Exam 4

Declarative memories

Memories that can be brought to consciousness, like facts, places, events, and people.

Non-declarative memories

Memories created without the necessity of consciousness, stemming from associative and non-associative learning.

Stimulus

Anything an animal can detect using its senses.

Response

A measurable behavior by an animal; often related to a stimulus.

Non-associative learning

Types of learning where behavior changes after an experience, without associations made between stimuli.

Habituation

A decline in response to a non-threatening stimulus.

Sensitization

Increase in response that occurs after experiencing a noxious or painful stimulus.

Associative learning

Learning where an animal connects two stimuli or a stimulus to a response.

Classical conditioning

A learned association between two stimuli that occur together in time.

Conditioned stimulus

A stimulus that was previously neutral but comes to elicit a response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned stimulus

A stimulus that naturally elicits a response.

Conditioned response

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Acquisition

The process of changes in behavior due to learning trials.

Extinction

Decline in response to a conditioned stimulus presented without an unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of a conditioned response after a period of extinction.

Instrumental conditioning

Operant conditioning; outcomes depend on the animal showing a target response.

Theoretical law of effect

A learned association takes place when an initiating stimulus is followed by a reward.

Habituation in Aplysia

Reduced presynaptic Ca++ activity leading to decreased glutamate release.

Sensitization mechanism

Involves axoaxonic connections impacting K+ channels and enhancing Ca++ influx.

Sensory memory

A snapshot of sensory information that fades quickly if unimportant.

Short-term memory

Memory stored for a few seconds to a minute, fading unless converted to long-term.

Working memory

A type of short-term memory used for problem-solving and decision-making.

Consolidation

The process of converting short-term to long-term memory.

Hippocampus

Brain region crucial in processing long-term memory.

Hebb's rule

Learning occurs when neurons that fire together strengthen their connections.

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

Physiological representation of learning; enhanced synaptic activity.

AMPA receptors

Glutamate receptors that mediate immediate neuronal responses.

NMDA receptors

Glutamate receptors that allow calcium into cells, facilitating synaptic changes.

Engram

The physical representation of a memory in the brain.

Episodic memory

Memories of past events in one's life.

Semantic memories

Memories of general knowledge and facts.

Spatial memory

Memories involved in representing one’s environment.

Morris water maze

A research tool used to investigate spatial memory.

Retrograde amnesia

Inability to remember past events.

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to create new memories.

Korsakoff syndrome

A disorder caused by chronic alcohol abuse, affecting memory.

Psychoactive drugs

Chemicals affecting cognition, perception, consciousness, mood, and behavior.

Pharmacodynamics

The study of drug effects on the body.

Bioavailability

The extent to which a drug reaches its site of action.

Direct agonist

A drug that binds and activates a receptor.

Substance use disorder

A medical condition involving habitual drug use harming health.

Delirium tremens

Severe symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, including confusion and hallucinations.

Addiction

Habitual behavior causing harm to mental or physical health.

Incentive-sensitization theory

The idea that cravings for drugs and stimuli become sensitized over time.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

Therapy recognizing and replacing negative thoughts.

Bipolar disorder

Mood disorder with swings between depression and mania.

Dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia

Suggests schizophrenia is due to over-activation of dopamine receptors.

Neurological basis of Alzheimer's disease

Characterized by memory loss and neuron death, particularly in the cortex.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

Neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated brain injuries.

Concussion

A mild traumatic brain injury causing temporary brain disruption.

Post-Concussion syndrome

Extended symptoms after a concussion.