🧠 AP Psych - Module 32

semantic memory

1. explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of two conscious memory systems

2. a part of effortful processing and a form of explicit memory; network that processes / stores = frontal lobes + hippocampus

episodic memory

1. explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of 2 conscious memory systems

2. a part of effortful processing and a form of explicit memory; network that processes / stores = frontal lobes + hippocampus

hippocampus

1. a temporal lobe neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories of facts and events for storage

2. brain scans reveal activity in the hippocampus and nearby brain networks as people form explicit memories of names, images, and events. damage to it disrupts formation/recall of

left and right lobes process..

diff types of memories; right brain more visual, so it would call up visual scene from what I remember, left brain more verbal, calls up things you heard

ppl w/ left vs. right brain damage..

left damage = trouble remembering verbal memories, but can remember visual designs/scenes perfectly; right damage = trouble w visual scene memories, can remember verbal memories perfectly

diff parts of hippocampus are active as people learn…

spatial memory; mnemonics; social info, etc

prefrontal cortex vs. hippocampus

area used in short term memory + working memory vs. area used in working + long-term memory consolidation

memory consolidation

1. occuring in hippocampus - the neural storage of a long-term memory; During "offline" states like sleep or quiet rest, the hippocampus replays neural patterns, a process thought to strengthen connections within the neocortex, encoding memories

2. removing rats hippocampus 3 hours after it learns location for something impairs its ability to remember where something was in the long term; removing it 48 hours later after encoding across cortex does not (more hippocampus activity during sleep makes next days memory better, explaining spacing effect)

explicit memory processed in

hippocampus/frontal lobes

implicit memory processed differently from explicit, as demonstrated by…

when amnesia patient was pricked with thumb tack by the hand shake of a doctor who’s face/name she couldn’t remember, she refused to shake his hand later due to  implicit processing - processing of classically conditioned memories - being seperate brain netwrook from encoding facts+experiences.

part of brain essential to forming implicit memories created by classical conditioning =

cerebellum; which must form reflexes/facilitate responses to encoded associations

part of brain essential to forming implicit memories created for procedural memories and skills =

basal ganglia; a deep Brian structure involved in motor movement— recieves input from cortex but does not send info back to cortex for conscious awareness of procedual learning

what does amygdala stimulation have to do w/ memory?

amygdala stimulation can stimulate memory-forming areas like the hippocampus, as studies show direct electrical stimulation of the amygdala enhances memory formation and recall - this focuses recall on high priority information and reduces recall of irrelevance

flashbulb memory

1. a clear, sustained memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

2. remembering 9/11 and your whereabouts during it are example

Long term potentiation (LTP)

1. an increase in a cells firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning / memory

2. When the same two neurons fire together repeatedly (say, while you practice a skill or recall a memory), the presynaptic neuron releases large bursts of glutamate (the main excitatory neurotransmitter involved in learning).

   Over time, this repeated stimulation causes biochemical changes on both sides of the synapse. The postsynaptic membrane adds more glutamate receptors, increasing glutamate sensitivity and allowing whole circuit to fire more efficiently.

retrieval cues

stimuli or signals that help you access a stored memory — like mental “triggers” that guide your brain to the right neural pathway so the memory can resurface. (setting position, details abt environment, mood, etc)

priming

often unconscious activation of particular associations btw things in memory

encoding specificity principle

1. idea that cues + contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

2. running into a teacher at park; u might struggle w/ name; at old school, environmental cues might prompt recognition

mood congruent

1, tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with ones current good or bad mood

2. When you’re angry: You often recall other times someone disrespected or wronged you.

serial position effect

1. our tendency to recall bets the last (recency) and first (primacy) items in a list 

2. when people viewed list of words and were asked to repeat, the first time around, they recalled the last ones best (recency), but after a while after attention shift, they best raced first few (primacy)