Module 12: Memory and Amnesia

Multiple Memory Systems

Independent neural processes for different memory types.

Short Term Memory

shorter hold of information

How long can sensory memory last typically?

< 1 second

Motor Memory

Motor memory held in short term store

- planning action etc.

Cogntive Memory

- planning, action, and cognition

Long Term Memory

consolidated information that you can access later

Explicit Memory

- conscious memory in long-term

- memory you constantly seek out and retrieve

Episodic Memory

- type of explicit, long term memory

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

e.g., what did you have for dinner?

Semantic Memory

- type of explicit, long term memory

Factual bits of information and knowledge

Implicit Memory

- unconscious, long-term memory

Demonstrate memory through action

- involves skills, habits, priming, and conditioning

Emotional Memory

- conscious and unconscious long-term memory

When we retrieve memory, we may have an emotion that is associated with retrieval of that memory (conscious)

OR

emotional reaction in a past experience that elicits an emotional response (unconscious)

Encoding Learning

Initial stage of memory formation through study.

Storage Consolidation

Stabilizing memories through rehearsal and re-encoding.

Retrieval Memory

Accessing stored information from memory.

H.M.

Patient with severe amnesia after temporal lobe surgery.

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories post-injury.

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of pre-existing memories before injury.

Korsakoff's Syndrome

Memory disorder due to chronic alcoholism and thiamine deficiency.

Infantile Amnesia

Inability to recall memories from early childhood.

Transient Global Amnesia

Sudden memory loss with short duration.

ECT

Electroconvulsive therapy that may induce temporary amnesia.

Temporal Gradient of Amnesia

Memory loss severity decreases over time.

Confabulation

Fabrication of memories without intent to deceive.

Working Memory

System for temporarily holding and processing information.

Central Executive

Component managing attention and coordinating memory tasks.

Phonological Loop

Auditory-verbal working memory system.

Visuospatial Scratchpad

Visual and spatial information storage in working memory.

Delayed Response Paradigm

Task assessing memory retention over time.

Digit Span Task

Test measuring capacity of short-term memory.

Mirror Tracing Task

Skill learning task involving tracing a path.

Repetition Priming

Improved performance due to prior exposure to stimuli.

Stem Completion Method

Task requiring completion of word stems based on cues.

What areas of the brain are involved in memory? (6 areas)

1. Hippocampus

2. Amygdala

3. Basal Ganglia (limbic systems)

4. Cerebellum

5. Pre-Frontal Regions

6. Left Parietal

What involvement does the hippocampus have in memory?

- long term, explicit memory

- biographical, episodic memory

- spatial memory

What involvement does the amygdala have in memory?

emotional influences on memory

- higher emotions in an experience = stronger storage, consolidation, and activation in brain areas --> influences hippocampus

What does the amygdala influence?

The hippocampus

What involvement does the basal ganglia have in memory?

- implicit memory

- implicit influences on behavior (learning new skills)

- no direct connections to higher cortical areas, must be rooted through thalamus

What involvement does the cerebellum have in memory?

Plays a role in long-term, implicit memory

What involvement does the pre-frontal regions have in memory?

- short term memory store

- different regions play different roles in memory consolidation etc.

What involvement does the left parietal have in memory?

- organization of visual and motor memory

- implicit memory (development of skills)

What can damage in the left parietal lobe cause in terms of memory?

Can lead to apraxia -- deficits in appropriate motor planning which requires memory