass through.

Question 2

Define learning.

Answer 2

Gaining new information.

Question 3

Define memory.

Answer 3

Retention of learned information.

Question 4

Define consolidation.

Answer 4

Solidification of new memory.

Question 5

What is an engram?

Answer 5

A memory trace in the brain.

Question 6

What is recall?

Answer 6

Retrieval of stored memory.

Question 7

What is amnesia?

Answer 7

Memory failure.

Question 8

What is retrograde amnesia?

Answer 8

Loss of old memories.

Question 9

What is anterograde amnesia?

Answer 9

Inability to form new memories.

Question 10

What is transient global amnesia?

Answer 10

Brief anterograde amnesia paired with retrograde amnesia.

Question 11

Why is Henry Molaison important?

Answer 11

His medial temporal lobe removal cured epilepsy but caused severe anterograde amnesia.

Question 12

What could HM still do despite his memory loss?

Answer 12

Learn new motor skills.

Question 13

What was unique about HM and the star-tracing task?

Answer 13

He improved through practice but could not remember doing it.

Question 14

What is declarative memory?

Answer 14

Facts, events, names; requires conscious recall; easily formed and forgotten.

Question 15

What is implicit memory?

Answer 15

Skills, habits, emotional associations; does not require conscious recall; needs repetition.

Question 16

Examples of implicit memory?

Answer 16

Motor skills, conditioning, habituation, sensitization.

Question 17

How long does working memory last?

Answer 17

Seconds; maintained by rehearsal.

Question 18

How long does short-term memory last?

Answer 18

Minutes to hours; vulnerable to disruption.

Question 19

How long does long-term memory last?

Answer 19

Days to years; less vulnerable to disruption.

Question 20

What is working memory?

Answer 20

Transient small-capacity memory requiring rehearsal; independent of the temporal lobe.

Question 21

Which brain regions support working memory?

Answer 21

Prefrontal cortex (PFC) and neocortex.

Question 22

How is working memory tested?

Answer 22

Delayed match/non-match to sample tasks.

Question 23

What happens with PFC lesions?

Answer 23

Impaired planning, maze-tracing, and event organization.

Question 24

What neurons encode working memory?

Answer 24

PFC neurons that fire persistently during the delay period.

Question 25

What does modality-specific working memory mean?

Answer 25

Different PFC areas encode different sensory modalities.

Question 26

Do insects show working memory?

Answer 26

Yes; they perform delayed match-to-sample tasks.

Question 27

What is required to form new memories?

Answer 27

Medial temporal lobe (entorhinal cortex and hippocampus).

Question 28

What is the allocortex?

Answer 28

Part of the medial temporal lobe involved in memory processing.

Question 29

Where are declarative memories stored long term?

Answer 29

Neocortex.

Question 30

How are memories recalled?

Answer 30

Sensory areas active during encoding reactivate during recall.

Question 31

Why does Alzheimer’s impair memory recall?

Answer 31

Loss of cortical tissue disrupts stored memory traces.

Question 32

What is the Standard Model of Memory Consolidation?

Answer 32

Memories transfer from hippocampus to cortex over time.

Question 33

What is the Multiple Trace Model?

Answer 33

Hippocampus always helps store episodic memories.

Question 34

What is reconsolidation?

Answer 34

When reactivated memory becomes unstable and can be modified or erased.

Question 35

Clinical relevance of reconsolidation?

Answer 35

Used in PTSD therapy to weaken traumatic memories.

Question 36

Where is spatial memory processed?

Answer 36

Hippocampus.

Question 37

What are hippocampal place cells?

Answer 37

Neurons that fire when an animal is in a specific location.

Question 38

Key features of place cells?

Answer 38

Fire based on location; influenced by landmarks; fire in the dark; same cell can map multiple environments.

Question 39

What are grid cells?

Answer 39

Entorhinal cortex neurons responding to multiple positions in a hexagonal grid.

Question 40

What is special about grid cell spacing?

Answer 40

Different grid cells have different spacing.

Question 41

What are major hippocampal functions?

Answer 41

Memory consolidation, spatial memory, binding sensory info, linking experiences.

Question 42

How to improve declarative memory?

Answer 42

Sleep, good nutrition, and exercise.