Chapter 12 Conditioning, reinforcement, potentiation, and memory nd memory

Engram

A neural pathway of what has been learned

Were Ashley’s cuts successful?

No, his failed attempts to sever the engram via lesions indicated that indicates conditioning and memory do not rely on a single cortical region

Lashley’s two principles about the nervous system

Equipotentiality: all parts of the cortex contribute equally to complex functioning behaviors (e.g., learning)

Mass action: the cortex works as a whole, and more cortex is better

Which brain area did Thompson discover learning occurs?

The lateral interpositus nucleus in the cerebellum, not the cortex as Lashley thought

What type of amnesia did patient HM have?

Mild retrograde amnesia and severe anterograde amnesia

Procedural memory, priming, and conditioning brain regions

Did HM lose his implicit memory?

No, it was only his episodic memories that were largely lost, and semantic damaged, although less so

Did HM lose his STM?

No, his STM worked fine, but his LTM didn’t. 

Radial maze 

Place cells

hippocampal neurons that respond most strongly when an animal is in a particular place and headed in a particular direction

Time cells

hippocampal neurons that respond most strongly at a particular point within a sequence of times

Where do place cells receive input?

Entorhinal cortex

Grid cells

entorhinal cortex cells that respond when an animal is in any of a number of places arranged in a hexagonal grid pattern

Place cells vs grid cells location

Place cells: hippocampus

Grid cells: entorhinal cortex

Hebbian Synapse

A synapse that increases in effectiveness because of simultaneous activity in the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons

Three properties of long-term potentiation

Specificity

Cooperativity

Associativity