Psychology 1101: Unit 2 - The Brain and Memory

What are some different forms of mnemonics?

-Acrostic -Acronym -Elaboration -Rhyme -Method of Loci -Link method -Imagery

Why do some people think we forget?

-Ineffective encoding -Decay Theory -Interference Theory -Retrieval Failure -Repressed memories - Freud's idea

Central executive:

-Integrates info from the phonological loop, visuospatial memory, and from long-term memory -Plays an important role in attention, planning, and organizing

Amygdala and negative memories:

-Recall of anxiety provoking experiences -Can be manipulated using experimental drugs -Propondol can obliterate a traumatic memory like PTSD

Ebbinghaus:

-Studied memory and used nonsense syllables (not close to real words) -Learned that we can relearn a list more quickly if it was repeated -Repetition and spaced rehearsal over time is important

Priming:

-Type of implicit memory process -Involves the activation of info that people already have in storage -Helps people remember new info better and faster

Long-term memory:

-Unlimited capacity for storage; may last a lifetime -Magic number = 7+-2 (people can memorize up to 9, but people are the most cozy with 5)

Steps to remembering:

1. Encode 2. Storage 3. Retrieval

Attention:

A selective focus on certain input; enhances encoding

Alzheimer's Disease:

A type of dementia with memory loss; progressive

Misinformation effect:

After exposure to misinformation, people misremember information

What are mnemonic devices?

Any memory aid that's based on encoding each item in a special way

Emma has multiple sclerosis. If you could view her nervous system you would find:

Areas where the myelin sheath has degenerated

The heart, glands, and smooth muscles are controlled by the:

Autonomic nervous system

Primacy effect:

Better recall for items at the beginning of a list

Recency effect:

Better recall for items at the end of a list

Which of the following doesn't describe one of the three main processes involved in memory? A. Maintaining information B. Pulling out information C. Evaluating information D. Putting information in

C

Research by Loftus on eyewitness testimony indicated that what people recall of an accident or crime scene:

Can be influenced by the type of questions they're asked

Research by Loftus on eyewitness testimony indicates that what people recall of an accident or crime scene:

Can be influenced by the types of questions they're asked

The brain structure primarily responsible for the coordination of bodily movements and balance is the:

Cerebellum

The cerebellum and ___ play an important role in implicit memory:

Cerebral cortex

Two ways to improve short-term memory:

Chunking and rehearsal

The storage capacity of short-term memory can be increased by combining items into larger units called:

Chunks

Declarative (explicit) memory:

Conscious, factual hippocampus

The medulla is involved in:

Controlling essential functions such as breathing, regulating circulation, and maintaining muscle tone

The thick band of nerve fibers that connects the two cerebral hemispheres is the:

Corpus callosum

Explicit memory:

Declarative memory; conscious recollection of information like specific facts, events, and it can be verbally communicated

Branches are to trees as _____ are to neurons:

Dendrites

Information is received by a neuron through the ____ and is transmitted towards other neurons through the ____:

Dendrites; axon

___ refers to auditory sensory memory, whereas ___ refers to visual sensory memory:

Echoic/ iconic memory

___ of information is linked with neural activity, especially in the brain's left frontal lobe:

Elaboration

Mom took David and Andrew to the store and asked them to help her remember to buy apples. While David focused his attention in how apples were his favorite fruit, Andrew thought of seeing the red apples in the cart. David was using ___ while Andrew was using ___:

Elaboration; visual imagery

When their mom took them to the store yesterday she asked David and Andrew to help her remember to buy apples. While David focused his attention on how apples were his favorite fruit, Andrew thought of seeing a bag of big red apples in the shopping cart. David was using ____ and Andrew was using ____:

Elaboration; visual imagery

The process by which neural impulses are transmitted through the nervous system is BEST described as:

Electrochemical in nature

Amygdala:

Emotional memories

How do we remember?

Encoding

The first memory process that involves getting information into memory is:

Encoding

The three basic processes in memory are:

Encoding, storage, and retrieval

Three basic processes in memory are:

Encoding, storage, and retrieval

Two types of explicit memory:

Episodic and semantic memory

Which of the following doesn't describe one of the three main processes involved in memory?

Evaluating information in memory

Hippocampus:

Explicit memory; priming

What contributes to the risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease?

Genetics primarily

H.M.:

Had severe epilepsy, so he had his hippocampus removed and a portion of his temporal lobes removed; he was unable to form new memories and had retrieval problems

Cerebellum:

Implicit memories

Sensory memory:

Information from the world that's held in its original form only for an instant, not much longer than the brief time its exposed to the senses; it's rich and detailed, but information is quickly lost

Classical conditioning:

Involves automatic learning of associations between stimuli

Encoding:

Involves forming a memory code

Storage:

Involves maintaining encoded information in the memory over time

Peg-word system:

Involves memorizing a list of objects (pegs) and forming mental images to link the info that you wish to memorize using those pegs

Method of loci:

Involves memorizing a series of places using a vivid image; associate each of locations with something you want to remember

Procedural memory:

Involves memory of skills

Retrieval:

Involves recovering information from memory stores

Long-term memory:

Is an unlimited capacity store that can hold information for lengthy periods of time

What's the information-processing view of memory?

It draws an analogy between a computer and the workings of memory in the human brain; information enters the system, is processed, is encoded, and then stored

Persons having difficulty with language and speech following an accident that resulted in injury to the brain are MOST likely to have sustained damage in the:

Left cerebral hemisphere

The seat of emotion is to be found in the:

Limbic system

Elaboration involves:

Linking a stimulus to other information at the time of encoding

Decay theory:

Memories fade because a neurochemical "memory trace" deteriorates over time

Korsakoff's Syndrome:

Memory loss associated with Vitamin B deficiency

When a person's memory for an event is altered by the later introduction of inaccurate or misleading information, it is referred to as the:

Misinformation effect

Short-term memory has a ___ capacity than sensory memory and a ___ duration:

More limited; longer

Echoic memory:

Name given to auditory sensory memory, which is retained for up to several seconds

The task of passing a message from one neuron to another is actually carried out by:

Neurotransmitters

Locations of neural activity that are connected:

Nodes

Implicit memory:

Non-declarative memory; memory where behavior is affected by prior experience without the experience being consciously recollected; motor skills memory

How do we forget?

Non-retrieval or we never encoded

Implicit region:

Older region of the brain; involves the brain stem and physical/ muscle memory (skills)

Visuospatial working memory:

Stores visual and spatial info, including visual imagery; limited memory. If you put too much info in here, , you can't retrieve this information

The central nervous system consists of:

The brain and spinal cord

Levels of processing:

The idea that encoding occurs on a continuum from shallow to deep, with deep processing producing better memory

Memory construction:

We fill in memory gaps with plausible guesses (what fits)

Serial position effect:

We remember the first and last items within a list

Non-declarative (implicit) memory:

Skills that involve movement

Storage capacity of short-term memory is approximately ___ items:

7

The storage capacity of short-term memory is approximately ____ items:

7

Short-term memory:

7 chunks of information less than 20 seconds; working memory (holds information just long enough to use it - formula, math, etc.)

Review the information processing model on page 1 of the powerpoint:

:-)

Anterograde amnesia:

A memory disorder that affects the retention of new information

Retrograde amnesia:

A memory disorder that involves memory loss for a segment of the past but not for new events

Semantic memory:

A person's knowledge about the world; general knowledge that you learn in school and everyday knowledge about the world (including famous people, common places and things, etc.)

Phonological loop:

Specialized to briefly store speech-based info about the sounds of language; has acoustic codes and rehearsal

The somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system comprise the:

Peripheral nervous system

When processing verbal information, if you focus attention on the sounds of words, you are engaging in ____ encoding:

Phonemic

When processing verbal information, if you found on the sounds of words, you're engaging in ___ encoding:

Phonemic

Three components of the working memory:

Phonological loop, visuospatial working memory, and central executive

Proactive interference occurs when:

Previously learned information interferes with the retention of new information

What makes up the serial position effect?

Primacy and recency effects

Three subsystems of implicit memory:

Procedural memory, classical conditional, and priming

Sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory comprise the three components of:

Storage

Multiple choice exams involve testing a student's ___ abilities, whereas essays involve testing ___ abilities:

Recall/ recognition

The main function of dendrites is to:

Receive information

You look up the phone number of the new Pizza Hut and repeat the number silently in your head until you find a pad of paper to write it down. The process of actively repeating the number is called:

Rehearsal

You look up the phone number of the new Pizza Hut and repeat the number silently in your head. The process of actively repeating the number is called:

Rehearsal

What are recovered memories?

Reports of long-lost memories prompted by clinical techniques (usually abuse that took place in early childhood)

The tiny electrical charge that exists when a neuron is not receiving and/or sending information is called:

Resting potential

If forgetting occurs because newly learned information impairs the memory of previously learned information it is referred to as:

Retroactive interference

If forgetting occurs because newly learned information impairs the memory of previously learned information, it's referred to as:

Retroactive interference

Answers to questions about neural mechanics of memory come from experiments on which animal?

Sea slugs

Iconic memory:

The name given to visual sensory memory, which is retained for 1/4 of a second; responsible for our ability to write in the air using a sparkler on the 4th of July (makes light appear to be a line)

Episodic memory:

The retention of info about the where, when, and what of life's events; autobiographical

State-dependent memory:

The tendency to remember something better if your body is in the same state/condition for recall as it was when learned

Engram:

The unit of information to be stored; processes involved in memory encoding, storage, and retrieval

Working memory:

Three-part system that temporarily holds info as people perform cognitive tasks; kind of mental workbench where info is manipulated and assembled

Automatic memory:

Time, location and frequency; recall for number of instances of familiar things; doesn't require conscious thought