Neuroscience Final Review: Memory, Plasticity, and Language

Vocabulary practice questions covering memory types, H.M.'s case study, synaptic plasticity (LTP/LTD), conditioning, language centers (Broca/Wernicke), and split-brain syndromes.

Declarative memory

A type of memory that includes facts and events.

Nondeclarative/procedural memory

Memory for skills and tasks, such as riding a bicycle.

Anterograde amnesia

The inability to form new long-term memories.

Retrograde amnesia

The loss of memories formed before an injury.

H.M.

A patient whose hippocampus and surrounding medial temporal lobe structures were removed, resulting in a primary deficit of anterograde amnesia while procedural memory remained intact.

Memory consolidation

A process primarily involving the hippocampus that transfers memories to the neocortex for long-term storage.

Neocortex

The structure where long-term declarative memories are ultimately stored.

Place cells

Cells found mainly in the hippocampus that support cognitive maps and spatial navigation.

Working memory

A form of memory that relies heavily on interactions between the prefrontal and parietal cortex.

Mirror tracing

A task that demonstrates the preservation of procedural memory in patients like H.M.

Priming

A category of nondeclarative memory.

Korsakoff syndrome

A condition often producing retrograde amnesia and confabulation.

Episodic memory

Memory for specific events and experiences.

Semantic memory

Memory for facts and knowledge.

Prospective place cells

Place cells that encode future routes.

Retrospective place cells

Place cells that encode previous routes.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

A process induced by high-frequency stimulation that increases synaptic strength.

Long-Term Depression (LTD)

A process induced by low-frequency stimulation that decreases synaptic strength.

NMDA receptor

A critical receptor for LTP induction that is blocked by $Mg^{2+}$ at resting potential and allows $Ca^{2+}$ entry upon postsynaptic depolarization.

AMPA receptors

Receptors whose numbers generally increase during LTP and decrease during LTD.

Phosphatases

Enzymes activated by small calcium increases that favor LTD.

Protein kinases

Signaling molecules activated by large calcium increases that favor LTP.

CREB

A molecule important for long-term memory consolidation that leads to gene transcription.

Long-lasting LTP

A form of synaptic plasticity that specifically requires protein synthesis.

Classical conditioning

A learning process discovered by Pavlov involving a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US).

Fear conditioning

A type of conditioning, such as pairing a tone with a shock, that relies heavily on the amygdala.

Lateral amygdala

The specific nucleus of the amygdala that receives sensory associations during fear conditioning.

Operant conditioning

A form of learning that focuses on the consequences of behavior, such as positive reinforcement.

Broca's area

Located in the left inferior frontal gyrus, it is responsible for fluent speech production.

Broca's aphasia

A condition producing nonfluent speech while comprehension remains relatively intact.

Wernicke's area

Located in the posterior superior temporal region, it is involved in language comprehension.

Wernicke's aphasia

A condition producing fluent but nonsensical speech and impaired comprehension.

Arcuate fasciculus

The tract that connects Broca's and Wernicke's areas.

Conduction aphasia

A condition caused by damage to the arcuate fasciculus, characterized by poor repetition.

Apraxia of speech

A speech disorder often associated with damage to the insula.

Corpus callosum

The structure that connects the cerebral hemispheres and mediates hemispheric communication.

Callosotomy

The surgical severing of the corpus callosum.

Alexia without agraphia

A condition where a patient can write but cannot read, often involving damage to the splenium of the corpus callosum.

Alien hand syndrome

A disorder involving damage to the corpus callosum and supplementary motor area.

Right hemisphere

The hemisphere especially important for prosody, spatial processing, and spatial attention.