Ch 24 (Learning and Memory Pt. 1) - Behavioral Neuroscience

declarative memory

the type of long-term memory that involves the conscious, intentional recall of factual knowledge, events, and concepts. Also known as explicit memory, it allows individuals to actively "declare" or state what they know. It is divided into two main categories: episodic (Autobiographical memory for specific personal experiences, events, times, and places.) and semantic (General, factual knowledge about the world that is independent of personal experience.)

knowing WHAT

non-declarative memory

a type of long-term memory that operates automatically and unconsciously, allowing individuals to perform tasks, skills, and habits without conscious awareness

knowing HOW

procedural (nondeclarative) memory

a type of long-term, implicit memory that stores information on "how" to perform tasks, habits, and skills without conscious awareness

non-associative learning

a fundamental form of implicit learning involving a change in behavior, such as habituation or sensitization, following repeated exposure to a single stimulus rather than an association between stimuli. It focuses on how responses, not associations, change over time

habituation and sensitization

associative learning

a fundamental cognitive process where an organism links a stimulus with a specific outcome, reward, or punishment, altering behavior based on this pairing. It includes classical conditioning (associating stimuli) and operant conditioning (associating behaviors with consequences) to form mental links between experiences.

striatum

the largest subcortical structure of the basal ganglia, acting as the primary input center that integrates signals for motor control, reward processing, and decision-making. Located in the forebrain, it regulates voluntary movements, habit formation, and motivation by receiving inputs from the cortex, thalamus, and dopamine neurons

t-maze

a widely used behavioral apparatus in neuroscience and psychology, shaped like the letter "T" or "Y," designed to test spatial learning, memory, and decision-making in rodents, fish, and other animals

PFC and working memory

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is essential for working memory, serving as the "central executive" that encodes, maintains, and manipulates temporary information. It operates by maintaining persistent neuronal activity during delays, directing attention, and filtering distractions to support goal-directed behavior

neocortex and declarative memory (Hebb’s cell assembly)

The neocortex is the primary site for long-term storage of declarative memory (facts and events), which are organized into distributed networks known as Hebb’s cell assemblies. Donald Hebb proposed that repeated stimulation of neurons leads to strengthened synaptic connections, forming a "cell assembly"—a diffuse, connected structure that acts as a physical trace (engram) of a memory or concept

core concept is that learning physically reconfigures the brain, changing fleeting experiences into lasting memory traces

declarative memory and hippocampus (radial arm maze)

The hippocampus is critical for declarative (explicit) memory, enabling the storage of spatial and relational information. In rodents, the radial arm maze (RAM) tests this function by requiring animals to recall which arms they have visited (spatial working memory)

retrograde amnesia

the inability to recall events, information, or experiences from before the onset of an injury, illness, or psychological trauma

anterograde amnesia

a type of memory loss where an individual loses the ability to create or retain new memories after the onset of the condition, while long-term memories from the past remain completely intact

Temporal lobe and H.M.

Henry Molaison (Patient H.M.) underwent a bilateral medial temporal lobe resection in 1953 to treat severe epilepsy, removing his hippocampi and surrounding structures. This resulted in profound anterograde amnesia, meaning he could not form new long-term declarative memories, yet he retained short-term and procedural memory

working memory

a limited-capacity cognitive system that temporarily holds and manipulates information for immediate use, such as reasoning, learning, and decision-making

long-term memory

the nearly unlimited, long-term storage system in the brain that holds information, experiences, and skills for days, years, or a lifetime. It functions as an archive to convert temporary, short-term memories into lasting knowledge through a process called consolidation, which primarily involves the hippocampus

short-term memory

a cognitive storage system that temporarily holds a limited amount of information in an active state