Explicit memory

E.g a patient with Krokoff syndrome is very guarded toward the therapist and is reluctant to answer the
therapist's questions. At subsequent appointments, the patient indicates not recognizing the therapist
but is less guarded and more willing to answer questions.
So, the patient here has no explicit memory of meeting the therapist but does have an implicit memory
of the meeting
Note: explicit memory: declarative memory - requires conscious thought. It involves episodic (events)
and semantic
In the example, patient not remembering the therapist face - semantic memory.
BUT patient remembers the meetings - implicit (unconscious, automatic LTM).
episodic information consists of the declarative information people have of specific experiences.

Cognition and age:

Aging and Cognitive Abilities
Decline Improve Stable
Recall semantic memories until 60 Implicit memory
years
episodic memory formation Crystallized IQ (experience), recognition memory
(old memories are stable),
divided emotional reasoning old episodic memories are
attention(multitasking), (wisdom), stable
prospective memory
(remembering things to do in
future)

Memory

1. What is the information processing model?

i. INPUT  PROCESS  OUTPUT (bottom-up/stimulus driven model)

2. The information-processing model assumes (serial/parallel) processing?

i. Serial, but the brain has parallel processing capacities
3. What is the sensory register?
i. Where you first interact with information in your environment.
Temporary register of all information your senses you’re taking in.
4. What are the two components of sensory memory (register)?
i. You have iconic (memory for what you see, lasts half a second) and
echoic (what you hear, lasts 3-4 seconds) memory. Defined by time.
5. What is the partial report technique?
 i. Report one part of a whole field in cued recall. The partial
report condition required participants to identify a subset of the
characters from the visual display using cued recall. The cue was a tone
which sounded at various time intervals (~50 ms) following the offset of
the stimulus. The frequency of the tone (high, medium, or low) indicated
which set of characters within the display were to be reported. Due to
the fact that participants did not know which row would be cued for
recall, performance in the partial report condition can be regarded as a
random sample of an observer's memory for the entire display. This type
of sampling revealed that immediately after stimulus offset, participants
could recall most letters (9 out of 12 letters) in a given row suggesting
that 75% of the entire visual display was accessible to memory
6. What is the whole report technique?
i. The whole report condition required participants to recall as many
elements from the original display in their proper spatial locations as
possible. Participants were typically able to recall three to five characters
from the twelve character display (~35%).[1] This suggests that whole
report is limited by a memory system with a capacity of four-to-five
items.
7. What is working memory?
i. Working memory is memory that is stored while it is held in attention.
8. What is the capacity of working memory?
i. 7 +/- 2 pieces of info at a time (why besides area code, phone numbers
are 7 digits long)
9. What are the processing components of working memory?
i. Visuo-spatial sketchpad: Visual + spatial info are processed here
ii. Phonological loop: verbal info (any words + numbers in both iconic and
echoic memory) is processed. Ex. Repeating a phone # to yourself. The
phonological store capacity is approximately 2 seconds
10. What is the purpose of the central executive?
i. The central executive tells the visuo-spacial sketchpad + phonological
loop to coordinate. The Central Executive supervises the cognitive
process of memory.
ii. E.g. processing a map with street names and landmarks (visual + verbal
info)
11. What is the episodic buffer?
i. acts as a connecter for processed information to be stored in long-term
memory.
12. What is the dual coding hypothesis?
i. says it’s easier to remember words associated with images than either
one alone. E.g. method of loci
13. What is the operation span test?
i. A task in which subjects are asked to perform a simple mathematical
verification (e.g., 4/2 +1 = 3) and then read a word, with a recall test
following some number of those verify/read pairs. The maximum number
of words that can be recalled is the "operation span".
14. What are the two components of long-term memory?
 i. Explicit (declarative) and implicit (non-declarative)
15. What is explicit memory and what are its components?
i. facts/events you can clearly/consciously describe.
ii. 1st component: Semantic- remembering simple facts like meanings of
words.
iii. 2nd component: episodic memory (event-related memories…like your last
birthday party
16. What is implicit memory and what is contained within it?
i. Implicit/non-declarative memory is a type of unconscious memory in
which previous experiences aid the performance of a task without
conscious awareness of these previous experiences. Thus, you may not
be able to articulate this memory.
ii. All memories formed by conditioning are implicit memories.
iii. Procedural memory is long-term memory for actions or habits such as
how to kick a ball or washing hands before eating. Procedural memory is
type of implicit memory.
17. Where is implicit memory stored?
i. Basal ganglia
18. What is priming?
i. Priming is an implicit memory effect in which exposure to
one stimulus (i.e., perceptual pattern) subconsciously influences the
response to another stimulus.
19. What is negative priming?
i. an implicit memory effect in which prior exposure to a stimulus
unfavorably influences the response to the same stimulus. Caused by
experiencing the stimulus, and then ignoring it. Negative priming lowers
the speed to slower than un-primed levels
20. What is positive priming?
i. A positive prime speeds up processing. caused by simply experiencing the
stimulus. Positive priming is thought to be caused by spreading
activation. This means that the first stimulus activates parts of a
particular representation or association in memory just before carrying
out an action or task. The representation is already partially activated
when the second stimulus is encountered, so less additional activation is
needed for one to become consciously aware of it.
21. What is autobiographical memory?
i. Autobiographical memory is a memory system consisting of episodes
recollected from an individual's life, based on a combination of episodic
and semantic memory.
22. What is encoding and why is it important for long term memory?
i. Encoding is transferring information from the temporary store in working
memory into permanent store in long-term memory. If you want to
remember more than 7 things, need to process that info so it stays in
long-term memory.
23. What is encoding specificity?
i. Enhanced memory when testing takes place under the same conditions
as learning.
24. What does successful retrieval of memory rely on?
i. retrieval depends on being able to use cues around you and to recognize
the association between cues present at encoding and cues present at
retrieval. Best types of cues are the associations that form when you are
actually encoding.
25. What are state-dependent cues?
i. your state at the moment you encode. When you are in a certain mood
when you encode you can then remember it when you are in the same
mood.
ii. Mood can be a cue for state dependent memory Like if you are sad/angry
it can lead to remembering other times you were sad/angry. This can lead
to thinks like depression because those feeling down are more likely to
think of other reasons to be down. Converse is true as well, when you are
happier you are more likely to think of other times you were happy (or
are likely to interpret other events in a positive light).
26. Rank the types of retrieval from easiest to hardest?
i. Recognition: simply recognize the inputs you’ve seen
ii. Cued recall: recall clues help to help retrieve information from long term
memory
iii. Free recall: no cues in recalling. Better recalling first items on a list
(primacy effect) as well as last few (recency effect). Harder to remember
things in the middle of a list. Recency effect is not as strong if there is an
interpretation after list is called. This curve is called the serial position
curve/effect: the overall tendency to recall first few items well, last few
items well, and middle items not so great.

27. What are schemas and how do they affect memory?

i. Sometimes information we retrieve is based on a schema (mental
blueprint containing common aspects of world), instead of reality.
28. How does false/misleading information affect recollection of an event?
i. Can lead to inaccurate recollections of an event due to false/misleading
retrieval cues, which can even be false/misleading changes in
words/phrases
 29. What is an error in source monitoring?
i. When people recall information they often forget the information’s
source – an error in source monitoring. Associated with false memories
30. What is source amnesia?
i. the inability to remember where, when or how previously learned
information has been acquired, while retaining the factual knowledge.
31. What is the valence with regards to a memory?
i. The valence is the positive/negative emotion surrounding a memory.
ii. Extreme valence can lead to a flashbulb memory

Long-Term Potentiation and Synaptic Plasticity

32. How does the brain’s structure change to store memories?
i. Brain doesn’t grow new cells to store memories – connections between
neurons strengthen.
33. What is long-term potentiation?
i. With repeated stimulation, the same pre-synaptic neuron stimulation
(Pre-synaptic neurons release neurotransmitters on post-synaptic
neurons, allowing Na+ and Ca2+ to flow in) converts into greater post-
synaptic neuron potential (The greater the postsynaptic potential, the
more ion channels will open in the neuron)– stronger synapse, and when
it lasts long time it is called long-term potentiation. This is how learning
occurs!
34. What is neural plasticity?
i. also called brain plasticity, is the process in which your brain's neural
synapses and pathways are altered as an effect of environmental,
behavioral, and neural changes.
35. What is decay?
i. When we don’t encode something well or don’t retrieve it for a while, we
can’t recall it anymore. One theory is that the pathway between cue and
memory become weaker over time or periods of disuse which makes it
harder to stimulate those neurons.
36. What are savings?
i. The foundation that is more easily and quickly recalled when relearning
information is called savings.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Korsakoff Syndrome

37. What is the most common form of dementia?
i. Alzheimer’s Disease, which is a progressive brain disorder that affects
different aspects of memory over time. Neurons die off over time and as
neurons die off, cerebral cortex shrinks in size. They initially have trouble
with short term memory, which eventually progresses into problems with
long-term memory (like episodic, procedural, and semantic memory loss).
38. What is a theory of the causation of Alzheimer’s Disease?
 i. Buildup of beta amyloid plaques in brain.
39. What is the cause of Korsakoff’s syndrome?
i. caused by lack of vitamin B1 or thiamine. Caused by malnutrition, eating
disorders, and especially alcoholism.
40. What is the importance of thiamine?
i. converts carbohydrates into glucose cells need for energy. Important for
normal functioning of neurons.
41. What is the precursor to Korsakoff’s and what are its symptoms?
i. Wernicke’s encephalopathy- damage to certain areas causes poor
balance, abnormal eye movements, mild confusion, and/or memory loss.
42. If untreated, Wernicke’s will progress to Korsakoff’s with what symptoms?
i. severe memory loss, accompanied by confabulation (patients make up
stories, sometimes to fill in memories).
ii. Individuals with Korsakoff syndrome have problem forming new
memories and recalling old memories (anterograde and retrograde
amnesia respectively)
43. Can Korsakoff’s get better, unlike AD?
i. Korsakoff isn’t progressive and can get better. Treatment typically
includes thiamine injections, staying on a healthy diet, abstain from
alcohol, take vitamins, and relearn things.
44. Amnesia is usually due to brain injury in what part of the brain?
i. Medial temporal lobe

Semantic Networks and Spreading Activation

45. What are semantic networks?
i. Concepts are organized in your mind as connected ideas. For closely
related ideas, they might be closer and longer for less closely related
ideas.
46. What is the hierarchical semantic theory?
i. First semantic network theory suggested that we stored information in a
hierarchical way. It was thought concepts were organized from higher
order categories to lower order categories. We store information at the
highest category possible. Broad categories/characteristics are stored at
higher level nodes.
ii. Longer the distance between nodes or more notes in between = longer it
takes to verify the connection.
47. What is the modified semantic network theory?
i. every individual semantic network develops based on experience and
knowledge. Some links might be shorter/longer for different individuals
and there may be direct links for higher order categories to exemplars.
48. What is spreading activation?
i. Says all ideas in your brain are connected together. Pulling up one
memory pulls up others as well.
49. The relative strength of the node link determines/reflects…
i. the amount of activation emitted to a network or a specific node
(exposure)