PS 370: Learning after Exam 2

What is stimulus?

• Anything detectable through the senses

• Light, tone, touch, food, odor

What is Response?

A detectable, measurable behavior

Types of Learning

• Associative

• Observational/ Non associative

Define Associative learning

a type of learning where an individual forms connections between two stimuli or between a stimulus and a response, allowing them to predict future events based on past experiences

Types of Associative learning

• Classical conditioning:

• Operant conditioning

Classical conditioning

• A neutral stimulus is associated with a meaningful stimulus, eventually causing the neutral stimulus to evoke a similar response as the meaningful one

• Generally, a nonconscious association

Classical conditioning: Hebb rule

synapses active around the same time that postsynaptic neuron fires are strengthened over time

Define US, UR,CS,CR

• Unconditioned stimulus (US): a stimulus that produces a response without prior learning

• Unconditioned response (UR): an unlearned reaction that is automatically elicited by the US

• Conditioned stimulus (CS): a neutral stimulus that eventually elicits a conditioned response after being paired with the US

• Conditioned response (CR): the learned response to the conditioned stimulus that occurs after CS-US pairing (will be identical behaviorally to UR

Operant conditioning

• The consequences of a behavior change the probability of the behavior’s occurrence

• More consciously aware

what is the operant?

behaviour perfomed

Operant conditioning: The Law of Effect

behaviors followed by pleasant outcomes are strengthened and behaviors followed by unpleasant outcomes are weakened

Operant conditioning: Reinforcement

a stimulus following a behavior increases the probability that the behavior will occur again

Operant conditioning: Punishment

a stimulus following a behavior decreases the probability that the behavior will occur again

Positive

• Introducing a stimulus

• Negative

• Removing a stimulus

What is the biological basis of short-term memory?

primarily characterized by the temporary, persistent firing of neurons in specific brain regions, notably the prefrontal cortex (PFC)

What is the biological basis of long-term memory

structural changes to neurons: strengthening synaptic connections between neurons, known as long-term potentiation (LTP), involving new protein synthesis, gene expression, and structural changes like new dendritic spines

Habituation seen in aplysia

• Repeated stimulation results in

  • Reduced Ca++ activity

  • Reduced glutamate release

physical embodiment of Hebb’s rule

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

What is the Long-Term Potentiation (LTP/ memory)?

long-term ↑ in the magnitude of excitability of a particular neuronal synapse caused by repeated high-frequency activity of that input

changes seen due to memory/ LTP

↑ neurotransmitters (NT)

• ↑ receptors

• ↑ # synapses

Sensory memory

• large capacity

• lasts up to 1 to 2 seconds

• easy to forget

Short term memory

• A few seconds to a minute

• What you are actively thinking about

• small capacity

• Getting info in and out is easy

• not stable

Long term memory

• Days, months, years

• Your knowledge(not what you are thinking)

• enormous capacity

• Getting info in and out is hard

• fairly stable

Sensory memory to short term

attention

short term memory to long term memory

rehearsal

Neural plasticity requires

LTP and LTD ( long term depression)

effects of long term depression

Weakens synaptic activity, decreases receptors, and reduces dendritic spines and connections between neurons

• Caused by influx of Ca++ at small, slow pace; activates a different

protein process

Short term memory vs working memory

STM isjust the storage of information for a short time, working memory is both the storage and manipulation of memory to help solve a problem