Brain Facts Chapter 4

H.M.

What were the initials of the patient that was the turning point in 20th century brain science?

a blow to the head

How was H.M. intially injured?

severe seizures

What symptoms did H.M. have after he was injured but before his surgery?

sections of his medial temporal lobes were removed

What procedure did H.M. undergo to alleviate his symptoms?

permanent amnesia

What resulted after H.M. underwent removal of sections of his medial temporal lobes?

True

T/F H.M. could remember scenes from his childhood, some facts about his parents and events that occurred before his surgery.

False

T/F H.M. could not remember scenes from his childhood, some facts about his parents and events that occurred before his surgery.

tracing patterns by only looking in a mirror

What did H.M. get better at even though he could not remember doing it before?

hippocampus and parahippocampal

What two areas of the brain are important for converting short-term memories to long-term memories?

hippocampus and parahippocampal

What regions are found in the medial temporal lobe that are involved with memory?

frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital

Name the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex.

amygdala

Name the structure involved in memory and emotion.

caudate nucleus and putamen

What does the striatum include?

declarative memory

Name the memory that is for facts, data and events.

explicit memories

What are declarative memories called?

declarative memory

What type of memory allows you to consciously recall and describe the information.

semantic and episodic

Name the two types of declarative memory.

semantic memory

Name the type of declarative memory that consists of cultural knowledge, ideas and concepts about the world.

episodic memory

Name the type of declarative memory that is involved with your personal experiences.

episodic memory

Name the type of declarative memory used for mentally recalling sights and sounds, time, space and emotions associated with an experience

semantic memory

Name the type of declarative memory for the following.

Paris is the capital of France.

episodic memory

Name the type of declarative memory for the following.

I had salad for lunch today.

semantic memory

Name the type of declarative memory for the following.

I know how to use scissors.

semantic memory

Name the type of declarative memory for the following.

recognizing names of colors

episodic memory

Name the type of declarative memory for the following.

recalling your first day of school

episodic memory

Name the type of declarative memory for the following.

what you ate for dinner last night

dentate gyrus

Name the layer of neurons in the hippocampus that play a role in learning and memory.

glia

What are the supporting cells in the dentate gyrus called?

dentate gyrus

Where can neurogenesis occur in the hippocampus?

amygdala

Name the structure gives emotional significance to events and experiences.

almond

Amygdala comes from the Greek word for what?

amygdala

What structure initiates the fight or flight response?

parahippocampal region

What region aids the hippocampus in encoding the "what" of episodic memories?

True

T/F H.M. was able to retrieve his previous long-term memories, but not able to form new ones.

False

T/F H.M. was able to retrieve his previous short-term memories, but not able to form new ones.

working memory

What is a temporary type of declarative memory?

working memory

What type of memory is short term?

a few seconds

How long can short term memory be accessible before they decay and can no longer be retrieved?

prefrontal cortex

What does PFC stand for?

prefrontal cortex

Name the area of the frontal lobe that is involved with working memory.

prefrontal cortex

Which area of the brain is the "brain's executive"?

PFC

Which area of the brain shows activity when people are concentrating on remembering a phone number?

True

T/F PFC fires in spurts.

False

T/F PFC continuously fires.

True

T/F H.M. did not lose the function in the PFC.

False

T/F H.M. lost function of the PFC.

spatial memory

Name the ability to recall where objects are in relationship to each other in space.

place cells

Types of cells found in Hippocampus whose activity becomes associated with particular parts of a familiar environment.

grid cells

Neurons that respond when an animal is in particular locations in an environment such that the responsive locations form a repeating grid-like pattern.

nondeclarative memory

What is another name for implicit or procedural memory?

nondeclarative memory

What type of memory would you be using when riding a bike?

basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum

Name three areas of the brain that are involved with motor skill learning.

basal ganglia

What area of the brain is termed "habit center"?

synapse

What are the gaps between neurons called?

synaptic plasticity

What is the ability of synapses to change called?

the number of synapses, the shape of synapses, the amount of neurotransmitters and the number of receptors

When new memories form, how do synapses change?

presynaptic neuron

What is the sending neuron called?

postsynaptic neuron

Name the neuron that receives the signal.

neurotransmitters

What are the chemical messengers of neurons called?

electrical signal

Chemical messages received by the postsynaptic neuron are converted into what?

receptors

What molecule does the neurotransmitter bind to on the postsynaptic neuron?

presynaptic terminal

Where do recycled neurotransmitters go after being used?

sea slug

What is Aplysia californica?

sea slug

What animal was studied to understand synaptic plasticity?

it has few nerve cells and they are easy to observe

Why did scientists study sea slug neurons?

simple forms of learning and memory

Structural changes in nerve cells in sea slugs were linked to what brain activities?

synaptic structure

Studies in genetically modified mice, revealed that alterations in gene expression facilitated long term changes in what structure?

N-methyl-d-aspartate

What does NMDA stand for?

glutamate

NMDA is a receptor for what neurotransmitter?

cAMP - response element binding protein

What does CREB stand for?

long term memories

CREB is important in the formation of what?

long-term potentiation

What does LTP stand for?

long-term depression

What does LTD stand for?

LTP and LTD

What are to opposing processes needed for synaptic plasticity?

long lasting increase

What effect does LTP have on synaptic strength?

hippocampus

What area of the brain has a high amount of LTP?

decreases a synapse's effectiveness

What effect does LTD have of synaptic strength?

glutamate receptors

What type of receptors does LTP depend on?

glutamate

Name the most prevalent neurotransmitter in the mammalian nervous system.

NMDA and AMPA

Name two types of glutamate receptors.

alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid

What does AMPA stand for?

ion channels

What type of receptors are NMDA and AMPA?

calcium and sodium

What ions move into the cell when NMDA and AMPA are activated?

increase the number of receptors

How is post synaptic cell strength achieved?

they act as second messengers

What is a function of calcium ions?

LTP

Which type of potentiation can increase the concentration of calcium ions in a postsynaptic cell the most?

kinase proteins

Which enzymes are activated in an LTP?

phophatases

Which enzymes are activated in an LTD?

cyclic adensosine monophosphate

What does cAMP stand for?

cAMP

What do calcium ions in the postsynaptic cell activate?

CREB

What does continuous stimulation in a postsynaptic cell activate?

CREB

Name a protein that switches on the genes responsible for the development of new synapses.

hippocampus

Where are declarative memories encoded?

frontal lobes

After memories are encoded in the hippocampus, where do the go for long term storage and consolidation?

synaptic plasticity

New advances in pharmaceutical and technologies with regards to memory has may enable the artificial manipulation of what?

PTSD

Name a synapse-related neurological disorder.

post-traumatic stress disorder

What does PTSD stand for?

eradication of harmful memories

New treatments for PTSD could be helpful in what way?

nondeclarative memory

What type of memory is emotional memory?

anger, fear, surprise, disgust, joy, and sadness

Name the six basic emotions identified by Paul Ekman.