U08 - Memory

Question 1

The case of H.M.

Answer 1

• case study of a man who had large part of his hippocampus removed in attempt to alleviate his seizures
• led to severe form of anterograde amnesia (inability to form new memories)
• what we have learned from this: there are several memory systems, with distinct neural substrates and functions
• H. M. could not form new memories of people he had met, conversations he’d had, things he had done
• But could learn new challenging skills
• Suggests that there may be different forms of long-term memories, only some of which are reliant on the hippocampus

Question 2

memory

Answer 2

• the capacity to store and retrieve knowledge
• allows us to use information from the past to respond quickly to new challenges and to navigate our environment

Question 3

three stages of memory

Answer 3

• encoding, process of acquiring information and transferring it into memory
• storage, the retention of information for later access, can last from fraction of a second to an entire lifetime
• retrieval, the recovery of stored information, what we retrieve is not identical to what was stored

Question 4

multistore model of memory

Answer 4

• model proposing that sensory information flows through three stores, sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory
• these stores differ in their capacity and duration

Question 5

sensory memory

Answer 5

• A storage level of memory that holds sensory information on the order of milliseconds to seconds.
• capacity = very large,
• duration = very brief, less than a second
• sense specific (like visual and auditory), includes iconic memories and echoic memories

Question 6

Iconic memories

Answer 6

• sensory memory for visual information

Question 7

Echoic memories

Answer 7

• sensory memory for auditory information
• last slightly longer than iconic memories

Question 8

Short-term memory

Answer 8

• A storage level of memory where information can be held briefly, from seconds to less than a minute.
• second stage of multiscore model of memory
• duration: brief (seconds to a min)
• capacity: small
• only a small subset of information in sensory memory will receive subsequent processing
• purpose of sensory memory may be to collect incoming data long enought to determine what is wroth processing

Question 9

Chunking

Answer 9

• process of grouping similar or meaningful information together

Question 10

Working memory

Answer 10

• extension of the concept of short-term memory that includes active manipulation of multiple types of information simultaneously

Question 11

Phonological loop (working memory)

Answer 11

• working memory component responsible for verbal and auditory information

Question 12

Rehearsal (working memory)

Answer 12

• the act of repeating information to keep it in short-term memory

Question 13

Visuo-spatial sketchpad (working memory)

Answer 13

• holds visual and spatial information

Question 14

Central executive (working memory)

Answer 14

• working memory component that directs the other components by directing attention to particular tasks

Question 15

Long-term memory

Answer 15

• Storage level of memory where information can be held for hours to many years and potentially a lifetime
• No clearly defined limits in capacity or duration
• Evidence of dissociation between short-term and long-term memory:
• Serial position curve
• Neuropsychological studies

Question 16

Serial position effect

Answer 16

• recall varies as a function of position within a study list

Question 17

Primacy effect

Answer 17

• better recall for items at the beginning of the list
• due to more rehearsal –> storage in long-term memory
• The existence of these effects shows that memory relies on both short-term processes for immediate recall and long-term mechanisms for lasting retention. It underscores how rehearsal and timing influence whether information remains accessible.

Question 18

Recency effect

Answer 18

• better recall for items at the end of the list
• due to availability of these items in short-term memory or working memory
• disrupted if recall is delayed
• The existence of these effects shows that memory relies on both short-term processes for immediate recall and long-term mechanisms for lasting retention. It underscores how rehearsal and timing influence whether information remains accessible.

Question 19

Retrograde amnesia

Answer 19

• unable to access memories predating brain damage, but able to store new memories in long-term memories

Question 20

Anterograde amnesia

Answer 20

• unable to form new long-term memories

Question 21

Levels of processing theory

Answer 21

• encoding is an active process that can occur at multiple levels ranging from shallow to deep

encoding:
- the process of receiving and interpreting information, which is the first step in learning and creating a new memory

Question 22

Shallow encoding

Answer 22

• encoding based on sensory characteristics, such as how something looks or sounds
• maps onto basic brain regions related to perception of sensory information

Question 23

Deep encoding

Answer 23

• involves making associations between new information and old information already stored in your brain
• relies on processing information in a manner that goes beyond appearance to involve its significance and meaning.
• leads to better memory performance
• Encoding based on an event’s meaning as well as connections between the new event and past experience.

Question 24

Elaboration

Answer 24

• making associations between new information and old information already stored in your brain
• engages higher-order brain regions related to thought (eg. frontal lobes, temporal lobe regions related to semantic information)
• also associated with increased activity in the hippocampus

Question 25

Self-referential encoding

Answer 25

- type of deep processing where information is related to oneself - enhances memory retention

Question 26

semantic encoding

Answer 26

- a form of deep encoding, operates on the meaning of events and yields better memory than merely processing what a stimulus sounds like or looks like

Question 27

ranking of different forms of encoding

Answer 27

Self-Referential Encoding: Most effective, as personal connections enhance engagement and retention. Semantic Encoding: Highly effective due to the emphasis on meaning, which strengthens memory traces. Elaboration: Effective, but its impact depends on the depth and quality of the connections made. Shallow Encoding (e.g., structural or phonemic): Least effective because it relies on superficial features like appearance or sound, which do not create durable memory traces.

Question 28

explicit/declarative (a form of long-term memory)

Answer 28

- intentional, conscious

Question 29

implicit/nondeclarative (a form of long-term memory)

Answer 29

- occurs without intentional recollection or awareness, measured indirectly by observing effect of prior learning on behavior

Question 30

Procedural memory

Answer 30

- type of implicit memory related to the acquisition of skills (eg. riding a bike, using scissors, knitting, or drawing a five-pointed star in the mirror) - This form of memory for procedures need not be actions but can also be habitual ways of thinking, like doing multiplication or reading. - (H.M. could learn new skills but could not remember learning them in the first place) - when procedural skills become automatic, can direct our attention

Question 31

Priming

Answer 31

- change in response to a stimulus as a result of exposure to a previous stimulus - is the increased ability to process a stimulus and facilitate behavior due to previous exposure to the stimulus. - eg. complete word stem with previously seen word - is observed in patients with amnesia, demonstrating that implicit memory is intact - not reliant on hippocampus or deeper processing - implicit memory, unconscious

Question 32

affective conditioning

Answer 32

- specific type of classical conditioning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated an emotionally charged stimulus, leading to a conditioned emotional response - recall "little albert" study - is preserved in amnesic patients - does not rely on hippocampus - implicit

Question 33

episodic memory

Answer 33

- explicit recollection of personal experiences - allows you to travel back in time (retrospective memory) through episodic memory - remembering - explicit memories of personal experience - relies on hippocampus

Question 34

retrospective memory vs prospective memory

Answer 34

- retro: ability to recall events, facts, and experiences from the past - pros: memory for things we need to do in the future

Question 35

Semantic memory

Answer 35

- explicit memory reflecting knowledge about the world, including concepts and facts - knowing - explicit memories of facts about the world - does not rely on hippocampus - mediated by surrounding parts of temporal lobe

Question 36

hebbian learning

Answer 36

- neurons that fire together, write together - when two neurons are active at the same time, the connection between them becomes stronger - this strengthening of the connection make it easier for them to activate each other in the future

Question 37

long-term potentiation

Answer 37

- which is an enduring (long-term) enhanced (potentiation) form of communication between neurons. Long-term potentiation is regarded as the most likely cellular mechanism supporting long-term memory

Question 38

long-term potentiation and CREB

Answer 38

- During learning, LTP increases the amount of CREB (cAMP-response element binding) protein, which might represent the molecular basis of memory - it turns out that CREB is able to interact with genes in neurons, which can increase the neuron's response to stimulation

Question 39

memory consolidation

Answer 39

- process through which a memory trace is stabilized and strengthened following its initial acquisition - may be disrupted by presentation of new information presented shortly afterwards, head injury, ECT - sleep leads to stronger memory consolidation

Question 40

memory reconsolidation

Answer 40

- Reactivation of consolidation by retrieving a memory, making the memory susceptible to change - whereby retrieving a memory returns it into a momentary, unstable state, rendering it vulnerable to change, similar to consolidation of the original memory - Memories are not just about the past; they are continuously updated to reflect the present.

Question 41

spreading activation model

Answer 41

- memory is organized in associative networks where nodes (concepts) are linked together (associations) - concepts become associated if - they have co-occurred repeatedly - they share properties in common - when one mode is activated, related nodes become primed and are more easily retrievable

Question 42

Retrieval cue

Answer 42

- stimulus or thought that primes a particular memory

Question 43

free recall

Answer 43

Accessing information from memory without any cues to aid your retrieval.

Question 44

cued recall

Answer 44

A form of retrieval that is facilitated by providing information related to the stored memory.

Question 45

retroactive interference

Answer 45

- The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information - after changing your phone passcode months ago, you can’t remember your old passcode

Question 46

proactive interference

Answer 46

- The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information. - You can’t seem to learn your new phone number because the old one is stuck in your head.

Question 47

encoding specificity principle

Answer 47

- retrieval works best when it recreates the way the information was initially encoded

Question 48

mood-dependent retrieval

Answer 48

- the increased likelihood of remembering when a person is in the same mood during both encoding and retrieval

Question 49

state-dependent retrieval

Answer 49

- the increased likelihood of remembering when a person is in the same mental state during both encoding and retrieval - If you study for an exam after a few drinks, you will actually recall that information better if you also drink before you take the exam

Question 50

encoding failure

Answer 50

- information never makes it into long-term memory - may occur bc we did not attend to it - eg. multitasking

Question 51

weapon focus effect

Answer 51

- witness's attention is drawn to a weapon during a crime, which impairs ability to remember other details of the event

Question 52

are emotional memories more likely to be remembered?

Answer 52

- Brain activity is enhanced for emotional events in the amygdala and hippocampus. - Amygdala facilitates the consolidation of long-term memories made by the hippocampus - Stress hormones promote attention and encoding efficiency - Administration of a stress-hormone blocker (propranolol) reverses memory advantage for emotional events

Question 53

flashbulb memory

Answer 53

- especially vivid and detailed memory of an emotional event - associated with more confidence but not necessarily more accuracy - A vivid memory for an emotionally significant event, thought to be permanent and detailed, as if frozen in time like a photograph. - Flashbulb memories are often part of the fabric of social identity and are more than one’s own memory; they are a community’s collective memory, which may one day become a part of history

Question 54

memory is constructive, study example

Answer 54

- more like a persona mental ketch than a photograph. - the purpose of memory is not to make the most detailed record of past experience, but to pick out the important parts of an experience that could be useful later. sometimes, we even use inference to reconstruct what we think happened in the past, and these beliefs become part of our memory - In this way, thoughts and reasoning are central to how we remember. - The Loftus & Palmer (1974) study showed that memory is constructive and can be influenced by the way questions are worded. Participants watched a car crash video and were asked how fast the cars were going, using different verbs like "smashed" or "hit." Those who heard "smashed" reported higher speeds and were more likely to falsely remember seeing broken glass. This demonstrates that memory is not a perfect record of events; it can be shaped by suggestive language and post-event information, highlighting its reconstructive nature.

Question 55

Misinformation effect

Answer 55

- additional information received after an event is later mistakenly recalled as part of the original event - in the Loftus and Palmer study, the leading question is the "misinformation"

Question 56

Source monitoring

Answer 56

- ability to recall the context in which we acquired a memory - when we cannot remember whether we saw something in a news article of facebook newsfeed

Question 57

source memory

Answer 57

- Similar to the “sources” reporters require to verify their reported information, the ability to recall the context in which we acquired a memory

Question 58

Source amnesia

Answer 58

- occurs when cannot identify the provenance of our memory - when we forget whether we actually experienced an event or merely imagined it

Question 59

Imagination inflation

Answer 59

- imagining an event that never happened increases confidence that it actually occurred - vividly imagining misleading information --> more likely to integrate misinformation into original memory

Question 60

reality monitoring

Answer 60

- when we forget whether we actually experienced an event or merely imagined it - When we forget whether we experienced or imagined an event, this would be considered an error of reality monitoring

Question 61

gist memory

Answer 61

- the general global aspects of the supposed event - mind fills in the gaps (missing or forgotten details) by using the gist - gist memories are highly durable and long-lasting - the general global aspects of the supposed event, rather than the verbatim memory, the specific details

Question 62

Verbatim memory

Answer 62

- the specific details of an event - the general global aspects of the supposed event, rather than the verbatim memory, the specific details

Question 63

Deese-Roediger-McDermott false memory paradigm

Answer 63

- The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm is a psychological experiment where participants are shown a list of related words (e.g., "bed," "rest," "pillow") but not a critical word strongly associated with them (e.g., "sleep"). Later, participants often falsely remember seeing the missing word. This shows that memory is constructive and relies on associations, making it prone to errors. Our brains fill in gaps with related information, which can lead to false memories.