Results for "Hippocampus"

TOPIC 2- 22. The limbic system, the dentate gyrus and the hippocampus

basal ganglion, amygdala, hippocampus

Chapter 6: Adolescence Growth in Adolescence Puberty is a period of rapid growth and sexual maturation. These changes begin sometime l between eight and fourteen. Girls begin puberty at around ten years of age and boys begin approximately two years later. Pubertal changes take around three to four years to complete. Adolescents experience an overall physical growth spurt. The growth proceeds from the extremities toward the torso. This is referred to as distalproximal development. First the hands grow, then the arms, hand finally the torso. The overall physical growth spurt results in 10-11 inches of added height and 50 to 75 pounds of increased weight. The head begins to grow sometime after the feet have gone through their period of growth. Growth of the head is preceded by growth of the ears, nose, and lips. The difference in these patterns of growth result in adolescents appearing awkward and out-of-proportion. As the torso grows, so do the internal organs. The heart and lungs experience dramatic growth during this period. During childhood, boys and girls are quite similar in height and weight. However, gender differences become apparent during adolescence. From approximately age ten to fourteen, the average girl is taller, but not heavier, than the average boy. After that, the average boy becomes 223 both taller and heavier, although individual differences are certainly noted. As adolescents physically mature, weight differences are more noteworthy than height differences. At eighteen years of age, those that are heaviest weigh almost twice as much as the lightest, but the tallest teens are only about 10% taller than the shortest (Seifert, 2012). Both height and weight can certainly be sensitive issues for some teenagers. Most modern societies, and the teenagers in them, tend to favor relatively short women and tall men, as well as a somewhat thin body build, especially for girls and women. Yet, neither socially preferred height nor thinness is the destiny for many individuals. Being overweight, in particular, has become a common, serious problem in modern society due to the prevalence of diets high in fat and lifestyles low in activity (Tartamella et al., 2004). The educational system has, unfortunately, contributed to the problem as well by gradually restricting the number of physical education courses and classes in the past two decades. Average height and weight are also related somewhat to racial and ethnic background. In general, children of Asian background tend to be slightly shorter than children of European and North American background. The latter in turn tend to be shorter than children from African societies (Eveleth & Tanner, 1990). Body shape differs slightly as well, though the differences are not always visible until after puberty. Asian background youth tend to have arms and legs that are a bit short relative to their torsos, and African background youth tend to have relatively long arms and legs. The differences are only averages, as there are large individual differences as well. Sexual Development Typically, the growth spurt is followed by the development of sexual maturity. Sexual changes are divided into two categories: Primary sexual characteristics and secondary sexual characteristics. Primary sexual characteristics are changes in the reproductive organs. For males, this includes growth of the testes, penis, scrotum, and spermarche or first ejaculation of semen. This occurs between 11 and 15 years of age. For females, primary characteristics include growth of the uterus and menarche or the first menstrual period. The female gametes, which are stored in the ovaries, are present at birth, but are immature. Each ovary contains about 400,000 gametes, but only 500 will become mature eggs (Crooks & Baur, 2007). Beginning at puberty, one ovum ripens and is released about every 28 days during the menstrual cycle. Stress and higher percentage of body fat can bring menstruation at younger ages. Male Anatomy: Males have both internal and external genitalia that are responsible for procreation and sexual intercourse. Males produce their sperm on a cycle, and unlike the female's ovulation cycle, the male sperm production cycle is constantly producing millions of sperm daily. The main male sex organs are the penis and the testicles, the latter of which produce semen and sperm. The semen and sperm, as a result of sexual intercourse, can fertilize an ovum in the female's body; the fertilized ovum (zygote) develops into a fetus which is later born as a child. Female Anatomy: Female external genitalia is collectively known as the vulva, which includes the mons veneris, labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, vaginal opening, and urethral opening. Female internal reproductive organs consist of the vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. The uterus hosts the developing fetus, produces vaginal and uterine secretions, and passes the male's sperm through to the fallopian tubes while the ovaries release the eggs. A female is born with all her eggs already produced. The vagina is attached to the uterus through the cervix, while the uterus is attached to the ovaries via the fallopian tubes. Females have a monthly reproductive cycle; at certain intervals the ovaries release an egg, which passes through the fallopian tube into the uterus. If, in this transit, it meets with sperm, the sperm might penetrate and merge with the egg, fertilizing it. If not fertilized, the egg is flushed out of the system through menstruation. Secondary sexual characteristics are visible physical changes not directly linked to reproduction but signal sexual maturity. For males this includes broader shoulders and a lower voice as the larynx grows. Hair becomes coarser and darker, and hair growth occurs in the pubic area, under the arms and on the face. For females, breast development occurs around age 10, although full development takes several years. Hips broaden, and pubic and underarm hair develops and also becomes darker and coarser. Acne: An unpleasant consequence of the hormonal changes in puberty is acne, defined as pimples on the skin due to overactive sebaceous (oil-producing) glands (Dolgin, 2011). These glands develop at a greater speed than the skin ducts that discharges the oil. Consequently, the ducts can become blocked with dead skin and acne will develop. According to the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center (2000), approximately 85% of adolescents develop acne, and boys develop acne more than girls because of greater levels of testosterone in their systems (Dolgin, 2011). Experiencing acne can lead the adolescent to withdraw socially, especially if they are self-conscious about their skin or teased (Goodman, 2006). Effects of Pubertal Age: The age of puberty is getting younger for children throughout the world. According to Euling et al. (2008) data are sufficient to suggest a trend toward an earlier breast development onset and menarche in girls. A century ago the average age of a girl’s first period in the United States and Europe was 16, while today it is around 13. Because there is no clear marker of puberty for boys, it is harder to determine if boys are maturing earlier too. In addition to better nutrition, less positive reasons associated with early puberty for girls include increased stress, obesity, and endocrine disrupting chemicals. Cultural differences are noted with Asian-American girls, on average, developing last, while African American girls enter puberty the earliest. Hispanic girls start puberty the second earliest, while European-American girls rank third in their age of starting puberty. Although African American girls are typically the first to develop, they are less likely to experience negative consequences of early puberty when compared to European-American girls (Weir, 2016). Research has demonstrated mental health problems linked to children who begin puberty earlier than their peers. For girls, early puberty is associated with depression, substance use, eating disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, and early sexual behavior (Graber, 2013). Early maturing girls demonstrate more anxiety and less confidence in their relationships with family and friends, and they compare themselves more negatively to their peers (Weir, 2016). Problems with early puberty seem to be due to the mismatch between the child’s appearance and the way she acts and thinks. Adults especially may assume the child is more capable than she actually is, and parents might grant more freedom than the child’s age would indicate. For girls, the emphasis on physical attractiveness and sexuality is emphasized at puberty and they may lack effective coping strategies to deal with the attention they may receive. 226 Figure 6.4 Source Additionally, mental health problems are more likely to occur when the child is among the first in his or her peer group to develop. Because the preadolescent time is one of not wanting to appear different, early developing children stand out among their peer group and gravitate toward those who are older. For girls, this results in them interacting with older peers who engage in risky behaviors such as substance use and early sexual behavior (Weir, 2016). Boys also see changes in their emotional functioning at puberty. According to Mendle, Harden, Brooks-Gunn, and Graber (2010), while most boys experienced a decrease in depressive symptoms during puberty, boys who began puberty earlier and exhibited a rapid tempo, or a fast rate of change, actually increased in depressive symptoms. The effects of pubertal tempo were stronger than those of pubertal timing, suggesting that rapid pubertal change in boys may be a more important risk factor than the timing of development. In a further study to better analyze the reasons for this change, Mendle et al. (2012) found that both early maturing boys and rapidly maturing boys displayed decrements in the quality of their peer relationships as they moved into early adolescence, whereas boys with more typical timing and tempo development actually experienced improvements in peer relationships. The researchers concluded that the transition in peer relationships may be especially challenging for boys whose pubertal maturation differs significantly from those of others their age. Consequences for boys attaining early puberty were increased odds of cigarette, alcohol, or another drug use (Dudovitz, et al., 2015). Gender Role Intensification: At about the same time that puberty accentuates gender, role differences also accentuate for at least some teenagers. Some girls who excelled at math or science in elementary school, may curb their enthusiasm and displays of success at these subjects for fear of limiting their popularity or attractiveness as girls (Taylor et al/, 1995; Sadker, 2004). Some boys who were not especially interested in sports previously may begin dedicating themselves to athletics to affirm their masculinity in the eyes of others. Some boys and girls who once worked together successfully on class projects may no longer feel comfortable doing so, or alternatively may now seek to be working partners, but for social rather than academic reasons. Such changes do not affect all youngsters equally, nor affect any one youngster equally on all occasions. An individual may act like a young adult on one day, but more like a child the next. Adolescent Brain The brain undergoes dramatic changes during adolescence. Although it does not get larger, it matures by becoming more interconnected and specialized (Giedd, 2015). The myelination and 227 development of connections between neurons continues. This results in an increase in the white matter of the brain and allows the adolescent to make significant improvements in their thinking and processing skills. Different brain areas become myelinated at different times. For example, the brain’s language areas undergo myelination during the first 13 years. Completed insulation of the axons consolidates these language skills but makes it more difficult to learn a second language. With greater myelination, however, comes diminished plasticity as a myelin coating inhibits the growth of new connections (Dobbs, 2012). Even as the connections between neurons are strengthened, synaptic pruning occurs more than during childhood as the brain adapts to changes in the environment. This synaptic pruning causes the gray matter of the brain, or the cortex, to become thinner but more efficient (Dobbs, 2012). The corpus callosum, which connects the two hemispheres, continues to thicken allowing for stronger connections between brain areas. Additionally, the hippocampus becomes more strongly connected to the frontal lobes, allowing for greater integration of memory and experiences into our decision making. The limbic system, which regulates emotion and reward, is linked to the hormonal changes that occur at puberty. The limbic system is also related to novelty seeking and a shift toward interacting with peers. In contrast, the prefrontal cortex which is involved in the control of impulses, organization, planning, and making good decisions, does not fully develop until the mid-20s. According to Giedd (2015) the significant aspect of the later developing prefrontal cortex and early development of the limbic system is the “mismatch” in timing between the two. The approximately ten years that separates the development of these two brain areas can result in risky behavior, poor decision making, and weak emotional control for the adolescent. When puberty begins earlier, this mismatch extends even further. Teens often take more risks than adults and according to research it is because they weigh risks and rewards differently than adults do (Dobbs, 2012). For adolescents the brain’s sensitivity to the neurotransmitter dopamine peaks, and dopamine is involved in reward circuits, so the possible rewards outweighs the risks. Adolescents respond especially strongly to social rewards during activities, and they prefer the company of others their same age. Chein et al. (2011) found that peers sensitize brain regions associated with potential rewards. For example, adolescent drivers make risky driving decisions when with friends to impress them, and teens are much more likely to commit crimes together in comparison to adults (30 and older) who commit them alone (Steinberg et al., 2017). In addition to dopamine, the adolescent brain is affected by oxytocin which facilitates bonding and makes social connections more rewarding. With both dopamine and oxytocin engaged, it is no wonder that adolescents seek peers and excitement in their lives that could end up actually harming them. 228 Because of all the changes that occur in the adolescent brain, the chances for abnormal development can occur, including mental illness. In fact, 50% of the mental illness occurs by the age 14 and 75% occurs by age 24 (Giedd, 2015). Additionally, during this period of development the adolescent brain is especially vulnerable to damage from drug exposure. For example, repeated exposure to marijuana can affect cellular activity in the endocannabinoid system. Consequently, adolescents are more sensitive to the effects of repeated marijuana exposure (Weir, 2015). However, researchers have also focused on the highly adaptive qualities of the adolescent brain which allow the adolescent to move away from the family towards the outside world (Dobbs, 2012; Giedd, 2015). Novelty seeking and risk taking can generate positive outcomes including meeting new people and seeking out new situations. Separating from the family and moving into new relationships and different experiences are actually quite adaptive for society. Adolescent Sleep According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) (2016), adolescents need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night to function best. The most recent Sleep in America poll in 2006 indicated that adolescents between sixth and twelfth grade were not getting the recommended amount of sleep. On average adolescents only received 7 ½ hours of sleep per night on school nights with younger adolescents getting more than older ones (8.4 hours for sixth graders and only 6.9 hours for those in twelfth grade). For the older adolescents, only about one in ten (9%) get an optimal amount of sleep, and they are more likely to experience negative consequences the following day. These include feeling too tired or sleepy, being cranky or irritable, falling asleep in school, having a depressed mood, and drinking caffeinated beverages (NSF, 2016). Additionally, they are at risk for substance abuse, car crashes, poor academic performance, obesity, and a weakened immune system (Weintraub, 2016). Troxel et al. (2019) found that insufficient sleep in adolescents is a predictor of risky sexual behaviors. Reasons given for this include that those adolescents who stay out late, typically without parental supervision, are more likely to engage in a variety of risky behaviors, including risky sex, such as not using birth control or using substances before/during sex. An alternative explanation for risky sexual behavior is that the lack of sleep negatively affects impulsivity and decision-making processes. Figure 6.7 Source Why do adolescents not get adequate sleep? In addition to known environmental and social factors, including work, homework, media, technology, and socializing, the adolescent brain is also a factor. As adolescent go through puberty, their circadian rhythms change and push back their sleep time until later in the evening (Weintraub, 2016). This biological change not only keeps adolescents awake at night, it makes it difficult for them to wake up. When they are awake too early, their brains do not function optimally. Impairments are noted in attention, academic achievement, and behavior while increases in tardiness and absenteeism are also seen. 229 To support adolescents’ later sleeping schedule, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that school not begin any earlier than 8:30 a.m. Unfortunately, over 80% of American schools begin their day earlier than 8:30 a.m. with an average start time of 8:03 a.m. (Weintraub, 2016). Psychologists and other professionals have been advocating for later school times, and they have produced research demonstrating better student outcomes for later start times. More middle and high schools have changed their start times to better reflect the sleep research. However, the logistics of changing start times and bus schedules are proving too difficult for some schools leaving many adolescent vulnerable to the negative consequences of sleep deprivation. Troxel et al. (2019) cautions that adolescents should find a middle ground between sleeping too little during the school week and too much during the weekends. Keeping consistent sleep schedules of too little sleep will result in sleep deprivation but oversleeping on weekends can affect the natural biological sleep cycle making it harder to sleep on weekdays. Adolescent Sexual Activity By about age ten or eleven, most children experience increased sexual attraction to others that affects social life, both in school and out (McClintock & Herdt, 1996). By the end of high school, more than half of boys and girls report having experienced sexual intercourse at least once, though it is hard to be certain of the proportion because of the sensitivity and privacy of the information. (Center for Disease Control, 2004; Rosenbaum, 2006). Adolescent Pregnancy: As can be seen in Figure 6.8, in 2018 females aged 15–19 years experienced a birth rate (live births) of 17.4 per 1,000 women. The birth rate for teenagers has declined by 58% since 2007 and 72% since 1991, the most recent peak (Hamilton, Joyce, Martin, & Osterman, 2019). It appears that adolescents seem to be less sexually active than in previous years, and those who are sexually active seem to be using birth control (CDC, 2016). Figure 6.8 Source Risk Factors for Adolescent Pregnancy: Miller et al. (2001) found that parent/child closeness, parental supervision, and parents' values against teen intercourse (or unprotected intercourse) decreased the risk of adolescent pregnancy. In contrast, residing in disorganized/dangerous neighborhoods, living in a lower SES family, living with a single parent, having older sexually 230 active siblings or pregnant/parenting teenage sisters, early puberty, and being a victim of sexual abuse place adolescents at an increased risk of adolescent pregnancy. Consequences of Adolescent Pregnancy: After the child is born life can be difficult for a teenage mother. Only 40% of teenagers who have children before age 18 graduate from high school. Without a high school degree her job prospects are limited, and economic independence is difficult. Teen mothers are more likely to live in poverty, and more than 75% of all unmarried teen mother receive public assistance within 5 years of the birth of their first child. Approximately, 64% of children born to an unmarried teenage high-school dropout live in poverty. Further, a child born to a teenage mother is 50% more likely to repeat a grade in school and is more likely to perform poorly on standardized tests and drop out before finishing high school (March of Dimes, 2012). Research analyzing the age that men father their first child and how far they complete their education have been summarized by the Pew Research Center (2015) and reflect the research for females. Among dads ages 22 to 44, 70% of those with less than a high school diploma say they fathered their first child before the age of 25. In comparison, less than half (45%) of fathers with some college experience became dads by that age. Additionally, becoming a young father occurs much less for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher as just 14% had their first child prior to age 25. Like men, women with more education are likely to be older when they become mothers. Eating Disorders Figure 6.9 According to the DSM-5-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2022), eating disorders are characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behavior that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and that significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning. Although eating disorders can occur in children and adults, they frequently appear during the teen years or young adulthood (National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 2016). Eating disorders affect both genders, although rates among women are 2½ times greater than among men. Similar to women who have eating disorders, men also have a distorted sense of body image, including muscle dysmorphia, which is an extreme desire to increase one’s muscularity (Bosson et al., 2019). The prevalence of eating disorders in the United States is similar among Non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics, African-Americans, and Asians, with the exception that anorexia nervosa is more common among Non-Hispanic Whites (Hudson et al., 2007; Wade et al., 2011). Source Risk Factors for Eating Disorders: Because of the high mortality rate, researchers are looking into the etiology of the disorder and associated risk factors. Researchers are finding that eating disorders are caused by a complex interaction of genetic, biological, behavioral, psychological, and social factors (NIMH, 2016). Eating disorders appear to run in families, and researchers are working to identify DNA variations that are linked to the increased risk of developing eating 231 disorders. Researchers from King’s College London (2019) found that the genetic basis of anorexia overlaps with both metabolic and body measurement traits. The genetic factors also influence physical activity, which may explain the high activity level of those with anorexia. Further, the genetic basis of anorexia overlaps with other psychiatric disorders. Researchers have also found differences in patterns of brain activity in women with eating disorders in comparison with healthy women. The main criteria for the most common eating disorders: Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder are described in the DSM-5-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2022) and listed in Table 6.1. Table 6.1 DSM-5-TR Eating Disorders Anorexia Nervosa  Restriction of energy intake leading to a significantly low body weight  Intense fear of gaining weight  Disturbance in one’s self-evaluation regarding body weight Bulimia Nervosa Binge-Eating Disorder  Recurrent episodes of binge eating  Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain, including purging, laxatives, fasting or excessive exercise  Self-evaluation is unduly affected by body shape and weight  Recurrent episodes of binge eating  Marked distress regarding binge eating  The binge eating is not associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behavior Health Consequences of Eating Disorders: For those suffering from anorexia, health consequences include an abnormally slow heart rate and low blood pressure, which increases the risk for heart failure. Additionally, there is a reduction in bone density (osteoporosis), muscle loss and weakness, severe dehydration, fainting, fatigue, and overall weakness. Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder (Arcelus et al., 2011). Individuals with this disorder may die from complications associated with starvation, while others die of suicide. In women, suicide is much more common in those with anorexia than with most other mental disorders. The binge and purging cycle of bulimia can affect the digestives system and lead to electrolyte and chemical imbalances that can affect the heart and other major organs. Frequent vomiting can cause inflammation and possible rupture of the esophagus, as well as tooth decay and staining from stomach acids. Lastly, binge eating disorder results in similar health risks to obesity, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, heart disease, Type II diabetes, and gall bladder disease (National Eating Disorders Association, 2016). 232 Figure 6.10 Source Eating Disorders Treatment: To treat eating disorders, adequate nutrition and stopping inappropriate behaviors, such as purging, are the foundations of treatment. Treatment plans are tailored to individual needs and include medical care, nutritional counseling, medications (such as antidepressants), and individual, group, and/or family psychotherapy (NIMH, 2016). For example, the Maudsley Approach has parents of adolescents with anorexia nervosa be actively involved in their child’s treatment, such as assuming responsibility for feeding the child. To eliminate binge eating and purging behaviors, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) assists sufferers by identifying distorted thinking patterns and changing inaccurate beliefs

amygdala hippocampus

Role of the Hippocampus in Memory

Neurogenesis in the Human Hippocampus

Hippocampus and memory

Anatomy of the hippocampus

10: hippocampus 2

9. Hippocampus 1

Lecture 19 (Memory & Hippocampus)

Memory and the Hippocampus

Hippocampus

Module 12.2: The Hippocampus & the Striatum

hippocampus (copy)

hippocampus

What is memory and how is it measured? The persistance of lecrning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of infermation a. Recall: A mecisure of memory in which the person nust retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test. Recognition: A measure of memory in which the person icentifies items previously lecrned, as on ci multiple choice test. c. Relearning: A mecisure of memory that assesses the amount of time saued when leaming matericil agein 21. What are the three stages of memory? Encoding: the process of getting information into the memors system 2 storage: the process uf retaining information over time Retrieval: the process of getting information out of 22. Draw and explain the three-stage multistore model of memory. automatic processing Aftention to Terzarsal memory storage impurtems 1 info Extemal sensory warking Encoding > Long event Short tem memary Encocling menary Remieung menus Steroge 1. we first recend tu-be remembered information as a fleeting sensory mencry. 2. Frun there, we process infermation into short-tem menary, where we encode it thruugh reneersal. 3. Finally, information maves into lang-tem memery fer later retrieul. a. Long-term memory: The relatively permanent and limitless archive of the memory system. includes knowledge. Skills, cind experiences. b. Short-term memory: Briefly cctivated memory of a few items Incit is later stored or forgotten. c. Sensory memory: The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system. d. Rehearsal: The process of repeating information to help remember it. What is working memory? Stage where short i long tem memory cumbine. A newer understanding of short tem memory: conscicus, active processing of both () incoming sensory information and (2) information retrieved fram long-term menary a. Central executive A memary component that coordinates the activities of the phonclogical luap and visuospatial sketchpad. b. Phonological loop: A memory compenent that briefly holds auditery information. c. Visuospatial sketchpad: A memory cumpunent that briefly holds information dibout objects appearance and location in space. 24. How does memory work at the synaptic level? Mencries are stured in the brain through changes at the synaptic level. Neurch interconnections a. Long-tem otentation tiAn increase in a nerve ceus Aring potential after brief, rapid stimulationi a neural busis for learning and menery. b. Neurogenesis: The formation of new neurons. Module 2.4 Encoding Memories 25. Identify the different types of memory, providing examples of each. a. Explicit: Retention uf facts and experiences that we can consciously know and "declare". i. Somatic: General knowlecge and facts that ce have reamed Ex: Names of colors ii. Episodic: Memories of specific events anciexperiences from cur lives. Ex: Remembering your graduatien b. Implicit: Retention of leurned skius as cassically conditioned associations indepencent uf conscious recollection. C. Automatic Processing: Unconscious encoding of incidenta information, such as space, time, and frequency. anc of familior or well-leamed infermation. Effortful Processing: Encoding that requires attentien and conscious effert. e coniciA momentary sensory memory of visuel f. Echoic: A momentary sensing memory of clucitery Stimuli 26. What are the limits of short-term memory? Capacity a duration It holds items briefly and can only store a small amount of information a. "Magic number 7 plus or minus two" This refers to a concept developed by George A. Miller, It proposes the auerage number of items that a person can hold in their working memory. 27. How can memory be improved? a. Chunking: Organizing items into familiar, manaigecbie units; often occurs automatically b. Mnemonics: Memory clics, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices. c. Spacing effect: The tendency fur distributed stucky ar practice tu yield better long-term retention then is acheived through massed study or practice. 4hen smpereceninemnakeretrieung, ratrer 28. What is the difference between shallow and deep processing? shallow processing: Encoding un a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words • Encodes on an elementary level, not as deep of a process like depth processing. Deep processing: an cong, tends to yieid the best retention What is the capacity of long-term memory? It nas limitless capacity. 30. How is each brain region associated with memory? a. Frontal Lobe Brain regiens send information to the frental lobe fur processing. b. Hippocampus It heips process explicit (conscious) memories of Facts cine events fur sturage. It acts as a loading dock where the lorain registers ancitemporarily holls the elements ofa C. Cerebellum phags a key mann to ming ca storing to-be- remembered episode classical conditioning d. Basal Ganglia Facilitates formation of our procedural memories for skills. Amygdala involved in the encoding of emotionally charged events and memory consolidation. 31. What is the purpose of memory consolidation? Mem reconsolate is the nau strase ng- memories intu long-term cres. What are flashbulb memories? clear memories of an emotionally significent moment or event. Module 2.6 Retrieving Memories 34. How do external cues, internal emotions, and order of appearance affect memory? a. Priming: The actuation, often unconsciously, of particuler associcitions in memory. b. Encoding specificity principle: The icec that cues and cuntexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recallito c. Serial position effect: Our tendency to recal best the last items in a list initially (a recency effect), and the first items in a list after a delay (a primacy effect) d. Interleaving: A retrieval practice strategy that involes mixing the study of different topics. e. State-dependent memory: The tencency tu recall experiences that are consistent with the state which a person was Cit the time of encoding. f. Mood-congruent memory: The tencency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood. Module 2.7 Forgetting & Other Memory Challenges 35. Why do we forget? a. Encoding failure: Unattenced information that never entered our memory system b. Storage decay: information fading from our memary C. Retrieval failure: When we cant access stored memory accurately i. Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: An incidequate retrieval: you can almost remember it - it’s just on the tip of your tongue. Motivated forgetting (a.k.a. repression): The basic clefense mechanism that banishes frum consciousness anxiety- arousing thuughts, Feelings, and memeries. e. Interference: When the retrieval of a memory is disrupted by the presence of other memories that are similars f. Amnesia: Memory loss due to brain damage/ injury. 36. Identify the difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia. Anterograde: An inability to ferm new mencries Retrograde i An inability tu remember infermation frum cres pasto 37. Identify the difference between proactive and retroactive interference. (Hint: PO/RN) Proactive: The foward-acting disruptive effect of older leaming on the recall of new information. Retroactive: The backward acting disruptive effect of newer learning an the recau of old informatian. 38. How do misinformation, imagination, and source amnesia influence our memory construction? They distert the memery of an event. a. Reconsolidation: A process in which previously stured memories, when retrieved, are putentially altered before being stured again. b. Misinformation Effect: OCcurs when a menary has been corrupted by mislead information. i. Elizabeth Loftus well known fur her research on memary. especially false memeries. C. Deja vu: That eerie sense that "I've experienced this before."Cues from the current situation may unconscicuse trigger retrieval uf an earlier experience. d. Source Amnesia: Faulty memory fur now, when, or where information was learned crimagined.

NEURO EXAM 4: memory and the hippocampus

Chapter 7 Define behaviourist People that studied psychology only by looking at behaviour, not mental processes What is learning? Process of acquiring new information or behaviours through experience / a relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience What is associative learning? Linking two events that occur close together in time Give three ways that we learn Through associative learning: Certain events occur together (classical conditioning); stimuli that are not controlled are associated and the response becomes automatic (respondent behaviour) Through consequences: Association between a response and a consequence is learned (operant behaviour) Through acquisition of mental information that guides behaviour: Cognitive learning Explain Pavlov’s dog food experiment and name the stages that represent the Unconditioned Stimulus, the Unconditioned Response, the Neutral Stimulus, the Conditioned Stimulus and the Conditioned Response Pavlov realised that if he trained a dog by repeatedly presenting dog food to a dog immediately after ringing a bell, the dog would start to salivate at the sound of the bell Unconditioned Stimulus → yummy dog food! Unconditioned Response → salivating at the dog food Neutral Stimulus → the bell Conditioned Stimulus → also the bell! But after it has been associated with the food Conditioned Response → the dog salivating at the sound of the bell Define Unconditioned Stimulus (US) A stimulus that naturally triggers a response Define Unconditioned Response (UR) A naturally occurring response to the US Define Neutral Stimulus (NS) A stimulus that has not been paired with the US and elicits no response Define Conditioned Stimulus (CS) A previously neutral stimulus (NS) that is paired with the US and as a result, triggers a conditioned response (CR) Define Conditioned Response (CR) A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus, but now a conditioned stimulus Define Higher-order conditioning / second-order conditioning A procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. Name some uses of classical conditioning Classical conditioning can help us to expedite a response so that it occurs before the US begins Acquisition of expectancies help organisms prepare for good or bad events. Necessary for our survival from an evolutionary perspective. Act as notifications to prepare for fight or flight, or to extend pleasure Name five stages of learning / conditioning Acquisition Extinction Spontaneous recovery Generalisation Discrimination Define the Acquisition stage The association between a neutral stimulus (NS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US) We know that acquisition has occurred when neutral stimulus previously didn’t cause anything, but now it does trigger something Usually, for the association to be acquired, the neutral stimulus (NS) needs to repeatedly appear before the unconditioned stimulus (US), about a half-second before, in most cases (the bell must come right before the food). Define the Extinction stage Refers to the diminishing of a conditioned response. If the US (food) stops appearing with the CS (bell), the CR decreases. Define the Spontaneous Recovery stage After a CR (salivation) has been conditioned and then extinguished: Following a rest period, presenting the tone alone might lead to a spontaneous recovery (a return of the conditioned response despite a lack of further conditioning) If the CS (tone) is again presented repeatedly without the US, the CR becomes extinct again. Define the Generalization stage Once a response has been conditioned, generalisation would be defined as the tendency to respond in a similar way to stimuli similar to the CS (ex: a dog that is conditioned to salivate at the sound of a dinner bell may also salivate at the sound of a doorbell) Define the Discrimination stage The learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other similar stimuli that do not signal an US (discriminating between relevant and not relevant stimuli) (ex: Infants can tell the difference between their mother's voice and the voice of other women) Explain the implications of this on abuse in children A study showed that abused children’s brains respond differently to angry faces compared to non abused peers (association between anger and danger) Why do we still care about Pavlov? Most psychologists agree that classical conditioning is a basic learning form among all species and that can be studied objectively Pavlov’s principles are used to influence human health and well-being (including addiction) Pavlov’s work provided a basis for Watson’s ideas that human emotions and behaviours, though biologically influenced, are mainly conditioned responses. Explain classical conditioning relating to drug cravings Former drug users crave the drug when they are in the environment in which they took drugs or they associate with people with whom they took drugs These contexts act as CS and trigger cravings for the drug (CR) Using what we know about classical conditioning, drug counsellors advise former users to stay away from these contexts. (same with staying/going on a diet) How do advertisers often use classical conditioning? To pair already-existing positive responses with their products; to control and influence human behaviour, such as purchasing behaviour Describe the US,UR,CS, and CR in an ad attempting to associate a product with a celebrity US → Known celebrity. UR → Positive feelings. CS → Product / Brand Hoped for CR → Positive feelings towards product / brand Explain what happened when researchers present a baby with a rat toy paired with a loud noise Baby started to develop fear of rat - whenever they showed the rat, the baby started crying - association has occurred - “irrational fear” of the rat Everything that had a similar feel of the rat toy - the baby started fearing those too → generalisations Define Operant Conditioning If the organism is learning associations between its behaviour and the resulting events, it is operant conditioning. Define Thorndike’s Law of effect The Law of Effect states that behaviours followed by favourable consequences become more likely, and that behaviours followed by unfavourable consequences become less likely. If a cat is put into a puzzle box many times and subsequently gets faster at escaping, what does this demonstrate? Declining rate of seconds taken to escape over times tried → learning rate Explain how researchers used a skinner box to classically condition pigeons to “learn to read” or distinguish between cancerous and normal tissue They rewarded a pigeon with food every time that it correctly accomplished a task, teaching it to peck at the correct answer Explain shaping behaviour / how to apply classical conditioning Reinforcers guide behaviour towards the desired target behaviour through successive approximations Reward behaviour that approaches the desired behaviour Allows animal trainers to get animals to perform complex behaviours Define Reinforcer An event that increases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated Give the six types of reinforcers Positive + negative, primary + secondary, immediate + delayed Define each of them Positive reinforcement → Presenting a rewarding stimulus after a response Negative reinforcement → Removing an unpleasant stimulus after a response (scream until daddy stops the car ad dairy queen) Primary reinforcer → an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need (food, sex, water) - very intrinsic, biological Secondary (Conditioned) reinforcer → a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer (stickers, money, power, etc.). Immediate Reinforcer → A reinforcer that occurs instantly after a behaviour. A rat gets a food pellet for a bar press Delayed Reinforcer → A reinforcer that is delayed in time for a certain behaviour. A paycheck that comes at the end of a week. Define continuous reinforcement, list an advantage and a fault Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs Great for learning, prone to fast extinction Define partial (intermittent) reinforcement, list an advantage and a fault Reinforcing the desired response only part of the time Perhaps more practical in real world, slower learning, more resistant to extinction (slot machines, gambling) List four different types of reinforcement schedules and define them Fixed-ratio schedule: reinforcing the desired response only after a specified number of responses Ex. Buy 10 coffee drinks, get the 11th free (Produces high rates of responding) Variable-ratio schedule: reinforcing the desired response after an unpredictable number of responses Ex: If the slot machine sometimes pays, I’ll pull the lever as many times as possible because it may pay this time! (Produces high, consistent rates of responding) Fixed-interval schedule: reinforcing the desired response only after a specified time has elapsed. Ex. Checking for snail mail, cramming for a test (Produces a choppy, stop-start pattern of responding) Variable-interval schedule: reinforcing the desired response at unpredictable time intervals. Ex. Checking for email, Pop quiz, If I don’t know when the pop quiz will happen, I’ll study everyday (Produces slow, steady responding) Define punishment An event that tends to decrease the behaviour that it follows Explain positive and negative punishment Positive punishment → Addition of unpleasant stimulus (getting a parking ticket) Negative punishment → Removal of pleasant stimulus → (cutting down screen time) In learning and conditioning, “positive” means that something is _____ and “negative” means that something is ________. Added, taken away How does operant conditioning differ from classical conditioning? If the organism is learning associations between its behaviour and the resulting events, it is operant conditioning If the organism is learning associations between events that it does not control, it is classical conditioning Chapter 8 Explain how we measure retention (three ways) and define them Recall (free recall, like seeing someone and trying to remember their name - most difficult) Recognise (correctly identifying prev learned information - things might trigger something - multiple choice question) Relearn (speed of relearning) (riding your bike again after twenty years) (it’ll be faster than when you first learned it) (how much time / effort is saved when learning material for the second time) Explain Ebbinhaus’s memory experiment and the retention curve Ebbinghaus studied his own verbal memory. He tried to learn (memorise) a list of nonsense syllables. The more times he rehearsed the list on day one, the less time it took to memorise the list on day two. Speed of relearning is one measure of memory retention - when relearning, it will be memorised more easily, accurately, and rapidly. What can we learn from this experiment? We retain more when our learning involves more time and repetition. Tests of recognition, and tests of time spent relearning, demonstrate that we remember more than we can recall - we can recognise things that we couldn’t just simply remember, and things will jog our memories( ex: solving a puzzle, remembering lyrics of a song with and without background music, name all the marvel movies you have watched). Explain the three stages of the information processing model, and what it compares the human brain to Compares human memory to computer operations Involves three processes: Encoding: the information gets into our brains in a way that allows it to be stored Storage: the information is held in a way that allows it to later be retrieved Retrieval: reactivating and recalling the information, producing it in a form similar to what was encoded Explain connectionism Focuses on multitrack, uses parallel processing Views memories as products of interconnected neural networks Define Atkinsons and Shiffrin’s three stage model (the original one) External events happen, and then: Sensory input from the environment is recorded as fleeting sensory memory. Information is processed in short-term memory. Information is encoded into long-term memory for later retrieval. Give some shortcomings of the three-stage model Cannot explain why we forget things. Cannot explain why different people experiencing the same events remember different details and aspects of it. Explain Atkinson-Shiffrin model’s updated concepts Working memory: We can’t focus on all the sensory information we receive, so we select information that is important to us and actively process it into our working memory Includes visual and auditory rehearsal of new information Part of the brain functions like a manager, focusing attention and pulling information from long-term memory to help make sense of new information Considered a central executive unit :) Automatic processing: To address the processing of information outside of conscious awareness Some information skips the first two stages and enters long-term memory automatically. What part of the brain is responsible for episodic memory? The hippocampus Explain the differences between explicit and implicit memory Dual-Track memory system divides our memory into conscious and unconscious tracks. Explicit memory - conscious, explicit, declarative memories are facts and experiences that we can consciously know and declare. We encode explicit memories through conscious, explicit, sequential, effortful processing. Implicit memory - Unconscious, implicit, nondeclarative memories are facts and experiences that are formed through automatic processes and bypass conscious encoding track – we don’t exert effort, and are not even aware that they are happening. What information do we process automatically? Implicit memories include automatic skills and classically conditioned associations. Information is automatically processed about: Space: while reading a textbook, you automatically encode the place of a picture on the page Time: we unintentionally note the events that take place in a day Frequency: you effortlessly keep track of how often things happen to you We are not consciously trying to remember these details, but they are automatically encoded in our memories. With experience and practice, some explicit memories become automatic. Examples: driving, texting, and speaking a new language (teaching nonsensical characters as a language in an experimental setting) Explain Sperling’s Iconic Memory Experiment Sperling flashed letters on a screen for 1/20th of a second. He asked people how many letters they recalled. Participants could recall only ½ of the letters. Next, Sperling flashed the letters on a screen for 1/20th of a second. Immediately after the screen went blank, he sounded a tone. A high, medium, or low pitch tone signaled the row that participants were to report. Recall for letters in a row was almost perfect. How can we explain this result? What happens when the tone sounds? When the tone sounds right after the picture is flashed, we have time to retrieve the letters from iconic memory. What is the Briefest Form of Memory Storage Sensory Memory The immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system Define echoic and iconic memory, and explain how long they last Iconic Memory - visual sensory memory → Duration: less than a second Echoic Memory - auditory sensory memory → Duration: a few seconds What type of memories are the hippocampus and frontal lobes responsible for? Processes explicit memories for facts and episodes Hippocampus: Registers and temporarily holds elements of explicit memories before moving them to other brain regions for long-term storage. Two types: Semantic memory: meaning of words, grammar of a language, concepts, abstract ideas that we learn through school - more abstract / concepts / semantically learned -hunger, kindness, etc Episodic memory: memory of snapshots of our life that together - movie like, form episodes What has been noticed about the hippocampus in dementia patients It is often smaller than average Explain which type of memories the right and left hemispheres process Left hemisphere → more numerical, semantics, verbal Right → more episodic Explain the London taxi drivers experiment Central London Taxi Drivers spend 3-4 years learning “the knowledge.” Failure rate for exam: 50% They found that the longer someone had been a taxi driver, the larger their rear area of hippocampus (involved in spatial ability) Follow up study: Assessed participants before and after training Three groups: Ps who succeeded and passed the exam, those who had failed the exam, and a control group Replicated findings: Those who succeeded had an increased hippocampal volume; no difference in other two groups What part of the brain is responsible for implicit memory? The cerebellum and the basal ganglia Explain some features of the cerebellum, what happens if it is damaged, and if it is considered unique to humans Plays a key role informing and storing the implicit memories created by classical conditioning. Also big on coordinating movement, balance, attention and eye movement. Damage to cerebellum disrupts forming conditioned reflexes. Part of the initial brain structures (“little brain”, or “lizard brain”) that exist in other species as opposed to more advanced and high-level areas like the PFC. Explain what functions the basal ganglia has Deep brain structures involved in motor movement Facilitate formation of our procedural memories for skills What type of memory does the amygdala take care of? Emotion-related memory formation Overall: Frontal lobes and hippocampus: explicit memory formation → Semantic and episodic memory - facts and general knowledge, personally experienced events Cerebellum and basal ganglia: implicit memory formation → Space, time, frequency, classical conditioning, motor and cognitive skills Amygdala: emotion-related memory formation How do external cues and priming influence memory? Act as a Retrieval Cue: Will activate existing memory by a stimulus and that activation often unconsciously results in activation of particular associations in memory Give an example from class of priming that influences memory Showing a rabbit and a bunny, and then asking us to remember how to spell hare - volunteer spelt it the less common way that was related to the priming What is an everyday example of us using priming to help our memory without knowing? When you lose a key, you go to the room where you last saw it, hoping that what you see triggers your memory → “this’ll jog my memory!” Explain context-dependent memory Our ability to recall is improved when we are in the same context that the initial experience occurred. Encoding specificity principle: cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it. Explain why we would probably do better on our psych exams if we did them in the pool Context dependant memory - trying to recall information in the same environment that we learned it in would help us to remember it Explain the diver memory experiment Recall of words was a lot stronger when the participant was in the place that they learnt the words - if a diver learnt them underwater, recall was stronger there than on the beach, and vise versa Explain state-dependant memory Recall is improved when encoding and retrieval of a memory happen in the same emotional or biological state. Explain state-dependant memory’s impact on depression It is difficult to remember happy times when depressed Explain how memory of period pain changed when the person reporting it was in pain Women reported remembering higher pain levels in the past compared the pain levels that were reported during painful episodes if they were experiencing pain at the time of remembering Explain the “how much do you like this class” survey Students were asked how much they agreed with these statements, once after receiving their midterm results, and once after they were given a chance to boost their grade with a bonus activity. Results showed that students more strongly agreed that they had a pleasant experience in class after they had a positive experience (bonus activity) compared to after they had a negative experience (test results). Sometimes, how we think we feel about something depends partially on how we feel about _____________ at that moment and could have less to do with the objective quality of the thing we are looking at. Ourselves and our life Explain Encoding Failure When input is present too quickly, before we have enough time to process it, encoding, storing, and later retrieving the images becomes harder. We are more likely to remember the first and the last images. Encoding failure → retrieval failure, since we can’t remember what we have not encoded. Explain the two serial position effects and some possible explanations for it Our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items in a list Recency effect p-ossible explanation: The last items may be held in short-term memory. Primacy effect possible explanation: The attention is on the first items. Short-term memory doesn’t help in this case because there is a long delay. Define reconsolidation A process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again Give two sources of errors in memory (contributing to false memories) Misinformation effect: when misleading info has corrupted one’s memory of an event Source amnesia: failed memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined (unintentional plagiarism) Watch videos - no qs yet What was the difference in answers when people were asked if there was glass at a scene where cars hit vs smashed? People that were asked with the word smashed were more likely to “remember” glass at the scene, even though there wasn’t any there Explain the effect of false memory on eyewitness testimony Eyewitness testimony can be extremely unreliable - the way that questions are asked, suspects are presented, etc. can alter someone’s memory and can cause people to accuse with certainty the wrong person Chapter 9 How do pictures affect our answers to true/false questions? When given a statement and asked if it is true or false, we are more likely to say True if the statement is accompanied by a picture, even when the picture gives us no clue to the truthfulness of the statement. Explain the difference between misinformation and disinformation Misinformation refers to false information that is not intended to cause harm. Disinformation refers to false information that is intended to manipulate, cause damage and guide people, organisations and countries in the wrong direction. Explain how this could be used in media News - disinformation + misinformation: can include suggestive words or images to influence people’s memory Define Intuition An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning Define cognition All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. Can include: How we use mental images Create concepts Solve problems Make decisions and form judgments Define concepts or grouping Mental groupings of similar objects, events, ideas or people Why are they useful? Concepts provide a kind of mental shorthand, economising cognitive efforts by minimising the computational load Reduce communication time by referring to category name rather than specific name of objects in the category (ex chair instead of specifically referring by name to every chair type) What do we form when learning concepts? Prototypes Define prototype a mental image of best example that incorporates all the features we associate with a category (ex robin vs penguin - both birds, but a robin fits our prototype better) When do prototypes fail? Examples stretch our definitions (is a stool a chair?) The boundary between concepts is fuzzy (categorising a colour when it is between blue and green) Examples contradict our prototypes (is a whale a fish? is a whale a mammal? Does it mean it is not a fish?) Explain how prototypes help and are dangerous when it comes to heart attacks Prototypes of heart attacks may make it easier for people to recognise quickly when they are happening… but only when the heart attack matches the well known prototype. If a heart attack presents in an unusual way that doesn’t fit the prototype, it is more likely to be missed or dismissed Explain how prototypes can relate to discrimination and the bike stealing experiment People form prototypes of the “types of people” that they think would do certain things - people associated a black man with being likely to steal a bike and stopped him, called the police, etc. For a white man, only one couple stopped him and did something about it. For a white woman, someone offered to help her. What cognitive strategies assist problem solving? Define them, suggest when they are most useful/unuseful and give an example Trial and error → no slide for this one? Algorithms → strategy that involves following a specific rule, procedure, or method that inevitably produces the correct solution - useful because they inevitably produce a result but often take a long time (ex: searching every shelf in a grocery store for something) Heuristics → strategy that involves using a mental shortcut to reduce the number of solutions - usually speedier, but more error-prone than algorithms (make judgments and solve problems efficiently) (when looking for apple juice, you narrow your search to the beverage, natural foods, or produce sections of the supermarket (you check only the related aisles)) Insight → a sudden, often novel, realisation of a solution. The “Aha”moment. Contrasts with strategy-based solutions (when looking for apple juice, you suddenly realise you are in a type of store that wouldn’t sell apple juice. You need to head to another store). What interferes with our problem solving abilities? Confirmation bias Fixation Mental set Imposing constraints Define confirmation bias a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence. Once people form a belief, they prefer belief-confirming information Explain how confirmation bias impacted the divorce custody experiment we talked about in class (usually): When people were asked who they would award sole custody of a child to, they focused on the positive traits, and when they were asked who they would deny sole custody to, they focused on the negative traits - usually leading to people denying and awarding custody to the same parent Define fixation The inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective Sometimes you may see a pattern and continue to use that pattern, not seeing an easier solution Kind of the opposite of out of the box thinking Define switch cost The cognitive effort associated with switching from one task to another. Switch cost is ______ when switching from a difficult task to a simple task compared to switching from an easy task to a difficult task. Higher Define mental set A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past. Example of fixation. Impose constraints (not in your book) The tendency to assume that there are extra constraints in a task Define Availability Heuristic and give an example We judge things based on how quickly the information comes to mind / the tendency to estimate the frequency of an event by how readily it comes to mind ex: Which of the following causes more deaths in the United States each year? Stomach cancer or drunk driving accidents? People who say A : 38% , people who say B : 62% BUT stomach cancer actually causes more deaths. Car accidents are reported more in the press → increased vividness Define Framing and give an example Framing is the way an issue is posed → how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments Framing draws our attention to some aspects of the available information over others. With gains, we prefer certain options and with losses, we prefer uncertain options Ex: Imagine Canada is preparing for the outbreak of a foreign disease, expected to kill 600 people → programs were inversely favoured based on if they were framed as saving x number of people or killing x number of people Define Anchoring and give an example Anchoring or focalism is a cognitive bias where an individual depends too heavily on an initial piece of information offered (considered to be the "anchor") when making decisions. Ex: Under time pressure, estimate: A. 8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1 or B. 1*2*3*4*5*6*7*8. Given A, people estimate roughly 3,000. Given B, people estimate roughly 500. They anchored to the first numbers Define Overconfidence and give an example Tendency to be more confident than correct – to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments Define Belief Perseverance and give an example clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

describe the role of the hippocampus in memory formation and storage