Memory Systems

Includes: - Memory Taxonomy

1. Working Memory

2. Long-Term Memory

What 2 types of memory is Memory split into?

Short-term

• less effort (can recall without trying)

• absorbing information through the senses

vs.

Working memory

• more effort (takes active effort to recall)

• stores info longer

• manipulation of info

ex. rehearsal

What is the difference between short-term memory and working memory?

1. Declarative (Explicit) Memory

2. Nondeclarative (Implicit) Memory

What 2 types of memory is Long-term memory split into?

1. Episodic Memory (events)

2. Semantic Memory (facts)

What 2 types of memory is Declarative memory split into?

Declarative Memory

with conscious recall

• AKA explicit memory

• processed in the hippocampus

• includes semantic and episodic memory

Procedural Memory

without conscious recall

• AKA implicit memory

• processed by other brain regions like cerebellum

• includes motor/cognitive skill memory and classical conditioning memory

Priming

a memory phenomenon

= exposure to stimulus influences your response to subsequent stimulus

Semantic Memory

memory of facts and general knowledge

Episodic Memory

memory of personally experienced past events

Hippocampus

brain region that

• processes everyday new memories

ex. “what did I eat yesterday?”

• processes spatial memory

Amygdala

brain region that’s responsible for threat detection

• tends to process negative emotions (anger, aggression, fear)

• PTSD patients show lots of activity in this region when having flashbacks

• fear memory

Cerebellum

Brain region responsible for balance, coordination, movement. (it’s the first part of the brain affected by alcohol)

• plays a role in 2 types of memory:

  • memory in classical conditioning

  • procedural memory

Acetylcholine

a neurotransmitter involved in muscle control, learning and memory

Serotonin

a neurotransmitter involved with sleep, mood, and hunger

Neural Networks

a collection of neurons that fire together

Long-term Potentiation (LTP)

process by which synaptic connections between neurons become stronger w/frequent activation

• thought to be crucial mechanism involved in learning and memory formation

Flashbulb memory

a vivid, enduring memory associated with a personally significant and emotional event, often including such details as where the individual was or what he or she was doing at the time of the event

ex. people remember vivid snapshot of what they were doing when they heard about

the 9/11 attacks

Retrograde Amnesia

a type of amnesia where you can't recall memories that were formed before the event that caused the amnesia. It usually affects recently stored past memories, not memories from years ago.

Anterograde Amnesia

a type of memory loss that occurs when you can't form new memories

Alzheimer’s

A progressive disease where brain cell connections and the cells themselves degenerate and die,

• destroys memory and other mental functions

Working Memory

The ability to hold in mind and manipulate information

The Baddeley model of working memory

Working memory has

• a central executive = controls what we’re keeping in mind

• 3 content-specific subsystems

  1. Visuospatial = (visual)

     ex. trying to visualize something not in front of you while closing your eyes

     • dorsal fronto-parietal

  2. Phonological = (audio) rehearsal

     ex. trying to remember phone # by repeating it

     • left frontal cortex = language production

  3. Episodic = remembering our own memories

     • Medial temporal lobes

Striatum

set of brain regions involved in motor systems

Neocortex

part of cortex involved in sight and hearing