Recording-2025-03-25T13:32:55.296Z

Review of Chapter 9

• Focus on models of how concepts are represented in the mind

• Hierarchical model:

  • Known as Collins and Quillian model

  • Organized with general categories at the top, specific categories at the bottom

  • Helped identify limitations like the typicality effect

• Non-hierarchical model:

  • Collins and Loftus’ spreading activation model

  • More fluid and dependent on individual experiences

  • Unique for each person, as influenced by personal associations

  • Difficulty in scientific testing - vague structure, hard to falsify hypotheses

Neuroscience of Semantic Memory

Young field - many questions still unanswered about brain organization

Sensory Functional Hypothesis:

• Based on evidence from neuropsychological cases of brain damage

• Suggests memory organized by two categories: living vs. non-living things

• Double dissociations observed where some patients could recall living things better than artifacts, and vice versa

• Critique: Overly simplistic and not universally applicable

Evidence gathered from patients like KC and EW supports initial claims but leads to more complex theories

The Semantic Category Approach:

Emerged from fMRI studies showing activation in distinct brain areas for different categories of words

Supports the complexity of semantic memory representation

Not limited to specific brain regions but activates multiple areas across the cortex

Multiple Factor Approach:

Attempts to refine sensory functional insights, recognizing that different features of objects are processed in different brain areas

Explains variances in memory capabilities based on how crowded features are within a category

Proposes that features shared among living things create overlap in memory recall, while artifacts are comparatively distinct

Embodied Approach:

Emerges from earlier studies on mirror neurons

Suggests knowledge is enacted through sensory and motor processing we use when interacting with objects

This cognition tied to movements linked to body parts related to specific concepts

Supported by semantic somatotopy wherein certain brain areas light up when processing words related to body movements

Conclusion:

No single model fully explains semantic memory organization

Likely combination of all models provides a more accurate understanding

Ongoing research is needed to uncover the complexities of semantic memory organization in the brain.