Transcript Memory - UPM EduTrain Interactive Learning

Topic 9
Memory Storage & Information
Processing
How the MIND works
 Have you ever wondered
 how you manage to remember information for a test?
 How you are able to create new memories, store them for
periods of time, and recall them when they are needed.
 This is due to our MEMORY.
 But what exactly is memory? And How are memories
formed?
What is memory?
 Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire,
store, retain and later retrieve information.
 There are three major processes involved in memory:
 encoding,
 storage and
 retrieval.
What is memory?
 Encoding or registration (receiving, processing and combining of
received information)
 Storage (creation of a permanent record of the encoded information)
 Retrieval, recall or recollection (calling back the stored information in
response to some cue for use in a process or activity)
◦ In order to form new memories, information must be changed into a usable
form, which occurs through the process known as encoding.
◦ Once information has been successfully encoded, it must be stored in
memory for later use.
◦ Most of the stored memory lies outside of our awareness most of the time,
except when we actually need to use it.
◦ The retrieval process allows us to bring stored memories into conscious
awareness.
What is Memory?
 Memory is the core to most of our cognitive process. Because….
◦ Memory is the storing of learned information, and the ability to recall that
which has been stored.
◦ The mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experience.
 Research indicates that the ability to retain information is fairly uniform
among normal individuals what differs is the degree to which persons
learn or take account of something to begin with and the kind and
amount of detail that is retained.
How does Memory relate to learning?
 Memory and learning
are the basis of all our
knowledge and abilities.
 Learning – is the process of acquiring new
knowledge, while….
 Memory – helps retain the learned knowledge.
 Thus, memory is the brain’s ability to acquire,
store, retain and retrieve information.
Types of memory
 Memory can be classified into 2 primary types:
 Explicit memory - Declarative memory (conscious memory)
 Implicit memory – procedural memory (automatic & unconscious)
Memory
Explicit
STM
IMPLICIT
LTM
Priming
Conditioning
Motor
skills
Explicit Memory & Implicit Memory
 Explicit Memory
(can be divided into STM & LTM)
 It allows a person to recall consciously & describe verbally information, e.g.
facts, people etc
 Types of memory that contains info regarding specific events that happen at
a specific time & place.
 Forming & storing memory are associated with past
experience/knowledge.
 Implicit Memory (repetition priming, conditioning & motor skills)
 Previous experience assist a person to perform task without any conscious
awareness of the past experience.
 Through repetition priming & skill learning – a person would become
better on task performance
SENSORY
MEMORY
Long Term
Memory
Information Processing Model: The Stage Theory
(Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968)
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Types of Memory
 Sensory register/sensory memory
 Part of memory that receives all the information a person senses from the
environment and stores it fleetingly.
 Short term memory
 A part where new information is stored temporarily, until it is either
lost or placed into long term memory
 Also known as working memory, where a decision must be made to
discard information or to transfer it to permanent storage, in long-term
memory.
 Long Term memory
 Part of memory which has unlimited capacity & can hold information
indefinitely.
 the encyclopedic mental processing unit in which information may be
stored permanently and from which it may be later retrieved.
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Sensory memory
Sensory memory holds a
visual image, like a lightening
bold, for a fraction of a
second – just long enough for
you to perceive a flow of
movement.
 Short term memory
 A temporary storage area that is used for unprocessed visual or
auditory information that last up to 30 sec.
 STM -limited capacity - up to 7 pieces of independent
information.
 Memory loss is due to decaying of information.
 3 basic operations in STM:
 Iconic memory –ability to hold visual image
 Acoustic memory – the ability to hold sounds
 Working memory –process that temporarily store & manipulate
information for immediate use
 Long Term memory
 Part of memory which has unlimited capacity & can hold
information indefinitely.
 LTM can be divide into :
 Episodic memory – memory of specific events or
episodes that an individual experienced
 Semantic memory – memory that includes knowledge
of words meaning and is an essential element of
language.
How Is Information Organized In Memory?
 The ability to access and retrieve information from long-term memory
allows us to actually use these memories to
◦ make decisions,
◦ interact with others,
◦ solve problems, etc
 Exactly how are information organized in memory is unclear, but
researchers do know that these memories are arranged in groups.
Desk, apple, bookshelf, red,
plum, table, green, pineapple,
purple, chair, peach, yellow
How Is Information Organized In Memory?
 Clustering is used to organize related information into groups.
 Information that is categorized becomes easier to remember and recall.
 For example, consider the following group of words: Desk, apple, bookshelf,
red, plum, table, green, pineapple, purple, chair, peach, yellow
 Spend a few seconds reading them, then look away and try to
recall and list these words.
 How did you group the words when you listed them?
 Most people will list using three different categories: color,
furniture and fruit.
How Is Information Organized In Memory?
 One way of thinking about memory organization is known as the
semantic network model.
 This model suggests that certain triggers activate associated
memories  i.e. a memory of a specific place might activate
memories about related things that have occurred in that place.
 For example, thinking about a certain campus building might
trigger memories of attending classes, studying and socializing
with peers.
Memory Retrieval
 Memory retrieval is important for our daily life, e.g. from remembering
where you parked your car to learning new skills.
 Once information has been encoded and stored in memory, it must be
retrieved in order to be used.
 There are many factors that can influence how memories are retrieved from
long-term memory.
 In order to fully understand this process, it is important to understand exactly
what retrieval is and what are the factors that can impact how memories are
retrieved.
 Memory Retrieval is a process of accessing stored memories.
 Retrieval cues can be use  can have an impact on how information is
retrieved.
 A retrieval cue - a clue/prompt used to trigger the retrieval of longterm
memory.
What Is Memory Retrieval?
 Four basic ways in which information can be pulled from long-term memory.
◦ Recall: Type of memory retrieval involves being able to access the information
without being cued. For example, answering a question on a fill-in-the-blank test is a good
example of recall.
◦ Recollection: Type of memory retrieval involves reconstructing memory, often
utilizing logical structures, partial memories, narratives or clues. For example,
writing an answer on an essay exam often involves remembering bits on information, and then
restructuring the remaining information based on these partial memories.
◦ Recognition: This type of memory retrieval involves identifying information
after experiencing it again. For example, taking a multiple choice quiz requires that you
recognize the correct answer out of a group of available answers.
◦ Relearning: This type of memory retrieval involves relearning information that
has been previously learned. This often makes it easier to remember and retrieve
information in the future and can improve the strength of memories.
Problems with Retrieval
 Not every retrieval process works perfectly.
 Have you ever felt like you knew the answer to a question, but couldn't
quite remember the information?
 This phenomenon is known as a 'tip of the tongue' experience.You might feel
certain that this information is stored somewhere in your memory, but you
are unable to access and retrieve it.
 Schacter (2001) said that these experiences are extremely common,
typically occurring at least once each week for most younger individuals
and two to four times per week for elderly adults.
Top 10 Memory Improvement Tips
1. Focus your attention on the materials you are studying.
2. Avoid cramming by establishing regular study sessions.
3. Structure and organize the information you are studying.
4. Utilize mnemonic devices to remember information.
5. Elaborate and rehearse the information you are studying.
6. Relate new information to things you already know.
7. Visualize concepts to improve memory and recall.
8. Teach new concepts to another person.
9. Pay extra attention to difficult information.
10. Vary your study routine.
Top 10 Memory Improvement Tips
1. Focus your attention on the materials you are studying.
Attention is a major components of memory. For information to move from short-term
memory into long-term memory need to actively attend to this information. Try to study
in a place free of distractions such as television, music and other diversions.
2. Avoid cramming by establishing regular study sessions.
According to Bjork (2001), studying materials over a number of session's gives you the time
you need to adequately process the information. Those who study regularly remember the
material far better than those who did all of their studying in one marathon session.
3. Structure and organize the information you are studying.
Researchers have found that information is organized in memory in related clusters. S0,
structure & organize the materials you are studying. Try grouping similar concepts and terms
together, or make an outline of your notes/textbook readings to help group related concepts.
Top 10 Memory Improvement Tips
4. Utilize mnemonic devices to remember information.
◦ A mnemonic is simply a way to remember informatio  a technique used to aid
in recall. For example, you might associate a term you need to remember with a
common item that you are very familiar with (rhyme). Use a rhyme, song/joke to
help remember.
5. Elaborate & rehearse the information you are studying.
◦ In order to recall information, you need to encode what you are studying into
long-term memory  use elaborative rehearsal. An example of this technique
would be to read the definition of a key term, study the definition of that term and
then read a more detailed description of what that term means. After repeating
this process a few times, your recall of the information will be far better.
Top 10 Memory Improvement Tips
6. Relate new information to things you already know.
 Establishing relationships between new ideas and previously existing
memories, When you are studying unfamiliar material, take the time to
think about how this information relates to things that you already know.
7. Visualize concepts to improve memory and recall.
 Many benefit from visualizing the information they study  focus on the
photos, charts, graphics etc. If you do not have visual cues to help, try
creating your own. Draw charts or figures in the margins of your
notes/use highlighter/pens in different colours to group related ideas in
your notes.
8. Teach new concepts to another person.
 Research suggests that reading out loud can improves memory of the
material or teaching new concepts to others enhances understanding and
recall.You can use this approach in your own studies by teaching new
concepts and information to a friend or study partner
Top 10 Memory Improvement Tips
9. Pay extra attention to difficult information.
◦ Have you ever noticed how it's sometimes easier to remember information at the
beginning or end of a chapter? Researchers have found that the position of information can
play a role in recall, which is known as the serial position effect. While recalling middle
information can be difficult, you can overcome this problem by spending extra time
rehearsing this information. Another strategy is to try restructuring the information so it
will be easier to remember. When you come across an especially difficult concept, devote
some extra time to memorizing the information.
10. Vary your study routine.
◦ Another great way to increase your recall is to occasionally change your study routine. If
you are accustomed to studying in one specific location, try moving to a different spot to
study. If you study in the evening, try spending a few minutes each morning reviewing the
information you studied the previous night. By adding an element of novelty to your study
sessions, you can increase the effectiveness of your efforts and significantly improve your
long-term recall.
Three Kinds of Memory Tasks
 Recall
 producing required information by searching
memory
 Retrieval Cue
 Any stimulus or bit of information that aids in
retrieval
 Recognition
 Identifying material as familiar or as having been
encountered before
 Only requires that you recognize it, not recall all
the information
 Relearning
 Retention expressed as the percentage of time
saved when material is relearned.
Recognition
Are you better at remembering
faces than names?
Have you wondered why?
It’s because the task involves
recognition rather than recall.
You must recall the name but
merely recognize the face.
The Nature of Remembering
 Reconstruction
 an account of an event pieced together from a few highlights.
 May or may not be accurate
 Schemas
 integrated framework of knowledge and assumptions about people, objects, and
events
 Affect how the person encodes and recalls information
 May or may not be accurate
 Memories are usually reconstructed, shorter, and more consistent with an
individual’s viewpoint
 Puzzling features are adapted to fit expectations or familiar objects
 Positive Bias
 Pleasant events are remembered more than unpleasant events
 Aids with current emotional well-being
Reconstruction
When people recall an event, such
as a car accident, they are
actually reconstructing it from
memory by piecing together bits
of information that may or may
not be totally accurate.
The Nature of Remembering
 Eyewitness Testimony
 Is highly subject to error and should be viewed with caution
 U.S. Department of Justice prepared national guidelines for collecting eyewitness
evidence in 1999
 Minimize identification of suspects errors by first describing the perpetrator and
then searching for photos to match the description
 Lineup errors are minimized through sequential viewing
 Viewing members of lineup one at a time rather than all together
 Mistakes are more likely if person is of another race or if a weapon was used in the
crime
 Misinformation Effect – misleading information supplied after the event confounds
a witnesses memory
 Stress of the event does not lessen ability to remember critical details while less
important details may be lost
 Confidence of eyewitnesses has much to do with ease of recall not accuracy of
information.
Recovering Repressed Memories
 Controversy initially surrounded sex abuse victims and the idea:
 “if you think you were abused and your life shows the symptoms, then you were” removed
responsibility of establishing proof
 May be false “recovered” memories influenced by suggestions.
 Hypnosis techniques often used to aid in recovery of memories
 Hypnosis does not improve the accuracy of memory only the confidence in what was
remembered.
 Persons asked to Imagine a fictitious event develop a false memory of the event.
 Repeated exposure to suggestions of false memories can create them
 Individual differences in suggestibility may also play a role
 Infantile amnesia – the inability to recall events from the first few years of life likely
due to limited language and hippocampus development
 APA & AMA both agree repressed memories exist and that false memories can be
constructed.
Flashbulb Memories
An extremely vivid memory of the conditions surrounding one’s first hearing the news of
a surprising, shocking, or highly emotional event.
 News of the death or injury of a family member or friend
 News of a catastrophe
 Easily recalled due to high
 Emotionality
 Consequentiality – importance of the consequences of the event
 Rehearsal – how often people think or talk about the events afterward
 Appear to be forgotten at about the same rate and ways as other kinds of memories
 Eyewitnesses to the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon almost certainly
formed flashbulb memories of the witnessed events.
 Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news
on September 11, 2001?
Memory and Culture
The matter and manner of recall are often predominantly determined by
social influences.
 Swazi herdsman recall minute individual differences of every cow
 History of a tribe preserved orally by specialists
 Impressive memory feats possible because its an integral and critically
important part of the culture in which they live
 Other memory components usually no different
 Stories set in own cultures more easily remembered than those set in
other cultures
 Culturally based schemas may also influence memory and recall
Serial Position Effect
The finding that, for information learned in a sequence, recall
is better for the beginning and ending items than for the
middle items in the sequence
 Primacy effect
 The tendency to recall the first items in a sequence more readily
than the middle items
 Recency effect
 The tendency to recall the last items in a sequence more readily
than those in the middle
 Poorer recall of information in the middle of a series because it is no
longer in short-term memory
 Serial position effect supports notion of separate systems for short and
long-term memory
 Context dependent memory.
 Information is easier to recall when a person is in the same
environmental context they were in when they learned it.
 Elements of the physical setting where information is learned are
encoded along with the memory
 State dependent memory.
 The tendency to recall information better if one is in the same
pharmacological or psychological state as when the information was
encoded
 Students exposed to spider and/or snakes while learning a list of words
recalled more words when the creatures were present during recall
 Depressed adults recall more negative life experiences
 More likely to recall parents as unloving and rejecting
 Depression impairs memory
 Younger depressed patients more impaired than older
 Negative recall tendency reverses itself when depression lifts
Biology and Memory: The Nature of Learning
 Learning
 The process by which experiences change our nervous system and hence our
behavior.
 Stimulus-response learning
 Learning to automatically make a particular response in the presence of a
particular stimulus; includes classical and instrumental conditioning.
 Classical conditioning
 A learning procedure; when a stimulus that initially produces no particular
response is followed several times by an unconditioned stimulus that produces
a defensive or appetitive response. This type of learning involves:
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Unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned response
Conditioned stimulus
Conditioned response
The Nature of Learning
 Hebb rule
 The hypothesis proposed by Donald Hebb that the cellular basis of
learning involves strengthening of
a synapse that is repeatedly active when the
postsynaptic neuron fires.
 Instrumental conditioning
 A learning procedure whereby the effects of a particular behavior in a
particular situation increase (reinforce) or decrease (punish) the
probability of the behavior; also called operant conditioning.
 Reinforcing stimulus
 An appetitive stimulus that follows a particular behavior and thus makes
the behavior become more frequent.
 Punishing stimulus
 An aversive stimulus that follows a particular behavior and thus makes
the behavior become less frequent.
The Nature of Learning
 Motor learning
 Learning to make a new response.
 Relational learning
 Involves learning the relationships among individual stimuli such
as becoming familiar with the contents of a room.
Biology & Memory: Learning & Synaptic Plasticity
 Induction of long-term potentiation
 Long-term potentiation
 A long-term increase in the excitability of a neuron to a particular
synaptic input caused by repeated high-frequency activity of that
input.
 Hippocampal formation
 A forebrain structure of the temporal lobe, constituting
an important part of the limbic system; includes the hippocampus
proper (Ammon’s horn), dentate gyrus,
and subiculum.
Biology & Memory: Learning & Synaptic Plasticity
 Role of NMDA receptors
 Associative long-term potentiation
 A long-term potentiation in which concurrent
stimulation of weak and strong synapses to a
given neuron strengthens the weak ones.
 NMDA receptor
 A specialized ionotropic glutamate receptor that
controls a calcium channel that is normally blocked
by Mg2+ ions; involved in long-term potentiation.
Biology & Memory: Learning & Synaptic Plasticity
 Role of NMDA receptors
 AP5
 2-Amino-5-phosphonopentanoate; a drug that blocks NMDA
receptors.
 AMPA receptor

An ionotropic glutamate receptor that controls a sodium channel; when
its open, it produces EPSPs.
 Role of NMDA receptors
 Dendritic spike
 An action potential that occurs in the dendrite of some types of
pyramidal cells.
Biology & Memory: Learning & Synaptic Plasticity
 Mechanisms of synaptic plasticity
 CaM-KII

Type II calcium-calmodulin kinase, an enzyme that must be activated by
calcium; may play a role in the establishment of long-term potentiation.
 Nitric oxide synthase

An enzyme responsible for the production of nitric oxide.
 Long-term depression (LTD)
 A long-term decrease in the excitability of a neuron to a particular
synaptic input caused by stimulation of the terminal button while the
postsynaptic membrane is hyperpolarized.
Instrumental Conditioning and Motor Learning
 Reinforcement: Neural circuits involved in reinforcement
 Medial forebrain bundle (MFB)
 A fiber bundle that runs in a rostral-caudal direction through the basal forebrain and
lateral hypothalamus; electrical stimulation of these axons is reinforcing.
 Ventral tegmental area (VTA)

A group of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral midbrain whose axons form the
mesolimbic and mesocortical system; plays a critical role in reinforcement.
 Nucleus accumbens

A nucleus of the basal forebrain near the septum; receives dopamine-secreting
terminal buttons from neurons of the ventral tegmental area and is thought to be
involved in reinforcement and attention.
 Nucleus accumbens

A nucleus of the basal forebrain near the septum; receives dopamine-secreting
terminal buttons from neurons of the ventral tegmental area and is thought to be
involved in reinforcement and attention
Biology and Memory
 Hippocampal Region
 A part of the limbic system which
includes the hippocampus and
underlying cortical areas
 Involved in the formation of
semantic memories.
 Anterograde amnesia.
 The inability to form long-term
memories of an event occurring
after brain injury or surgery.
 Other long and short-term
memories usually are intact
Biology and Memory
 Hippocampus
 Especially important in forming episodic memories
 Memories can be retrieved without the hippocampus involvement
 Is involved in creating intricate neural spatial maps
 Semantic Memories
 Involve the hippocampus and other parts of hippocampal region
 Other long and short-term memories usually are intact
The posterior (rear) hippocampus of an experienced London taxi
driver, shown in red in the MRI scan on the left, is significantly
larger than the posterior hippocampus of a research participant
who was not a taxi driver, shown in red in the scan on the right.
Biology and Memory
 Neuronal Changes and Memory
 Aplysia sea snail study mapped neural circuits formed as the animal learned and
remembered
 Donald Hebb argued in 1940’s that learning and memory must involve the
enhancement of transmission at the synapses between neurons.
 Long-term Potentiation (LTP)
 An increase in the efficiency of neural transmission at the synapses that lasts for
hours or longer
 Does not take place unless sending and receiving are activated at the same time by
intense stimulation
 Receiving neuron must be depolarized (ready to fire) when the stimulation occurs
Biology and Memory
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Hormones and Memory
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Strongest and most lasting emotions are usually fueled by emotion
Cahill and McGaugh two pathways for forming memories
Ordinary information.
2. Memories fired by emotion
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Adrenal glands release epinephrine and norepinephrine into bloodstream
Fight or flight response imprint powerful and enduring memories surrounding
threatening situations
Amygdala activates during emotional episodes and may explain the intensity and
durability of flashbulb memories
High levels of stress hormone cortisol interferes with memory
Estrogen improves working memory efficiency and the development and
maintenance of synapses in the brain
The strongest and most lasting
memories are usually fueled by
emotion.
That’s why most people have vivid
memories of the events and
circumstances that surround the
experience of falling in love.
Ebbinghaus’s Curve of Forgetting
After memorizing lists of nonsense syllables retentions was measured after
varying intervals of time using the relearning method. Forgetting was rapid at
first (58% after 20 minutes and 44% after 1 hour) then tapered off.
Cause of Forgetting
 Encoding failure
 Information is not put into long-term memory
 Decay theory
 Memories not used will fade with time and ultimately disappear
A Penny For Your Thoughts
On a sheet of paper draw a sketch of a U.S. penny from
memory recall. Show the direction Lincoln’s image is
facing and the location of the date, and include all the
words on the “heads” side of the penny.
Cause of Forgetting
 Interference
 Information or associations stored hinder the ability to remember it
 Proactive Interference
 Information or experiences all ready stored hinder memory
 Retroactive Interference
 New learning interferes with ability to recall previous learning
Cause of Forgetting
 Consolidation Failure
 Any disruption in the consolidation process that prevents a long-term memory
from forming.
 Retrograde Amnesia
 A loss of memory for experiences that occurred shortly before a loss of
consciousness
 Motivated Forgetting
 Suppression or repression in an effort to protect from material that is painful,
frightening, or otherwise unpleasant
 Repression
 Removing unpleasant memories from one’s consciousness, so that one is no
longer aware that a painful event occurred
Cause of Forgetting
 Amnesia
 A partial or complete loss of memory due to loss of consciousness, brain damage,
or psychological cause
 Prospective Forgetting
 Not remembering to carry out some intended action
 Forgetting to do something that is unimportant or unpleasant
 Retrieval Failure
 Not remembering something one is certain of knowing
 Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
 Trying to recall some bit of information knowing you knew it but not able
to come up with it