Chapter 13 & 17 Vocabulary - Behavioral Neuroscience

Learning

The process of acquiring new information

4 Basic Forms of Learning

Stimulus-response, motor, perceptual, and relational

Stimulus-Response Learning

Ability to learn to perform a particular behavior when a particular stimulus is present; establishes connections between circuits involved in perception and movement; classical and operant conditioning

Classical Conditioning

When an unconditioned stimulus (US) causes an unconditioned response (UR) enough times, it now becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) eliciting a conditioned response (CR)

Hebb rule

If one thing goes together with another thing, the connection is strengthened in association

Operant Conditioning

A reinforcing or pushing outcome follows a specific behavior in a specific situation; the behavior is increased or decreased

Perceptual Learning

Ability to learn to recognize stimuli that have been perceived before

Relational Learning

Learning the relationships among individual stimuli; relative locations of objects; episodic learning involves remembering sequence of events that we witness

Motor Learning

Establishes changes (responses) within motor systems following a stimulus; requires sensory guidance from the environment

Sensory Memory

A brief period of time that the initial sensation of environmental stimuli is initially remembered; length range from faction of a second to a few seconds; occurs in each of the senses

Short-Term Memory

Contains information from sensory memory only if it’s meaningful or salient enough; length ranges from seconds to minutes; capacity is limited to a few items

Long-Term Memory

Contains information from short-term memory that is consolidated; relatively permanent; lasts for minutes, hours, days, or decades; strengthened with increased retrieval

Major categories of long-term memory

Nondeclarative memory and Declarative memory

Nondeclarative memory

Also called implicit memory; includes memories that we are not necessarily conscious of; operates automatically and controls motor behaviors

Declarative memory

Also called explicit memory; memory of events and facts we can think and talk about; includes episodic memories (context) and semantic memories (facts)

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

A series of synaptic changes

Two major pathways of the Basal Ganglia

Direct transcortical connections and Connections via the Basal Ganglia & Thalamus

Transcortical Pathways

Involved in acquiring episodic memories and complex behaviors that involve deliberation or instruction; a memorized set of rules provides a script to follow

Ventral Stream

Involved with object recognition (the what)

Dorsal Stream

Involved with perception of the location of objects (the where)

Anterograde Amnesia

Can remember before brain damage but cannot retain new information; can be caused by damage to the temporal lobes

Short-Term Memory

Storing a limited amount of information temporarily

Long-Term Memory

Storing an unlimited amount of info permanently

Consolidation

The conversation of short-term to long-term; involves hippocampal formation

Semantic Memories

A form of declarative memory that can be acquired gradually over time

Spatial Memory

Right hippocampal formation becomes active when a person remembers or performs a navigational task; hippocampus is used in spatial strategy

Caudate Nucleus

Used in response strategy

Place cells

Different neurons have different spatial receptive fields—they respond when animals are in different locations

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

Long-term increase in excitability of neuron to particular synaptic input caused by repeated high-frequency activity of that input

Presynaptic Changes

LTP may involve presynaptic changes in existing synapses; nitric oxide (NO) is important in the formation of LTP

Postsynaptic Changes

LTP changes the size and shape of dendritic spines; can also cause the growth of new dendritic spines

Autism (Spectrum Disorder) (ASD)

Failure to develop typical social relations; impaired development of communicative ability; presence of repetitive, stereotyped behaviors, fixated interests, or inflexible adherence to routines; apparent increase of disease is from heightened awareness and broadening of the diagnostic criteria

Fusiform Face Area (FFA)

Involved in recognizing individual faces based in experience

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Symptoms appear so often that they interfere with ability to learn; six or more symptoms must last at least six months for a diagnosis; often associated with aggression, conduct disorder, learning disabilities, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem