Review Questions – Cognitive Neuroscience Perception Short-Term and Working Memory Long-Term Memory Structure and Systems Long-Term Memory Encoding, R

1. What is speech segmentation, and how does it provide evidence that top-down processing contributes to speech perception?

1. The ability to tell when one word in a conversation ends and the next one begins is a phenomenon called speech segmentation. Speech segmentation: The process of perceiving individual words within the continuous flow of the speech signal.

2. The fact that a listener familiar only with English and another listener familiar with Spanish can receive identical sound stimuli but experience different perceptions means that each listener’s experience with language (or lack of it!) is influencing his or her perception. The continuous sound signal enters the ears and triggers signals that are sent toward the speech areas of the brain (bottom-up processing); if a listener understands the language, their knowledge of the language creates the perception of individual words (top-down processing).

Other questions: (These questions were covered in class, or in class and the text.)
1. What is a double dissociation? Be able to give examples from brain lesion patients and

from brain imaging.

1. Double dissociation: A situation in which a single dissociation can be demonstrated in one person and the opposite type of single dissociation can be demonstrated in another person (i.e., Person 1: function A is present, function B is damaged; Person 2: function A is damaged, function B is present)

2. Lesion-based double dissociations: The point is to show that LTM and STM rely on different brain structures. Use the organization of the brain to guide and constrain theories about the mind.

i. Brain area A is important for function X, but not function Y. Brain area B is important for function Y, but not function X.

c. Brain imaging: Studies show that the fusiform face area (FFA) lights up when people recognize faces, while the parahippocampal place area (PPA) lights up when people recognize places. This shows that face recognition and place recognition are processed in different brain regions.

2. Compare the effects of brain damage to Broca’s area with damage to Wernicke’s area. What does this dissociation tell us about how speech processing is organized in the brain?

1. Wernicke’s area: damage impairs language comprehension, but not language production

2. Broca’s area: damage impairs language production, but not language comprehension

3. This dissociation suggests that speech processing is organized into different areas: Broca's area is primarily involved in speech production (speaking), while Wernicke’s area is involved in speech comprehension (understanding).

3. What are the fusiform face area, parahippocampal place area, and extrastriate body area?

   1. Fusiform face area (FFA): An area in the temporal lobe that contains many neurons that respond selectively to faces. Damage causes prosopagnosia or “face blindness”.

   2. Parahippocampal place area (PPA): An area in the temporal lobe that contains neurons that are selectively activated by pictures of indoor and outdoor scenes.

   3. Extrastriate body area (EBA): An area in the temporal cortex that is activated by pictures of bodies and parts of bodies, but not by faces or other objects.

4. What types of questions can be answered by the following cognitive neuroscience research techniques: neuropsychological (lesion) methods, structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)? Which of these methods are correlational and which are causal?

a. Neuropsychological (lesion) methods: Neuropsychological studies: Studies of cognition in people with brain damage. Neurostimulation: modulating (increasing or decreasing) neural excitability over specific regions to determine effects on behavior.

i. Causal since it involves manipulating the brain (through damage) to see its effects.

b. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): Structural Brain Imaging: measuring brain structure. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): measure the volume of the brain and individual structures. How does brain structure differ with age or between populations associated with different cognitive strengths? Relationships between brain structure and brain function are correlational. By contrast, when changes to cognition follow brain damage (e.g., lesion patients), we can infer a causal relationship.

i. Correlational because it does not involve manipulation, just observation of structure.

c. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): Functional Brain Imaging: what is going on in the brain while people are performing cognitive tasks? fMRI measures activity in specific regions of the brain indirectly by measuring properties of blood. Measures changes in blood flow in regions of the brain following task-evoked changes in neural activity. Just as with structural MRI,

fMRI is a correlational research method! Brain activity could be present in a certain region during imagery, but not be necessary for imagery. This is called an epiphenomenon. Most fMRI designs rely on the subtraction method!

i. Correlational since it measures brain activity without manipulating it. d. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): Electromagnetic coil used to induce

electrical activity in underlying brain tissue. Can be used to disrupt OR enhance neural activity. Can make causal claims about the role of certain regions (“Virtual lesions”). Can only stimulate brain structures that are accessible from the skull. Effects are short-lived. Newer methods are being tested for longer-lasting effects, including the therapeutic effect.

i. Causal because it involves direct stimulation to alter brain activity and observe outcomes.

5. How is the subtraction method used in brain imaging studies? Which assumption of the subtraction method is particularly problematic for brain imaging?

   1. Assumption of pure insertion is particularly problematic for fMRI experiments. Reminder: This is the assumption that all other stages remain the same when a new one is added. Example: When you had to generate an image of the object, were you paying more attention than when you were just passively looking at the object? If so, then adding imagery changed the attentional demands of the task and THIS might be why the precuneus showed more activity.

   2. fMRI only shows where in the brain activity is correlated with a cognitive process, not what parts of the brain cause a cognitive process. Remember the limitations of the subtraction method. It is very difficult to design an experiment that isolates a single cognitive process.

   3. The subtraction method in brain imaging compares brain activity during two different conditions: a baseline and an experimental task. The activity associated with the experimental task is isolated by subtracting the baseline activity from the task activity. A problematic assumption is that the baseline condition is truly "neutral" or unrelated to the experimental task, which isn't always the case. Brain regions may be involved in both tasks in ways that are not accounted for, leading to inaccurate conclusions.

6. In perception, what are the distal stimulus, proximal stimulus, representation, and response?

   1. Distal stimulus: The actual object or event in the environment (e.g., a tree).

   2. Proximal stimulus: The physical energy (light, sound, etc.) that reaches our

      sensory organs (e.g., light reflected off the tree).

   3. Representation: The mental image or interpretation our brain creates from the

      proximal stimulus (e.g., the idea of a tree in our mind).

   4. Response: Our reaction or action based on the representation (e.g., identifying or

      reaching out to touch the tree).

7. Define “lack of correspondence” and “paradoxical correspondence”. How do the distal stimulus, proximal stimulus, and representation correspond (or not) to one another in either case?

1. Lack of correspondence: Representation does not correspond to the distal stimulus. We do not correctly perceive what is out there – visual illusions.

2. Paradoxical correspondence: When proximal and distal stimuli do not correspond, but representation and distal stimuli do correspond. We correctly perceive what is out there, but we shouldn’t be able to! Perceptual constancy – an object is correctly perceived as constant even under changing conditions.

i. Size, color, and shape constancy

8. What is the inverse projection problem?

   1. Inverse project problem: How does the mind decide what caused a given image on the retina? Task of determining the object that caused a particular image on the retina.

   2. The inverse projection problem is the challenge of figuring out the 3D object or scene that caused a 2D image on the retina. Since many different objects can create similar retinal images, it's difficult for the brain to accurately determine the exact source of the image.

9. What does it mean to say that our perceptual systems integrate bottom-up and top-down information?

   1. Bottom-up Processing: Information that begins in the senses; the energy registering on receptors. Sequence of events from the eye to the brain.

   2. Top-Down Processing: Information that begins in the brain; knowledge, experiences, expectations.

   3. Our perceptual system interprets the world by integrating bottom-up and top-down information.

   4. It means our brain combines bottom-up information (sensory input from the environment, like light or sound) with top-down information (our prior knowledge, expectations, and experiences) to make sense of what we perceive. This helps us interpret sensory data more efficiently and accurately.

10. Define the following phenomena as they relate to perception: perceptual constancies (size, shape, and color), the Müller-Lyer Illusion, the Necker Cube, The Oblique Effect, the light-from-above assumption, scene schemas, the “multiple personalities of a blob”. How does top-down processing (in the form of attentional biases, perceptual regularities in the environment, and/or semantic regularities in the environment) contribute to each of these phenomena?

a. Perceptual Constancies
i. Size: Objects seem to stay the same size even when their distance changes.

1. Perceptual regularities in the environment

ii. Shape: Objects appear to have the same shape even when viewed from different angles.

1. Perceptual regularities in the environment
iii. Color: Objects maintain their color despite changes in lighting.

1. Perceptual regularities in the environment
b. Müller-Lyer Illusion: Perceived as closer. Perceived as farther. Size constancy is

then misapplied. Berry (1968) – Cultures that do not live in “rectilinear” environments are less susceptible to the Müller-Lyer Illusion. Suggests that the association between “away-sloping” angles and closeness is learned through experience.

i. Perceptual regularities in the environment
c. Necker Cube: A cube that can be perceived in two different orientations.

i. Shifts of attention
d. Oblique Effect: Perceptual advantage for horizontal and vertical (cardinal) versus

diagonal (oblique) orientations. Perceptual environmental regularities: there are more cardinal versus oblique angles in natural and manmade environments.

i. Perceptual regularities in the environment
e. Light-From-Above Assumption: We tend to assume light comes from above,

which affects how we perceive shading and depth. i. Perceptual regularities in the environment

f. Scene Schemas: A scene schema is the knowledge of what a given scene ordinarily contains. Role of semantic regularities in shaping perception. If you think of a professor’s office, what would you expect to find/see there? What about a kitchen?

i. Semantic regularities in the environment
g. The “Multiple Personalities of a Blob”: A simple shape can be perceived as

different objects depending on context.
i. Semantic regularities in the environment

11. Explain the concept of experience-dependent plasticity in the brain. Describe experimental evidence that experience-dependent plasticity may contribute to: 1) the oblique effect, and 2) the existence of the “fusiform face area”?

1. Experience-Dependent Plasticity: one of the mechanisms responsible for creating neurons that are tuned to respond to specific things in the environment. A mechanism that causes an organism’s neurons to develop so they respond best to the type of stimulation to which the organism has been exposed. Feature Detectors – neurons in the early visual cortex that respond to specific features such as orientation, movement, and length.

2. Oblique Effect: Humans have more neurons that prefer horizontal and vertical lines than oblique lines. Blakemore & Cooper (1970) – sensory deprivation

experiment with kittens. Kittens raised without horizontal lines had no

horizontal-responsive neurons. Difficulty processing horizontal information.
c. Fusiform Face Area: Fusiform face area (FFA) responds to faces. Gauthier et al.

(1999) – Tested the hypothesis that FFA developed due to our extensive experience telling faces apart. Question: Will the FFA respond to Greebles in people who are trained to be Greeble “experts”? fMRI Study: How much did the FFA respond to faces versus Greebles before and after expertise training? Also, evidence that the FFA responds to birds and cars in birds and car experts, respectively. If an animal is reared in a particular environment, neurons in the animal’s brain change to facilitate perception of aspects of that environment.

12. Define sensory memory, iconic memory, and echoic memory, and be able to give examples.

a. Sensory memory: Duration: A few seconds or less. Capacity: Very large, possibly capacity of senses. Sensory Memory: the retention, for brief periods of time, of the effects of sensory stimulation

i. Ex: Seeing an object move across your field of vision and briefly "remembering" where it was just after it disappears.

2. Iconic memory: sensory memory for visual stimuli; “persistence of vision”
   i. Ex: After briefly looking at a bright light, you can still "see" the light after

   it’s turned off for a moment.

3. Echoic memory: sensory memory of auditory stimuli; “persistence of sound”

   i. Ex: Hearing someone speak and being able to repeat the last few words they said, even if you didn’t actively focus on it.

13. Describe Sperling’s use of the whole report method, the partial report method, and the delayed partial report method. What did he conclude from these experiments about the duration and capacity of iconic memory?

a. Whole report method: Sperling (1960) – how much information can people take in from very briefly presented stimuli. Result: Subjects reported ~4.5/12 letters. But, the participants thought this wasn’t a fair test! “I saw all of the letters but forgot what they were before I could tell you!” So, Sperling came up with the partial report method.

i. Iconic memory has a large capacity but a very short duration (only lasting a fraction of a second).

b. Partial report method: Result: Subjects reported (~3.3⁄4 letters regardless of row). Important: The cue was not presented until AFTER the display was gone, so participants still had to attend to the entire display! Conclusions: Sensory memory has a very high capacity, possibly as high as our sensory receptors can accommodate. But, the duration of the memory is very short.

i. Iconic memory has a large capacity, but the information fades quickly, so only a fraction is available for full recall.

c. Delayed partial report method: To quantify the duration of sensory memory, Sperling used a delayed partial report method: 1 second delay between offset of letters and presentation of tone. Result: Subjects reported ~1.3/4 letters.

i. The delay caused information to fade from iconic memory, further supporting that iconic memory has a very short duration.

d. Sperling concluded that iconic memory has a high capacity but fades rapidly, lasting only about 1/4 to 1/2 a second. Has a very short duration.

14. What is chunking? What constitutes a “chunk” of information?

    1. Chunking: small units can be combined into larger meaningful units

    2. A chunk is a collection of elements strongly associated with one another but

       weakly associated with elements in other chunks.

    3. Common training strategy for memory competitions.

15. In what ways did change detection research challenge the idea of the “magical number 7 +/- 2”?

    1. Change detection tasks estimate short-term memory capacity at about 4 items.

    2. Research using CHANGE DETECTION suggests the capacity of short-term

       memory: is around four items when the items are simple. Can be as small as 1-2

       items when the items are very complex.

    3. Change detection research challenged the "magical number 7 +/- 2" by showing

       that working memory capacity can vary depending on the complexity of the information being processed. In these studies, people were often able to remember fewer items than 7 when the items were more complex or required more attention. This suggests that capacity isn't fixed at 7 items but depends on factors like item complexity and how we group or organize information.

16. What is the maximum capacity of short-term/working memory as estimated by change detection studies? What happens to the capacity as item complexity increases?

    1. Is there really anything magic about 7 +/- 2 items or chunks? Not necessarily; more recent studies put STM capacity at around 4 instead.

    2. Change detection studies estimate the maximum capacity of short-term/working memory to be about 4 items. As item complexity increases (e.g., when items are more detailed or require more attention), the capacity decreases, meaning we can hold fewer complex items in memory.

17. Why have some researchers argued that short-term/working memory capacity should be measured in amount of information rather than in number of items?

a. Are all items/chunks created equal? Computer metaphor: Number of pictures that can be stored depends on: the size of the drive and the size of the picture. Alvarez & Cavanaugh (2004): Change detection experiment with stimuli that vary in complexity. The question of what the right “unit of measurement” is for STM capacity is still open!

b. Some researchers argue that short-term/working memory capacity should be measured in amount of information rather than number of items because memory capacity depends on how much cognitive load or complexity each item carries. For example, a single complex item (like a long word) takes up more memory space than a simple item (like a single digit), even though both count as one item. So, measuring the information allows for a more accurate understanding of memory capacity.

18. Describe the Atkinson & Shiffrin’s Modal Memory Model. What types of memory does it include, and what are the ways in which information can travel from one memory store to another?

1. Atkinson & Shiffrin’s Modal Memory Model: First “flow diagram” of memory. Proposal for how information travels within and between sensory memory, STM, and LTM. In the Modal Model, short-term memory is treated purely as a “storage site” or waystation in the mind. Note that the control processes all involve short-term memory in some way. Short-term memory is where information is translated into action. The role of short-term memory seems to extend beyond storage. Information can be transformed and used as a result of what happens in STM. Example: Mental arithmetic; what comes out of short-term memory is different from what went in.

2. Sensory memory is an initial stage that holds all incoming information for seconds or fractions of a second. Short-term memory (STM) holds five to seven items for about 15 to 20 seconds. Long-term memory (LTM) can hold a large amount of information for years or even decades.

3. Atkinson and Shiffrin’s modal model of memory consists of three structural features: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Another feature of the model is control processes such as rehearsal and attentional strategies.

4. Information can travel between these stores in two ways: Attention: Moves information from sensory memory to short-term memory. Rehearsal: Moves information from short-term memory to long-term memory (through repeated practice or encoding). Additionally, retrieval brings information from long-term memory back into short-term memory.

19. What roles do control processes play in the Modal Model? Be able to give examples.

a. Control processes: active processes that can be controlled by the person. Rehearsal. Strategies used to make a stimulus more memorable (chunking). Strategies of attention that help you focus on specific stimuli.

i. Ex: Rehearsal: Repeating information to keep it in short-term memory or move it to long-term memory (e.g., repeating a phone number). Attention: Focusing on information to move it from sensory memory to short-term memory (e.g., paying attention to a lecture). Encoding: Converting

information into a form that can be stored in memory (e.g., creating mental images to remember something). Retrieval: Accessing information from long-term memory and bringing it back to short-term memory (e.g., recalling a fact during a test).

20. Why did Baddeley suggest that short-term memory be renamed to “working memory”?

    1. Working Memory: “a limited-capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information” – Baddeley & Hitch, 1974

    2. Baddeley suggested renaming short-term memory to “working memory” because it involves not just holding information temporarily, but also manipulating and processing that information to perform tasks like reasoning, comprehension, and decision-making. Unlike simple storage, working memory emphasizes the active use of information.

21. What are the basic functions of the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, central executive, and episodic buffer in Baddeley’s Tripartite Working Memory Model?

    1. Phonological Loop: Stores and processes verbal and auditory information (e.g., remembering a phone number).

    2. Visuospatial Sketchpad: Stores and processes visual and spatial information (e.g., remembering the layout of a room).

    3. Central Executive: The component that makes working memory “work”. Coordinates the activity of the two sub-systems (phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad). Does not store information itself. Described as an attention controller: directs use of information by the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.

    4. Episodic Buffer: Back-up store that allows STM to communicate with long-term memory. Meant to help account for “chunking” and ways in which prior knowledge can affect WM capacity. Allows central executive to pull information out of long-term memory when it is helpful.

22. Within the phonological loop, what are the roles of the phonological store and the articulatory rehearsal process?

    1. Phonological store: Entry point for auditory information. Stored for only a few seconds.

    2. Articulatory rehearsal process: Responsible for rehearsal that can keep the information in the loop.

23. How does the phonological loop handle non-auditory inputs (such as written words)? How does it handle auditory inputs (such as spoken words)?

a. The phonological loop handles non-auditory inputs (like written words) by first converting them into a phonological code (sound-based representation) through a process called subvocal rehearsal (silent reading or "hearing" the words in your mind). For auditory inputs (like spoken words), the phonological loop directly

stores and processes them in their phonological form (as sounds), either for

temporary storage or to rehearse them.

24. Explain the phonological similarity effect, the word length effect, and the phenomenon of articulatory suppression. How do each of these phenomena provide support for Baddeley’s conceptualization of the phonological loop?

a. Phonological Similarity Effect: Span test: Read list of letters, must repeat them back in order ("immediate ordered recall"). Suggests that people store and use phonological codes (codes based on sound) in working memory. When viewing instead of hearing a list: Similar-sounding lists are also worse than dissimilar-sounding lists. Supports the idea that visual input is transformed into phonological codes.

i. This shows that the phonological loop stores information based on sound, and similar sounds interfere with each other.

b. The Word Length Effect: Memory span is better for lists of short words than lists of long words. It takes longer to rehearse the long words, so fewer can stay in the phonological loop.

i. This suggests that the phonological loop has limited capacity, and longer words take up more of this limited space.

c. The Phenomenon of Articulatory Suppression: Repeatedly say “the” when viewing the list. For Visual Stimuli: Prevents formation of phonological code.

i. This shows that the phonological loop relies on subvocal rehearsal (silent speech), and blocking it disrupts memory.

d. Lower accuracy with suppression (“the the the”). Phonological similarity effect is gone! No phonological code = no phonological confusions! Articulatory suppression also gets rid of the word length effect!

25. Describe Brooks’ 1968 study about visuospatial and verbal interference effects. How do the results of this study provide support for to Baddeley’s Tripartite Model?

    1. In Brooks’ 1968 study participants were asked to memorize a visual pattern and then either: Verbally respond (saying "yes" or "no" to questions about the pattern) — this was a verbal task. Point to the answers on a paper — this was a visuospatial task. The study found that verbal interference (like saying "yes" or "no") disrupted performance more on the verbal task, and visuospatial interference (like pointing) disrupted performance more on the visuospatial task.

    2. Support for Baddeley’s Model: The results show that the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad are separate systems that can interfere with each other when performing similar tasks, supporting the idea that working memory has distinct components for handling verbal and visual/spatial information.

26. Short-term/working memory has been linked to the ________ cortex.

a. Prefrontal cortex (PFC) - important for STM/WM

27. Describe the serial position curve, the primacy effect, and the recency effect.

1. Serial Position Curve: In a memory experiment in which participants are asked to recall a list of words, a plot of the percentage of participants remembering each word against the position of that word in the list.

2. The Primacy Effect: In a memory experiment in which a list of words is presented, enhanced memory for words presented at the beginning of the list.

3. The Recency Effect: In a memory experiment in which a list of words is presented, enhanced memory for words presented at the end of the list.

28. What variables (from our class demonstrations) can be manipulated to separately influence the primacy and recency effects? Based on these results, which part of the serial position curve depends on short-term memory and which on long-term memory?

    1. In class demonstrations, presentation speed and delay between encoding and recall can be manipulated to separately influence the primacy and recency effects:

    2. Primacy effect (better recall of items presented at the beginning) can be influenced by slower presentation speed, allowing more time for rehearsal and encoding into long-term memory.

    3. Recency effect (better recall of items presented at the end) can be influenced by delaying recall; a longer delay reduces the recency effect, as those items fade from short-term memory.

    4. The recency effect depends on short-term memory, while the primacy effect depends on long-term memory.

29. Describe evidence from patients with brain lesions that short-term memory and long-term memory can be doubly dissociated.

a. Patients H.M. and E.P.

1. Damage to hippocampus

2. Long-term memory: impaired

3. Short-term memory: unimpaired

iv. Could not form new long-term memories (no ability to encode new information into LTM) but had normal short-term memory (could hold a phone number for a short time).
K.F.

b. Patient
i. Damage to frontal cortex following a motorcycle accident

2. Long-term memory: unimpaired

3. Short-term memory: impaired

4. Had impaired short-term memory (couldn't hold onto a few digits for a short period) but could still form new long-term memories (could remember events and facts over time).

c. Double dissociations between memory systems can be established without even looking at the brain! This shows that short-term and long-term memory rely on different brain systems and can be independently affected.

30. What does it mean to say that semantic coding is important for long-term memory?

1. Both are consciously experienced (explicit). Both are hippocampally dependent, in the sense that the hippocampus is required to acquire new episodic and semantic memories. Acquiring new episodic and semantic memories involves the hippocampus.

2. Episodic and semantic memories are experienced differently. Different brain regions/networks are involved in accessing already acquired semantic versus episodic memories.

3. Saying that semantic coding is important for long-term memory means that we tend to store information in long-term memory based on its meaning rather than just the exact words or sounds. For example, remembering the meaning of a story or concept helps you recall it later, even if you forget the exact details. This type of coding makes information more meaningful and easier to retrieve.

31. Define and be able to give examples of the following types of long-term memory: episodic memory, semantic memory, procedural memory, and repetition priming. Which of these are considered to be declarative/explicit and which are considered to be non-declarative/implicit, and why?

    1. Episodic Memory: personal events. I remember the parades during Mardi Gras. Declarative/Explicit.

    2. Semantic Memory: facts and knowledge. Mardi Gras is the French translation of “Fat Tuesday”. Declarative/Explicit.

    3. Procedural Memory: improved performance with practice on a motor, perceptual, or cognitive task. Ex: riding a bike. Non-declarative/Implicit.

    4. Repetition priming: increased fluency or ease of processing due to recent exposure to information. Ex: recognizing a word more quickly if you saw it recently. Non-declarative/Implicit.

32. Be able to explain how damage to the hippocampus affects each of the aforementioned types of memory, distinguishing (when relevant) between effects on the ability to form new memories and the ability to retrieve memories that were already in place prior to the damage.

    1. Episodic Memory: Difficulty forming new episodic memories (e.g., recalling new events) but can still remember old memories (pre-damage). Problems with new event recall, but older memories (before damage) may remain intact.

    2. Semantic Memory: Difficulty forming new semantic memories (e.g., learning new facts), but older facts may remain intact. Issues with learning new facts but can remember pre-existing knowledge.

    3. Procedural Memory: Typically unaffected. People can still learn new skills (e.g., riding a bike), but may have trouble forming new explicit memories around the skill. Procedural memory is largely spared, but the ability to consciously recall the learning experience might be compromised.

4. Repetition Priming: Generally unaffected. People can still show improved performance based on prior exposure, even if they don’t consciously remember the initial exposure. Implicit memory is usually unaffected since it doesn't rely on the hippocampus.

5. In short, the hippocampus is crucial for forming new declarative memories (episodic and semantic), but non-declarative memory (procedural and priming) is less affected.

33. What insight did the study of mirror tracing in Patient H.M. provide to our understanding of long-term memory systems?

    1. H.M. improved just as quickly as healthy participants!

    2. He had no idea that he had done it before.

    3. Does NOT depend on the hippocampus

    4. The study of mirror tracing in Patient H.M. showed that procedural memory (the

       ability to learn motor skills) can remain intact even when episodic and semantic memory are impaired. H.M. could improve his performance on the mirror tracing task (a skill) even though he couldn’t remember ever doing it before. This demonstrated that implicit memory (procedural) doesn't rely on the hippocampus, unlike explicit memory (episodic and semantic), which does.

34. What insight did the study of repetition priming Patient E.P. provide to our understanding of long-term memory systems?

a. The study of repetition priming in Patient E.P. showed that implicit memory (like priming) can remain intact even when explicit memory (episodic and semantic) is severely impaired. E.P. had no conscious memory due to damage to his hippocampus, but he still showed improved performance on tasks when previously exposed to stimuli, demonstrating that priming doesn't require conscious awareness or the hippocampus. This helped clarify that implicit memory can function independently of explicit memory systems.

35. How does the subjective experience of an episodic memory differ from that of a semantic memory?

1. Episodic and semantic memories are experienced differently.

   1. “I remember last summer’s vacation”

   2. “I know that...even numbers end with the digits 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8!”

2. Different brain regions/networks are involved in accessing already acquired

   semantic versus episodic memories.

3. The subjective experience of episodic memory involves reliving a specific event,

   with details like time, place, and emotions (e.g., remembering your first day at school). It feels personal and vivid. In contrast, semantic memory is more like recalling facts or general knowledge without any personal experience tied to them (e.g., knowing that the Earth orbits the Sun). It feels more like "just knowing" rather than "re-experiencing."

36. How do schemas influence the way new information is remembered?

    1. What we “know” influences the way we experience and remember. Schemas are about what generally happens in certain contexts. New episodic memories that we form are influenced by pre-existing semantic memories.

    2. Schemas influence memory by providing a framework for interpreting and organizing new information. When we encounter something new, we fit it into our existing schemas (mental frameworks or knowledge structures). This helps us understand and remember the new information more easily, but can also lead to distortions if the new info doesn't fully match the schema, or if we fill in gaps based on expectations. In short, schemas shape how we encode and retrieve memories, often influencing what we remember and how we recall it.

37. What does it mean to say that episodic memories become semanticized over time?

    1. Information that makes up your semantic memories was probably initially part of your episodic memories. To remember what we discussed last class, you may have had to engage in “mental time travel” to remember the slides, demos, etc. Hopefully with time these concepts will be integrated into your semantic memory stores! They will ”feel” like facts!

    2. Semanticization of remote memories – loss of detail and episodic “quality” of memories with time

    3. To say that episodic memories become semanticized means that over time, specific personal events (episodic memories) lose their vivid, detailed, and personal aspects, and turn into general facts or knowledge (semantic memory). For example, you might forget the details of your 10th birthday but still remember that you had a birthday party and received gifts. The memory shifts from being a personal experience to just a piece of general knowledge.

38. In what ways can repetition priming influence our conscious experiences and behaviors? In particular, be familiar with and able to recognize examples of the propaganda effect and the mere exposure effect.

    1. Propaganda effect: People are more likely to rate statements they have heard before as being true, simply because they have been exposed to them before. Even if they were told the statement was FALSE when they first heard it! Even if they don’t remember having heard the statement at all!

    2. Mere exposure effect: simple repetition of a stimulus can result in a shift in preference toward the repeated stimulus

    3. Processing fluency is used as a meta-cognitive cue for a variety of judgments. Truth (propaganda effect). Liking (mere exposure effect)

    4. By increasing the fluency with which information is processed, repetition priming can influence our thoughts and behaviors, and ultimately our explicit memories.

e. Repetition priming influences our conscious experiences and behaviors by making us more likely to recognize or respond to things we've been exposed to previously, even if we don’t consciously remember the exposure.

39. Describe the levels of processing theory of memory encoding. Be able to give examples of tasks that result in deep versus shallow processing.

a. Answer questions about words i. Ex: SHARK

1. Semantic: “Is the word a type of fish?”

2. Rhyme: “Does the word rhyme with park?”

3. Orthographic: “Does the word start with S?”

2. Participants were then given an unexpected memory test.

3. Recognition Test Results

4. “Deeper” processing at encoding a higher recall

5. Stimuli may be processed at a “shallow” level based on physical features. (e.g.,

   attend to capitalization)

6. Alternatively processing may be focused on meaning (i.e., “deep”).

7. Deeper gives better long-term memory performance than shallow. Encourages

   semantic coding instead of visual/auditory. Integrates new information with

   pre-existing knowledge.

8. Deep processing involves focusing on the meaning of the information, leading to

   better recall. Shallow processing focuses on basic features like appearance or sound, leading to poorer recall. Deep processing leads to stronger and more durable memories.

9. Deep Processing: Thinking about the meaning of a word (e.g., asking whether a word fits into a sentence). Example task: Semantic task – "Does the word 'dog' fit in the sentence: 'The pet is friendly'?"

10. Shallow Processing: Focusing on physical characteristics, like the word’s appearance or sound. Example task: Structural task – "Is the word 'dog' written in capital letters?"

40. Define and be able to give examples of the self-reference effect, the generation effect, and the testing effect in memory encoding.

a. Self-reference effect: Memory is better if you are asked to relate the information to yourself. Connects new concepts to something you know a lot about: yourself! Ex: HAPPY

1. Semantic: “Is this word a type of emotion?”

2. Rhyme: “Does this word rhyme with “snappy”?”

3. Orthographic: “Does the word start with H?”

4. Self-referential: ”Does this word describe you”?

b. Generation effect: Simple finding: When people generate words, they remember the words better. Self-generated material is recalled better. Enriches memory

representation in ways that make it easier to retrieve. Uses learner’s own words à more connected to pre-existing knowledge. Involves retrieval practice. Ex: Remembering a word better if you fill in a blank (e.g., "gra_p" for "grape") than if you just see the word.

c. Testing effect: Taking an initial recall test just two minutes after reading the material boosted memory even ONE WEEK LATER! Re-reading provided additional exposure to 100% of the information, and yet it produced inferior long-term memory. We remember information better when we test ourselves on it, rather than just re-reading it. Ex: Retaining more information from a textbook chapter by taking a quiz on it rather than re-reading the chapter.

41. How can organizational trees help to facilitate memory encoding?

1. During recall, people tend to spontaneously organize items by category.

2. Words in a certain category serve as retrieval cues that trigger memories for other

   words in the same category.

3. Organizational trees can help to structure information more efficiently in memory

   1. Subjects recalled ~73 words when studied as a hierarchy.

   2. Subjects recalled ~21 words when studied randomly.

4. Consider visually ”mapping out” connections between different concepts.

5. Organizational trees help facilitate memory encoding by structuring information

   into clear, related categories. This makes it easier to understand, organize, and retrieve information later. By grouping related concepts together, organizational trees create a mental map that improves recall. Ex: In studying animals, an organizational tree might break down animals into categories like "mammals," "birds," and "reptiles," making it easier to remember specific details about each type.

42. What is a retrieval cue?

1. Retrieval Cues: Words or other stimuli that help us remember information stored in memory. Ex: Locations, songs, smells.

2. In general, the more stimuli that can serve as effective retrieval cues a piece of information, the more likely that information is to be retrieved.

3. A retrieval cue is any hint or prompt that helps you access and recall information from memory. It can be anything related to the memory, like a word, image, or context that triggers the recall of a specific memory. Ex: The smell of cookies baking might be a cue that helps you remember baking with your grandmother.

43. Define and be able to give examples of encoding specificity, state-dependent learning, and transfer-appropriate processing.

a. Encoding specificity: Contextual information provides cues useful for accessing information in memory. When you are studying information, memories of the context of the studying are encoded along with the content. Thus, memory retrieval success increases to the extent that aspects of the study and test contexts

overlap. Ex: you’ll remember something better if you study in the same room

where you'll take the test.

2. State-dependent learning: Memory is better when your physical or emotional state

   at the time of encoding matches your state during retrieval. Ex: If you study while

   happy, you might recall the information better when you're happy again.

3. Transfer-appropriate processing: Retrieval is better if the same cognitive

   processes are engaged at both study and test. If you study words with a focus on phonology versus semantics, you will do better on a test that emphasized phonology and vice versa. Ex: If you learn by practicing multiple-choice questions, you'll do better on a multiple-choice test than on an essay test.

44. How does the principle of transfer-appropriate processing challenge the levels of processing theory of memory formation?

    1. Challenges the ”depth of processing” framework by showing that deeper processing does not always lead to better memory.

    2. The principle of transfer-appropriate processing challenges the levels of processing theory by suggesting that memory performance depends more on the match between how you encode information and how you'll need to retrieve it, rather than just the depth of processing.

    3. While the levels of processing theory emphasizes that deeper processing leads to better memory, transfer-appropriate processing argues that if the type of processing used during encoding matches the task required for retrieval, even shallow processing can be effective. Ex: A deep semantic analysis might not help you more on a multiple-choice test if the test relies more on recognition than deep understanding.

45. What is temporally graded retrograde amnesia, and why does it tend to co-occur with anterograde amnesia?

a. Temporally graded retrograde amnesia: inability to remember things that happened before the injury that is more severe for memories that were acquired shortly before the injury. Anterograde amnesia typically results from damage to the hippocampus. The hippocampus is also needed to retrieve memories that have not yet been consolidated, which are typically newer memories.

46. What is hippocampal reactivation, and what role does it play in systems consolidation?

1. Hippocampal reactivation: A process that occurs during memory consolidation, in which the hippocampus replays the neural activity associated with a memory. During reactivation, activity occurs in the network connecting the hippocampus and the cortex. This activity results in the formation of connections between the cortical areas.

2. Hippocampal reactivation is the process by which the hippocampus replays or "reactivates" memories during sleep or rest, helping to strengthen and stabilize them. In systems consolidation this reactivation helps transfer memories from the

hippocampus to other areas of the brain (like the cortex) for long-term storage. Over time, as memories become more consolidated, the hippocampus becomes less involved, and the memories are more easily retrieved from the cortex.

Plicker Questions
1. Which of these is an example of a double dissociation?

a. A brain lesion in Region A impairs attention but not memory; a brain lesion in Region B impairs memory but not attention.

2. Which of these methods allows you to make causal claims about brain-behavior relationships?

a. Studies of patients with brain lesions

3. Which of these methods allows you to make causal claims about brain-behavior relationships?

a. Neurostimulation

b. Studies of patients with brain lesions

4. When watching a sunset, the distal stimulus is:

a. The actual sunset out in the world

5. A paradoxical correspondence occurs when our representation:

a. Matches the distal stimulus, but not the proximal stimulus

6. Which of these is NOT an example of top-down influences on perception?

   1. Seeing a face, then a vase, then a face again in the face vase illusion.

   2. It is easier to perceive a word when it is embedded in a coherent sentence than

      when it is alone.

   3. When judging depth, people assume that any source of light is coming from

      above.

   4. All of these are top-down influences.

7. Research using CHANGE DETECTION suggests the capacity of short-term memory:

   1. is around four items when the items are simple.

   2. can be as small as 1-2 items when the items are very complex.

8. When light from a flashlight is moved quickly back and forth on a wall in a darkened room, it can appear to observers that there is a trail of light moving across the wall. This experience stems from which type of memory?

   1. Sensory memory

   2. Iconic memory

9. Sperling’s PARTIAL report procedure suggests that iconic memory:

a. Has a very short duration

10. According to Baddeley’s Tripartite Model, are VISUALLY PRESENTED words ever processed by the phonological loop?

a. Yes, as long as the person is able to engage in the process of articulatory rehearsal to create a phonological code.

11. Imagine you are trying to hold a set of written words in short-term/working memory, while at the same time saying “the the the the” repeatedly. Which set of words would be MOST impacted by this articulatory suppression?

a. A set of very short words that sound different (sip, ham, cot, etc..)

12. Which of the following is the best example of a semantic memory?

a. I remember that Hawaii has many active volcanos.

13. Previously in class, I read you three lists of words and asked you to recall them. For one of these lists, I made you count backwards for 30 seconds before recalling the words. Adding this type of delay and interference typically results in changes to which of these:

    1. The size of the recency effect

    2. Your ability to use short-term memory to help recall words

14. A patient acquired extensive damage to the hippocampus at the age of 40. She would have the MOST difficulty with which of these tasks:

a. Remembering what happened on a TV show two hours after she watched it

15. Many people report that even after years or decades of never riding a bike, they still retain the ability to do so. This phenomenon speaks to the durability of _______ memory.

    a. procedural

16. On Exam 2, you may be asked to compare the Modal Model of Short-Term Memory with Baddeley’s Tripartite Model of Working Memory. Which of the study strategies below would be LEAST effective?

a. Read the descriptions of both tasks in your textbook several times, using a highlighter to mark sentences that are the most relevant.

17. What do the depth of processing effect and the self-reference effect have in common?

a. They both involve integrating to-be-learned information with pre-existing knowledge.

18. For your first challenge question, I asked you to come up with your own examples of how several phenomena related to attention might play out in a real-world situation. This exercise was designed to help you learn the material by taking advantage of:

    1. The generation effect

    2. The self-reference effect

    3. Deep processing

19. A patient acquired extensive damage to the hippocampus at the age of 40. She would have the MOST difficulty with which of these tasks:

a. Remembering someone she’s known since the age of 39.

20. Payal always studied for her Biology exam while outside on hot days. The exam room is chilly at first, but then someone turns the thermostat up so that it gets very hot. Payal then finds that she remembers more of the material after she warms up. This situation BEST exemplifies:

a. State-dependent learning