Memory Types and Brain Structures: Psychology Memory Processes

Memory

The process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information.

Sensory Memory

Brief storage of sensory information (iconic = visual, echoic = auditory).

Short-Term Memory

Holds small amounts of information (7 ± 2 items) for a short duration.

Working Memory

Active maintenance and manipulation of information; includes phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.

Phonological Loop

Stores verbal and auditory information temporarily (the last thing a person hears. An example of this would be a wife talking to her husband and he’s not listening but hears the last thing she says before she claims he isn’t listening to her). The loop is easily broken if it’s not practiced.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Holds and manipulates visual and spatial information

Central Executive

Coordinates attention and interaction between 2-5 systems. Working memory components (frontal lobe).

Phonological Similarity Effect

Confusion occurs when recalling items that sound similar, showing verbal coding. Ex) GTV vs ABK, things that sound the same will be more prone to error.

Declarative Memory

Explicit, conscious memory for facts and events (semantic + episodic).

Episodic Memory

Memory for personal experiences (when, where, what).

Semantic Memory

Memory for general facts and knowledge (not tied to context).

Nondeclarative Memory

Implicit, unconscious memory such as skills, priming, and conditioning.

Procedural Memory

Memory for motor or cognitive skills (e.g., typing, riding a bike).

Priming

Exposure to one stimulus influences response to another (e.g., "doctor" → "nurse").

Classical Conditioning

Learning associations between stimuli (CS-US-CR relationships).

Habituation

Decreased response to repeated stimulus.

Sensitization

Increased response to stimulus after repeated exposure or trauma.

Consolidation

Process by which memories become stable in long-term storage. Even with a effected Hippocampus the memory stays because it was repeatedly retrieved resulting in assimilation into the long-term memory overtime

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

Strengthening of synaptic connections through repeated activation ("cells that fire together wire together").

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories after brain injury.

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of memories formed before brain injury.

Temporal Gradient

Recent memories are more vulnerable to loss than older ones. You can clearly remember old memories but have a hard time remembering newer things.

Hippocampus

Forms new episodic memories; encodes context.

Parahippocampal Cortex

Processes "where" information (places).

Perirhinal Cortex

Processes "what" information (objects).

Entorhinal Cortex

Gateway between hippocampus and cortex; processes goal-related input.

Amygdala

Involved in emotional and fear learning.

Basal Ganglia

Involved in procedural and reinforcement learning.

Cerebellum

Supports trial-error learning, prediction, and classical conditioning.

Frontal and Parietal Lobes

Support retrieval and working memory processes. ex) What about and where?

Dementia

General cognitive decline across domains (e.g., memory, reasoning).

Alzheimer's Disease

Degeneration of medial temporal and cortical areas leading to memory loss.

Vascular Dementia

Cognitive decline due to reduced brain oxygenation (ischemia, hemorrhage).

H.M. (Henry Molaison)

Patient with removed medial temporal lobes; had anterograde amnesia but intact procedural memory.

Serial Position Effect

Better recall for first and last items in a list (primacy + recency effects).

Digit Span

Test of short-term memory capacity (about 7 ± 2 items).

Hebbian Learning

Neurons that fire together strengthen their connections; basis for memory storage.