PSY A370 FINAL EXAM | 12.1 Memory and Loss

Alzheimer’s disease

condition characterized by memory loss, confusion, depression, restlessness, hallucinations, delusions, sleeplessness, and loss of appetite.

Amnesia

memory loss

B-amyloid

a protein that accumulates to higher than normal levels in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease

APOE

gene that makes a protein that contributes to many functions, including lipid metabolism and control of the blood

Classical conditioning

type of conditioning produced by the pairing of two stimuli, one of which evokes an automatic response

Conditioned response

response evoked by a conditioned stimulus after it has been paired with an unconditioned response

Conditioned stimulus

stimulus that evokes a particular response only after it has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus

Consolidate

to strengthen a memory and make it more long lasting

Delayed response task

assignment in which an animal must respond on the basis of a signal that it remembers but that is no longer present

Engram

physical representation of what has been learned

Equipotentiality

concept that all parts of the cortex contribute equally to complex behaviors; any part of the cortex can substitute for any others

Infant amnesia

tendency to forget the experiences of early childhood

Instrumental conditioning

a type of conditioning in which reinforcement or punishment changes the future probabilities of a given behavior

Lateral interpositus nucleus

a nucleus of the cerebellum that is essential for certain conditioned responses

Long term memory

memory of events that occurred further back in time

Mass action

concept that the cortex works as a whole and the more cortex, the better

Punishment

an event that suppresses the frequency of the preceding response

Reinforcer

any event that increases the future probability of the preceding response

Short term memory

memory of events that have just occurred

Tau protein

part of the intracellular support structure of axons

Unconditioned response

response automatically evoked by an unconditioned stimulus

Unconditioned stimulus

stimulus that automatically evokes an unconditioned response

Working memory

storage of memory while one is working with it