EXAM 2 (all the terms)

various evidence linking Executive Functioning with the

prefrontal cortex

Executive Functioning (or Cognitive control)

A collection of cognitive processes which include planning, cognitive flexibility, abstract thinking, understanding rules, initiating appropriate actions, inhibiting inappropriate actions, and selecting relevant sensory information

Development and maturation of the Prefrontal cortex: Neural connections towards the prefrontal cortex mature until the early 20’s

Therefore, adolescents may still rely on their emotional, impulsive urges.

Miyake and Friedman’s theory of executive functions (1999) : three aspects of executive function

Updating, Inhabitation, and shifting

Updating (short term working memory)

the continuous monitoring and quick addition or deletion of contents within one's working memory

Inhibition (stroop affect)

one’s capacity to supersede responses that are immediate in a given situation.

Shifting (divided attention/multitasking)

one’s cognitive flexibility to switch between different tasks or mental states.

A cornerstone of this theoretical executive functioning framework is

the understanding that there are individual differences in executive functions, yet there are all still related to each other.

Freewill vs. Volition (Benjamin Libet et al. 1983) Button & EEG electrodes

• A participant is asked sit at a desk with a button to press and EEG electrodes were attached to measure brain activity.

• Participants were instructed to carry out some small, simple motor activity, such as pressing a button, within a certain time frame. No limits were placed on the number of times the subject could perform the action within this period

• During the experiment, the subject would be asked to note when "he or she was first aware of the wish or urge“ to press the button and then decide when to consciously press the button.

• On average, approximately 200 milliseconds elapsed between the first appearance of conscious “urge” to press the button and the free will of actually pressing the button. (After participants verbalized wanting to do the action, right after, participants pressed the button)

• Surprisingly, The brain activity started 300 milliseconds BEFORE the conscious awareness of the wish or urge to act of pressing a button (preplanning unconsciously in the brain to press the button)

Libet's (1983) experiment suggests that unconscious processes in the brain are the true initiator of actions, and conscious free will therefore plays no part in generating actions. Free will is regarded as an epiphenomenon.

In contrast, Libet argues that violation represents the executive control (i.e. veto power) over the unconscious processes that are already activated in the brain

Roy Baumeister and fellow researchers have developed a strength model of self-control.

A major assumption of the model is that engaging in acts of self-control draws from a limited “reservoir” of self-control that, when depleted, results in reduced capacity for further self-regulation.

In the theoretical model, self-control is viewed as

analogous to a muscle that requires strength and energy to exert force over a period of time

state of Ego depletion

self control becomes fatigued after a period of sustained exertion and have reduced capacity to exert self-control over an extended period of time

Empirical tests of the ego-depletion effect have typically adopted an experimental procedure using

two unrelated self-control tasks, known as the dual-task paradigm

Participants assigned to an experimental ego-depletion group are required to engage in two consecutive tasks requiring self-control (i.e. monitoring a response) and

Control participants are also required to engage in two consecutive tasks, but only the second task requires self-control

Ego depletion has also been induced by creating a situation where _

people have to suppress their emotions (e.x.watching a video about a leg injury)

Measurement of Ego Depletion is tested by:

Persistence in solving puzzles or working on problems (Scheichel, Vohs, and Baumeister, 2003) OR Cold pressor test (measure of pain tolerance) (Schmeichel and Vohs, 2009)

Criticisms of Ego Depletion Theory

• A replication study by Sripada, Kessler, and Jonides (2014) with 2141 participants carried out at two dozen labs across the world using an specified ego-depletion method and protocol failed to find any evidence for ego depletion.

• Meta analysis of over 100 previously published studies on the topic of ego depletion by Carter and McCullough (2015) found that the effect size estimate was small (d = .2) and not significantly different from zero.

Information processing approach to memory (flow of information)

1. Sensory memory - (attention)

2. Short term/working memory - (pulling memory from LTM or storing information)

3. Procedural Long-Term Memory & Declarative Long-Term memory.

• Declarative LTM: Semantic memory & Episodic memory

Explicit memory

Conscious and intentional recollection of event or information. This is measured through recall and recognition (aware you’re retrieving this info.)

Implicit memory

The unconscious retention of information or events that can affect current thoughts and actions. This can be measured through priming, and relearning.

Procedural memories

memory for performing a task, action, skill. “knowing how.” This is a form of implicit memory.

Declarative memories

memory for facts, rules, concepts and events. “knowing what/that.” This is a form of explicit memory.

Some declarative memories can be transformed into __

procedural memories via automaticity (Anderson, 1983) (ex. driving a car, speaking in another language)

The Mirror drawing task

This was given to participant with anterograde amnesia (cannot make LTM but keeps memories before their accident)

• the participant will attempt to trace without looking down but through a mirror

• they wouldn’t remember doing the task but their motor skills were better and they were slowly perfecting the mirror drawing task

Semantic memory

memories of general knowledge about the world. This includes facts, rules, concepts about the world.

Episodic memory

autobiographical memories of events experienced by a person and the context of how these events occurred. This includes flashbulb memories

Investigating Semantic Memory: Sentence Verification task

• Sentences appear on a screen one at a time and participants must quickly judge if the sentences are True or False.

• Reaction time and error rates are the measure of performance.

• This taps at explicit, controlled cognitive processes.

• Demonstration: In the next few slides, you will read statements (Just read them to yourself).

• Once you have understood the sentence, shout aloud your answer as quickly and as accurately (Yes or No) as possible

• (It was a long list of “sleep” without the actual word until it appeared as a word for verification (many were between Y/N)

Memory is a

hierarchical network of concepts

Semantic Network

An interrelated set of concepts or body of knowledge.

Node

A point or location in the network representing a concept, property, or feature

Proposition

the relationship between two concepts

Cognitive economy

only non-redundant facts are stored in memory (don’t have to relearn info once it is in a category, ex: a robin is a bird, we do not have to remember if it can fly or is a type of animal)

Inheritance

Members of a category possess or inherit the properties of the category itself

Reaction times increase based on the distance of nodes on a semantic network

Meaning: Robin is an animal - yes its a bird or Canary is a bird - yes it can sing)

Propositional representation of meaning:

The meaning of a concept is based on its category membership, properties and features

Propositional Representation:

reflects the arbitrary nature of labels upon objects and concepts in the world where people live. Meaning is not tied to a sensory modality (vision, hearing, words etc.)

People require a propositional representation to have a

common ground upon which they are referring to objects and concepts in the world.

In the context of a propositional representation

• (a)visual imagery is like a description,

• (b)there is a sequential representation, and

• (c)there are explicit representation of relations between concepts

Analogical representation of meaning

The meaning of a concept is based on its parallel representations in the real/outside world and the semantic network within the mind. (mental imagery)

There is a one-to-one representation between

an object in the world and the mental representation in the semantic network.

In the context of an analogical representation,

• (a) visual mental imagery is like visual perception,

• (b) there is a parallel representation, and

• (c) there are implicit representations of relations between concepts.

Semantic Relatedness

The distance between two nodes in a network is determined by relation or similarity. Concepts close in meaning or highly related (e.g., doctor, nurse) are stored close together in memory, while unrelated concepts (doctor, truck) are stored far away

(This is developed over time and dependent on experience. (Category of Women, Fire and Dangerous things by Aborigines (George Lakoff, 1990))

Typicality Effects

More typical members of a category are judged faster than are less typical ones.

Ex: “A dove is a bird” is verified faster than “A chicken is a bird.”

• "A whale is a fish." (high similarity but false)

• "A penguin is a bird." (low similarity but true)

Exemplar

There is a specific example or instance that serves as the most typical member of a category. Members of category are compared on how close they are with the exemplar. (Brooks, 1978; Estes, 1986; Hintzman, 1986; Medin & Schaffer, 1978; Nosofsky, 1986)

Ex. of Exemplar can be:

Who fits each category:

Exemplar patient suffering from depression - best patient that can be used as an example of depression

Exemplar NBA basketball player during an era (decade) - best player that can be used as an example of this decade

Prototype

hypothetical concept that is composed on the “averaged” features between the various members of a category.

• This is based upon a propositional representation. (Posner & Keele, 1968, 1970; Reed, 1972).

Ex. of Prototype can be:

Prototype symptoms of a patient suffering from depression. - a person who has most symptoms of depression

Prototype of the “best ever” NBA basketball player - it can be parts of each player from the decades that can make the perfect player

Spreading Activation

The mental activity of access and retrieval involving being activated across a region of the semantic network

How spreading activation works:

• Passive concepts are activated and made available in working memory.

• Activation spreads to related and neighboring nodes and information.

• There can be multiple cycles of activation within a semantic network. (i.e. reactivation of a concept or information)

(Example: the game of Taboo ® involves spreading activation of distant nodes to activate a target word)

Availability

The memory trace exists and was encoded into long term memory. This is dependent on the initial encoding by STM/WM

Accessibility

Degree to which the memory trace can be retrieved from the network. This is dependent on the structure of the semantic network and the amount of spreading activation through the network.

Implicit Memory in Dissociative Fugue (Lyon, 1985)

• Jane Doe was discovered by the police. She was disheveled, and wandering.

• She reported no previous memory nor identity.

• During a clinical evaluation, Jane Doe was shown a phone and asked to randomly call a number. The clinician found out that the number Jane Doe called was to her mother

Freud’s slips of the tongue in relation to priming such as priming for racial categories

A computer test between European and African people

1. The participant will move pictures of faces to E or A

2. Afterwards is changed to Bad and Good - then to be shown words like war or rainbows

3. Then it will pair Good w/Euro and Bad w/Afri - and reverse Good w/Afri and Bad w/Euro

4. This test will show implicit bias with anyone who does it

The normal, everyday operation of long term memory involves

the continual, coordinated, cooperative processes of interaction between semantic and episodic memories

Reproductive memory

A highly accurate, verbatim (word-for-word), exact recording/experience of an event

Reconstructive memory

Remembering by combining elements of experience with existing knowledge.

People are generally good in recalling or recognizing the meaning or content of what was experienced (the gist)

but not the exact experience (the details).

Schema

an organized, structured set of information about a concept, theme or person.

Schemas involves categorization of

any type of information in the world (hospital, shopping mall, mother, conflict, acceptance, secure, abuse, failure).

Scripts (Schank & Abelson, 1977)

schemes for a events in the world

(ex. Restaurant script meaning: going to the host, party size, follow to table, sit down, look at menu, order drinks, order entree, eat, pay for food, get up and leave…., Grocery shopping script, Daily routine script, TV watching script)

Inference

The process by which a person draws connections between concepts, determines referents and derives conclusions. (assumption, fill-in-the gaps)

Evidence for Schemas (Brewer & Treyens, 1981)

• subjects were asked to wait in an office and they were later asked to recall the various objects from the room

• Subjects showed good memory for objects consistent with an office (ex. A stapler), but they had poor memory for objects inconsistent with an office (ex. A skull) and showed false memory for objects consistent with an office (ex. paper clips)

Evidence for Scripts (Bower, Black & Turner, 1979)

• Participants were asked to read stories based on common themes (Ex. Going to the doctors office, eating at a restaurant).

• Afterwards, participants were asked to recall the events in the story.

• participants were better recalling script-inconsistent actions (talking with the chef) than script-consistent actions (paying the bill)(novelty).

• Participants also showed that they falsely recalled and recognized script-consistent actions that were never explicitly stated in the stories.

People can implicitly use prior knowledge to interpret ambiguous events and the corresponding bias is revealed during the time of memory recall. Pitchert and Anderson (1977) decided to do study for scripts, they _

• instructed participants to read through a scenario describing a floor-plan of a house from the perspective of a home-buyer vs. burglar.

• Researchers found that participants instructed to have a home-buyer perspective recalled information related to the features of the house that make it a good investment. In contrast, participants given the burglar perspective recalled information related to being able to steal from the house.

The DRM False Memory Task (Deese, 1959, Roediger & McDermott, 1995)

• Did you "remember" the word "sleep"

• In recognition, false memory to the lure (sleep) is often as strong as accurate memory for target items (blanket, doze)

• Source Misattribution: The inability to distinguish whether the original event or some later event was the source of the information

• Did I remember the word "sleep" because it was actually in the study list, or because I thought about the word as I looked at the study list?

Source Misattribution

The inability to distinguish whether the original event or some later event was the source of the information.

Elizabeth Loftus “Car Crash” Memory Study - Leading Questions and Memory Distortions (Loftus & Palmer, 1974)

• Subjects saw a film of a car accident

• Later, different subjects were asked:

• How fast were the cars going when they: smashed?, collided?, bumped?, contacted?

• Subjects estimates of speed varied with the verb they got in the question phase of the experiment.

(smashed > collided > bumped > contacted)

fastest estimate (<100mph) slowest estimate (20mph-30mph)

Factors involved in the overconfidence in eyewitness memory (Wells, Olson, & Charman, 2002): Jennifers case: Bobby poole and Ronald Cotton

• Factors involved in the overconfidence in eyewitness memory (Wells, Olson, & Charman, 2002):

• Increased exposure to the associated information to the incident or event (schema of the crime)

• post-identification reinforcement (by the people, police, etc)

• Repeated questioning of the eyewitness. (bc they are conversing over and over again, it becomes a script)

Emotions and False Memories

• Storbeck and Clore (2005) used a Deese-Roediger-McDermott false memory task to examine how emotional states influence processing styles.

• Researchers primed a positive (uplifting classical music) or negative mood (downtrodden classical music) or no mood at all (control group) among the participants before the false memory task was presented.

• In the first part of the study (Experiment 1), the researchers demonstrated that the negative mood group recalled fewer critical lures compared to both the positive and control groups (positive/no mood are likely to have false memory)

• A follow-up experiment asked whether the effect observed in Experiment 1 was due to encoding processes or strategies.

• To examine this question, the researchers asked participants to write down both words they recalled as having been presented and words that came to mind but that had not been presented.

• Overall, the sad mood group recorded fewer total critical lures compared to the positive mood group.

• This suggests that negative emotion had reduced critical lure activation during encoding and positive affect increases false memories

Autobiographical Memory

The study of one’s lifetime collection of personal memories

Flashbulb Memories

Extremely vivid recollections of emotional memories of particular events, especially when the events were surprising or highly unusual.

(Note: may also be vulnerable to Source Misattribution and forgetting, but people still report being confident about the accuracy of the memory.)

Hirst et al (2009) report an extensive study for the memory of 9/11 events involving 3000 individuals from 7 American cities.

• Surveys were conducted 1 week after the attack, 11 months later, and 35 months later.

• Researchers found significant for forgetting, but inconsistent with the amount of normal forgetting that people experience in their daily lives.

• A detailed analysis of the type of the factual details remembered shows variations in the accuracy of flashbulb memories. For example, people’s memory for the crash sites was significantly higher than the names of the airlines.

Ochsner & Schacter (2000) found that normal people tend to remember

negative words (ex. sad, die, gun) from a free recall list due the detailed, specific emotional recollections they felt during the time the negative words were encountered.

Mineka & Nugent (1995) found that depressed individuals tend to remember

more negative words than positive words from a free recall list and this fits in with their negative-self schema

When recalling autobiographical events, people in positive moods, compared with those in negative moods, _

describe such events using more abstract, global representations (Beukeboom & Semin, 2005, 2006).

The hippocampus is necessary for the formation of new explicit (Semantic and Episodic) long-term memories. It helps organize the distributed representation regarding a memory from the different areas of the brain (vision, smell, hearing, touch, taste, emotion). BUT

damage to the hippocampus causes an inability to form new explicit declarative (semantic and episodic) memories; Anterograde Amnesia (ex. Patient EP and HM)

Cognitive map theory

the hippocampus constructs maps of the external world based on the relationships between external landmarks and objects

Evidence of the Cognitive map theory is the

Place cells in rat hippocampi were activated when a rat is placed in a specific location, but only after the rat becomes familiar with that location.

Configural association theory

the hippocampus organizes and retains the behavioral significance of combinations of stimuli and the context that they are presented in, but not the individual stimuli themselves.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

Long-term increase in the excitability of a postsynaptic neuron to a particular presynaptic input caused by repeated, intense, high frequency activity from that presynaptic input. In other words, neurons that fire together, connect together.

• This is a mechanism for synaptogenesis (forming new synapses)

Forming episodic memories requires _

an intact Prefrontal cortex and Hippocampus

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

An anxiety disorder in which a person who has experienced a traumatic or life-threatening event has symptoms such as psychic numbing, reliving of the trauma, and increased physiological arousal. (Amygdala and Hippocampus

The Impact of PTSD on the brain (Van Der Kolk, 2003)

• Increased activity of the amygdala, right hemisphere, insula and medial temporal lobe

• decreased activation of prefrontal cortex

• decreased activation of the hippocampus (lack of integration of the traumatic event)

• Decreased activation of Broca’s area (related to grammer)

Edna Foa’s theory of PTSD (1986, 1989, 1998) focuses on a semantic fear network in long term memory that requires assimilation. • Foa states that resolution of trauma occurs by

integrating information in the fear network with existing memory structures. This assimilation process requires the activation of the fear network so that it becomes accessible for modification and also the availability of information that is incompatible with the fear network so that the overall memory structure can be modified.

The Forgetting Curve (Ebbinghaus)

without any rehearsal after one month of initially learned material, the information decays very rapidly

Theories of Forgetting (4)

• Lack of attention during Storage (encoding failure)

• Decay theory

• Retroactive interference

• Proactive interference

Decay theory

memory fades with time if they are not retrieved every now and then. Use it or lose it

Retroactive interference

recently learned material interferes with remebering a similar previously stored material (a waiter taking guest orders)

Proactive interference

previously learned material interferes with remembering a similar new material. (Old phone number vs. new phone number)

Amnesia can be caused by

Electro Convulsive Therapy, Hypothermia, Concussion, Infection, Tumor, Lesion

Anterograde Amnesia

the inability to store new long-term memories that occurs after an amnesia inducing event.

Retrogate amnesia

the loss of memory for events that occurred prior to the amnesia inducing event

Damage to the Amygdala causes

impairments in fear conditioning or startle responses.

Damage to the Cerebellum causes

disruption of eye-blink conditioning

Damage to the Striatum (Caudate nucleus, Putamen) causes a

disruption of habit learning such as procedural memories

Korsakoff’s syndrome (Anterograde amnesia caused by thiamine deficiency (often associated with alcoholism))

• Causes damage to the dorsomedial nucleus of thalamus and mammillary bodies

• Intact are implicit, procedural memory and short term/working memory

• Inability to form new explicit memories

Papez Circuit (James Papez, 1937)

A series of interconnected brain regions that have roles in the formation of explicit memories

• Hippocampus, Parahippocampal gyrus, Mammilary body, Anterior Nucleus of the Thalamus, Fornix and Cingulate Gyrus

Acetylcholine pathways starting from the

basal forebrain nuclei regulate the activity of the hippocampus. (disruption of these pathways leads to disruption of memory and learning)

Alzheimer’s disease

Symptoms include widespread disturbances in working, semantic, episodic and procedural memory in individuals aged 65 and above. Other symptoms include confusion, irritability, aggression, mood swings, language breakdown, and the general social withdrawal of the patient as his or her senses decline.

• The average life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. Fewer than 3% of patients live more than fourteen year