Psych 3.2: Memory

What is the active processing system in the brain that involves encoding, storing and retrieving information for future use?

Memory

Why is memory an active process?

The learner must attend to their sensory memory to commit info into their STM, then engage with the info in their STM to commit it to their LTM for future use.

What is the entry point for memory that stores an exact replica of the real world?

Sensory memory

What is the process of converting information from the STM into a usable form that our brains can store?

Encoding

What is the process of retaining information in our LTM for future use?

Storage

What is the process of accessing previously stored information from our LTM and bringing it into our conscious awareness in STM?

Retrieval

Fill in the blanks below (iconic memory).

Capacity:

Duration:

Capacity: unlimited

Duration: 0.2-0.4 seconds

Fill in the blanks below (echoic memory).

Capacity:

Duration:

Capacity: unlimited

Duration: 3-4 seconds

Fill in the blanks below (sensory memory).

Capacity:

Duration:

Capacity: unlimited

Duration: 0.2-4 seconds

Fill in the blanks below (STM).

Capacity:

Duration:

Capacity: 5-9 items

Duration: 18-30 seconds

Fill in the blanks below (LTM).

Capacity:

Duration:

Capacity: potentially unlimited

Duration: relatively permanent

What happens to unattended information?

It becomes lost.

What happens to unrehearsed information in the STM?

It rapidly decays or is displaced by subsequent information.

Why does forgetting occur?

Due to failure of retrieval cues and interference from similar memories.

What is the term for when information in the STM fades?

Decay

What is the term for when information in the STM is replaced by subsequent items?

Displacement

What is the process of doing something so that information can be retained in memory and then retrieved when required (STM-LTM-STM)?

Rehearsal

What is the rote repetition of information being remembered which needs to be attended to consciously (in STM)?

Maintenance rehearsal

What do rehearsal and maintenance rehearsal improve?

Duration of STM

What are the weaknesses of the Atkinson-Shiffrin multi-store model of memory?

• STM has multiple interacting components, not just one store

• Rehearsal does not guarantee retention

• Memory from LTM is not retrieved but reconstructed

What is the type of long-term memory that is consciously retrieved?

Explicit memory

What is the type of long-term memory that is unconsciously retrieved?

Implicit memory

What is the type of explicit memory that consists of general knowledge and facts?

Semantic memory

What is the type of explicit memory that consists of personal experiences of events?

Episodic memory

What is the type of implicit memory that consists of motor and cognitive skills involving procedures?

Procedural memory

What is the type of implicit memory consisting of automatic conditioned responses?

Conditioning memory

What is the term for the formation of a memory?

Memory trace

How does LTP aid in the formation of a memory?

Due to repeated co-activations, LTP helps to strengthen memory traces over time.

How does LTD impact the retrieval of memories?

LTD affects the duration of LTM, meaning memories will fade faster if they are infrequently coactivated.

OR

LTD occurs when neural pathways are infrequently coactivated, which means that the neural pathways involved in the retrieval of memories from the LTM to the STM are weakened over time, making it harder to retrieve them.

What is the part of the brain involved in encoding, consolidating and retrieving explicit memories?

Hippocampus

What is the part of the brain involved in encoding the emotional components of explicit memories?

Amygdala

What is the part of the brain involved in storing explicit memories?

Neocortex

What are the roles of the hippocampus and amygdala in memory formation?

Hippocampus: Encodes factual (explicit) components of the explicit memory

Amygdala: Encodes emotional (implicit) components of the explicit memory

What are the roles of the hippocampus and neocortex in memory formation?

Hippocampus: Encodes and retrieves explicit memories into and from neocortex.

Neocortex: Stores explicit memories.

What part of the brain is involved in encoding and storing implicit memories, specifically those related to unconscious habits, simple reflexes or procedural sequences of precise movements?

Cerebellum

What are the specific functions of the cerebellum?

Encoding and storing memories related to:

• precise fine motor movements (b/c of role in motor control, coordination, balance and posture)

• classically conditioned behavioural responses (CC simple reflexes)

Which part of the brain is involved in encoding and storing implicit memories, specifically those related to habit formation, procedural consequences and reward pathways?

Basal ganglia

What are the specific functions of the basal ganglia?

Encoding and storing memories that are:

• unconsciously retrieved (habit formation)

• reward processing (supporting learning that is driven by feedback)

• motor skills and procedural movements (w/ cerebellum)

What is the part of the neocortex involved in storing information in the STM and carrying out actions stored in procedural memory?

Prefrontal cortex

What is the brain’s outermost layer of grey matter, which is involved in conscious thought, motor movement and processing sensory information?

Cerebral cortex

What is the type of memory system that consists of episodes recollected from a person’s life, based on a combination of semantic and episodic memories?

Autobiographical memory (ABM)

What is the process of projecting yourself forwards in time to pre-experience a possible future?

Episodic future thinking

How are episodic and semantic memories involved in ABM?

The retrieval of ABM involves an overlap between episodic memory, which involves the experience and feelings of the event, and semantic memory, which involves general knowledge of the event.

What is another term for explicit memory?

Declarative memory

What is the perception of an object, event or scene that occurs when the OES is not present?

Mental imagery

What is the ability to picture the shape, colour, etc. of people, faces, animals and scenes - and is associated with the activation of the occipital lobe and visual cortex?

Object imagery

What is the ability to picture objects in a 3d space - and is associated with the activation of the parietal lobes?

Spatial imagery

What is the neurodegenerative disease characterised by the progressive loss of neurons in the brain and which is associated with memory decline?

Alzheimer’s disease

What is the word for conditions that are not present from birth, but are gained through injury or a significant psychological event?

Acquired

What do you call conditions that are present from birth?

Congenital

What is the umbrella term for neurodegenerative diseases involving memory loss?

Dementia

What is the partial or total loss of memory called?

Amnesia

What are the insoluble plaques around neurons that form from the accumulation of beta-amyloid protein, which prevents communication between neurons?

Amyloid plaques

What are the insoluble tangles within neurons that form due to accumulation of tau protein, which inhibit the transportation of essential substances and eventually kill the neuron entirely?

Neurofibrillary tangles

What is damaged brain tissue called?

Lesions

What is the memory loss characterised by the inability to create new memories?

Anterograde amnesia

What is the memory loss characterised by the inability to recall old memories?

Retrograde amnesia

What is another word for episodic future thinking?

Mental time travel

What is the condition where an individual lacks the ability to create mental imagery?

Aphantasia

What do we actually do when we ‘retrieve’ long-term memories?

Reconstruction

What is the decrease in the size and mass of the brain?

Brain atrophy

What is the measure of physiological changes in the brain?

Brain scan

What is the part of the brain involved in receiving and processing visual information from the eyes?

Visual cortex

What is a mnemonic that takes the first letter of every item to form a pronounceable word?

Acronym

What is the memory device in written cultures that aids in the encoding, storage and retrieval of information by linking new information with existing information?

Mnemonic

What is a mnemonic in written cultures that takes that first letter of every item to be remembered and creates a phrase?

Acrostic

What is a mnemonic in written cultures that converts items into mental images and associates them with specific, familiar locations to aid in memory?

Method of loci

What are the cultures in which knowledge, stories and customs are preserved and shared through spoken word and movement?

Oral cultures

What are the cultures in which knowledge, stories and customs are preserved and shared through reading and writing?

Written cultures