Neuroplasticity & The Memory Processing Model

Synaptic Plasticity

Rapid changes in the strength of an existing synapse (e.g., changing receptor density).

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

The specific strengthening of a neural pathway due to repeated firing.

Structural Plasticity

The slow, physical remodeling of the brain's architecture (e.g., axonal sprouting, neurogenesis).

Synaptic Pruning

The brain's selective deletion of unused neural connections to increase overall processing efficiency.

Sensory Memory

Extremely brief memory (less than a second) that includes iconic (visual) and echoic (auditory) memory.

Working (Short-Term) Memory

Active mental workspace lasting 15-30 seconds, capable of holding approximately 7 (plus or minus 2) items.

Explicit (Declarative) Memory

Long-term memory requiring conscious, intentional recall (includes episodic and semantic memory).

Implicit (Nondeclarative) Memory

Long-term memory involving unconscious, automatic recall (includes procedural memory and emotional/fear conditioning).

Semantic Network

The brain's organization of concepts into interconnected nodes.

Spreading Activation

The phenomenon where accessing one concept in memory automatically activates closely related concepts.

Biological Predisposition (Preparedness)

The evolutionary hardwiring that makes animals learn certain survival-based associations more easily than others.

Instinctive Drift

The tendency of an animal to revert to innate, species-specific behaviors that override a conditioned operant response.

State-Dependent Memory

Memory retrieval is best when an individual is in the same internal physiological state as when the memory was formed.

Context-Dependent Memory

Memory retrieval is best when an individual is in the same physical location or environment where the memory was encoded.

Chunking

An encoding strategy involving grouping individual pieces of info into larger, meaningful units to improve working memory.

Method of Loci

An encoding strategy involving associating information with specific physical locations along a familiar mental route.

Dual-Coding Theory

Memory is enhanced when information is processed both verbally (words) and visually (images) simultaneously.

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to think logically and solve new problems on the fly; typically declines with age.

Crystallized Intelligence

The accumulation of facts, knowledge, and skills acquired over a lifetime; remains stable or improves with age.

Episodic vs. Semantic Memory with Aging

Episodic memory (forming new personal memories) declines with age, while semantic memory (facts) remains stable or improves.