Exam 3- Conditioning and Learning

declarative memory

the ability to store and retrieve both personal information (episodic memory) and general knowledge (semantic memory)

explicit memory

the ability to recall a specific event or piece of information. Things we intentionally try to recall or remember, such as formulas and dates.

episodic memory

the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place

mental time travel

the unusual form of human episodic memory that allows the mind to recollect the specific time and place of a past event in one's personal history

semantic memory

general knowledge that encompasses memory for concepts, facts, and different communication systems

consolidation

the process by which the hippocampus guides the reorganization of the information stored in the neocortex such that it eventually becomes independent of the hippocampus

consolidation period

time window when semantic info is moved into long-term memory

* need to work with info for about a month

reconsolidation theory

episodic memories are vulnerable to distortion because in the hippocampus when retrieved, they are reorganized changed, have things added and have to be reconsolidated (put back)

* hippocampus needed for consolidating new explicit memories
* semantic stored in cortex (hippocampus no longer needed)
* episodic require hippocampus for retrieval

labile memory

the early stage of memory formation that can be easily disrupted by factors influencing brain activity

standard theory of consolidation

medial temporal lobe is required until cortex can retrieve info without help of hippocampus

STM→LTM

(mtl) (cortex)

multiple memory trace theory

hippocampus needed for encoding and retrieval

STM→LTM

(mtl+ cortex)

free recall

hardest with fewest cues

* essay type question

cued recall

more prompted

* fill in the blank

recognition

recognize the familiar information

active (directed) forgetting

* active process to forget information


* works best for semantic information
* hard to use for episodic

directed remembering

channeling your memory in order to think about a past experience or knowledge that meets a certain criteria

depth-of-processing effect

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cognitive processing of a stimulus that focuses on its meaningful properties rather than its perceptual characteristics. 

processing at this semantic level, which usually involves a degree of elaboration, produces stronger, longer-lasting memories than shallow processing

transfer appropriate processing effect

when encoding conditions and retrieval conditions match retrieval is improved

Ribot's Law

the gradient of memory impairment just prior to an event

gradient

a rate of inclination; a slope

anterograde amnesia

can’t encode new things

retrograde amnesia

can’t retrieve old memories

agnosia

a rare disorder; when a person is unable to recognize and identify objects, people, or sounds using one or more of their senses despite otherwise normally functioning senses

proactive interference

previously learned information interferes with new info

retroactive interference

recently learned information interferes with old info

misattribution

an incorrect inference as to the cause of a person's or group's behavior or of an interpersonal event

source amnesia

failure to recall the source of info (who, when, where?)

cryptomnesia

when you think an idea is yours, but its not because you had previous exposure that you do not remember

false memories

memory for an event that did not happen, even though you are confident that you remember experiencing it

* Elizabeth Loftus: some people are more susceptible to the implantation of false memories

eyewitness memory

Remembering and reporting events the person has witnessed or experienced personally

basal forebrain

contains cholinergic neurons to the cerebral cortex and hippocampus and are important in learning and memory and attention

diencephalon

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"between brain" between the telencephalon and brainstem

Contains thalamus, subthalamus, hypothalamus, and epithalamus

frontal cortex

helps us regulate what is remembered/retrieved

* regulate the hippocampus at encoding and retrieval

medial temporal lobe

* hippocampus (peripheral cortex)
* amygdala (parahippocampal cortex)
* “coretx” (entorhinal cortex)
* Patient EP--same surgery, same outcome
* Patient RB-- just hippocampus removed, same outcome
* Clive Wearing--bilateral herpes infection took out hippocampus and amygadala, same outcome

Herman Ebbinghaus

pioneered the experimental study of memory, and is known for his discovery of the forgetting curve and the spacing effect

Nicola Clayton

* experimental evidence of episodic memory in scrub jays
* if tested on the same day-- S.J dig in mealworm locations
* if tested 5 days later-- S.J dig in peanut locations

Patient H.M. (Henry Molaison)

* taught us a lot about the brain's basis of explicit memory
* bilateral seizures leading to surgery where both hemispheres’ medial temporal lobes were removed, fixed his seizures
* he lost the ability to encode new episodic memories

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly (often up to 30 seconds), such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory

This model proposes that memory has three stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Information first enters sensory memory, where it's briefly stored. If we pay attention to it, it moves to short-term memory, where it's actively processed for a short time. If we rehearse it enough, it can transfer to long-term memory for more permanent storage.

sensory memory

* transient (temporary) replay of sensory inputs
* 1-2 second capacity
* each sensory modality has this capacity gone if not completely attended to

working memory

* current focus of attention


* limited capacity
* forgotten quickly if not committed to long-term memory
* 5-9 items (7+-2)--GEORGE MILLER
* chunking
* decoding

Baddeley model of short-term working memory

describes the short-term working memory system with three components:

* phonological loop: processes and stores auditory information
* visuospatial sketchpad: processes and stores visual and spatial information
* central executive: coordinates and controls info from both components and retrieves information from long-term memory

phonological loop

* for verbal rehearsal
* digit span test

visuo-spatial sketchpad

* object and location rehearsal
* delayed non-match to sample test
* delayed station response task

central executive

* cognitive control-- manipulate and apply working memory
* 5 big tasks:
* updates our short-term working memory buffers
* planning/goal setting
* task switching-redirecting of attention between tasks, rule switching
* stimulus attention/response inhibition
* inhibition of appropriate or unwanted responses including reflexes

word-length effect

memory for lists of words is better for short words than for long words

chunking

add smaller items together so they become a single item

recoding

taking the information from the form it is delivered to us and then converting it in a way that we can make sense of it

interference

the same type of input interferes with the rehearsal of that information (e.g. additional verbal input interferes with phonological loop rehearsal)

delayed non-match to sample test

view a sample of items that disappear for a delay, pick out an item that is different when visual stimulus returns

N-back test

listen to a verbal list of numbers, and report the number you heard in the nth position back from a target number testing the role of the central executive in updating the phonological loop

digit span

a simple behavioral measure of working memory capacity, the cognitive ability to store and manage information on a transient basis

self-ordered memory task

a test of non-spatial executive working memory requiring the ability to generate and monitor a sequence of responses

Tower of Hanoi

A classic puzzle consisting of three rods and disks of different sizes. The objective is to move the entire stack to another rod, obeying the following simple rules:

move disks from one peg to another, no large disks on top of smaller ones, move one disk at a time

Wisconsin Card Sort Test

* deck of cards with different shapes, colors, and item numbers
* sort by a rule based on feature, then the rule changes
* when the rules change can the central executive keep up?
* frontotemporal dementia patients struggle with this task

Stroop test

A task invented in which a subject sees a list of words (color terms) printed in an ink color that differs from the word named. The subject is asked to name the ink colors of the words in the list and demonstrates the great difficulty in doing so, relative to a condition in which non-color words form the stimuli

cognitive control

the ability to direct thoughts. emotions, and behaviors in accord with one's intentions

manipulate working memory

the small amount of information that can be held in mind and used in the execution of cognitive tasks

switch tasks

a procedure in which the participant switches between two or more tasks, typically according to a regular schedule in experimental situations

setting goals and planning

\- broad statement about wants to achieves

\- developed in the strategic planning process: they form the basic plan or direction toward which decisions & activities are focus

\-are motivational in nature & are usually stated in broad general terms without reference to a time period

stimulus attention

play a role in the detection of behaviorally relevant stimuli and act as a “circuit breaker” to redirect attention to salient or important events outside the current focus of attention

response inhibition

the suppression of a behavior that is inappropriate or no longer required, or interfere with goal-driven behavior

dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

a brain area associated with domain general executive control functions such as task switching and task-set reconfiguration, prevention of interference, inhibition, planning, and working memory

ventrolateral prefrontal cortex

a region of the frontal lobes that is typically associated with response inhibition and goal-appropriate response selection

dopamine

a chemical released in the brain that makes you feel good

anterior-posterior gradient

the lower amplitudes and faster frequencies are seen in the anterior channels and the higher amplitudes and slower frequencies are seen in the posterior channels

abstract-concrete gradient

Concrete thinking involves facts and descriptions about everyday, tangible objects, while abstract (formal operational) thinking involves a mental process

frontal-posterior circuits

neural pathways that connect frontal lobe regions with the basal ganglia (striatum) that mediate motor, cognitive, and behavioural functions within the brain

dysexecutive syndrome

a condition in which damage to the frontal lobes causes impaired functioning of the central executive involving deficits in organizing and planning behavior

place versus state models of working memory

Richard Atkinson

Proposed a model to explain our memory forming process

Richard Shiffrin

proposed that we form memories in three stages: sensory, short-term, and long-term

Alan Baddeley

proposed the concept of a working memory that underlies human thought processes

Patricia Goldman-Rakic

Neural description of the circuitry of the prefrontal cortex and how it relates to working memory

non-declarative memory

long-term memory demonstrated in behavior

implicit memory

Memories we don't deliberately remember or reflect on consciously

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

familiarity

a form of remembering in which a situation, event, place, person, or the like provokes a subjective feeling of recognition and is therefore believed to be in memory, although it is not specifically recalled

skill memory

memory for doing things that usually involve learned skills

cognitive skills

the core skills your brain uses to think, read, learn, remember, reason, and pay attention. Working together, they take incoming information and move it into the bank of knowledge you use every day at school, at work, and in life

perceptual-motor skills

skills that require the coordination of visual, auditory, and tactile sensory abilities; combined with emerging motor skills to develop; children

closed skills 

occur in an environment that is stable and predictable

open skills

skills that occur in an environment that is unpredictable and frequently changing

power of learning

a law stating that the degree to which a practice trial improves performance diminishes after a certain point so that additional trials are needed to further improve the skill; learning occurs quickly at first, then slows

massed practice

a practice schedule in which studying continues for long periods, without interruption

spaced practice

a practice schedule that alternates study periods with brief rests

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constant practice

a practice sequence in which only a single variation of a given class of tasks is experienced; repeat same skill over and over

variable practice

a schedule of practice in which many variations of a class of actions are practiced

skill delay

loss of skill happens quickly in the abscence of practice

transfer specificity

when a learned skill does not transfer to new or other skills or actually impairs the performance on other skills

Fitt's three stage model of skill learning

1\. Cognitive Stage \\n 2. Associative Stage \\n 3. Autonomous Stage

basal ganglia

a set of subcortical structures that directs intentional movements

cortex

outermost covering of the brain consisting of densely packed neurons, responsible for higher thought processes and interpretation of sensory input

cerebellum

The portion of the brain in the back of the head between the cerebrum and the brain stem. The cerebellum controls balance for walking and standing, and other complex motor functions

apraxia

impaired ability to carry out motor activities despite intact motor function

transcranial magnetic stimulation

the use of strong magnets to briefly interrupt normal brain activity as a way to study brain regions

Parkinson's disease

* skill learning impairment, especially for closed skills early on
* later in the progression of disease→ impairment in all motor function
* LEVO-DOPA (L-DOPA) to help with dopamine production
* Deep brain stimulation of basal ganglia as treatmentƒsleep

A disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement, often including tremors.

Huntington's disease

* genetic mutation in gene called Huntington
* a hereditary disease marked by degeneration of the brain cells and causing chorea and progressive dementia
* skill impairment can be detected before obvious motor changes
* fatal

deep brain stimulation

A procedure for treatment-resistant depression that involves the implantation of electrodes in the brain that emit signals to alter the brain's electrical circuitry

REM sleep

* longer durations of this type of sleep early in the night