physiological psychology - learning & memory - lecture 26 mar 19 2014
DESCRIPTION
A visual aid to accompany a 1 hour lecture on various topics in Physiological Psychology (a second year Canadian University course). This document provides a brief overview of Learning, memory, the major sections of the brain recruited for these activities, and the most essential psychological concepts currently used to define these processes.Slide 1: TitleSlide 2: Classical conditioning versus Operant conditioning. Classical conditioning results in a conditioned response from a particular stimulus, whereas Operant conditioning results in either strengthening or elimination of a preexisting behaviour pattern. Slide 3: Schematic representation of the brain changes during Pavlov's classical conditioningSlide 4: Definitions of key psychological concepts coined by Karl Lashley, including: engrams, equipotentiality and mass action. The figure shows brain lesions Lashely made in the brain of mouse that led him to believe that, since these lesions on their own did not disrupt brain functioning, but only as a whole did they negatively impact the mouse, that all parts of the cortex contribute equally and as a whole unit.Slide 5: Lashley's study showing that number of brain lesions correlated positively with difficulty performing a maze task. Slide 6: Diagram showing Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of MemorySlide 7: Types of long-term memory, including explicit or declarative (Semantic memory and Episodic memory) and implicit or non-declarative (Procedural memory, Associative learning, and Nonassociative learning)Habituation is the process of becoming desensitized to a repetitive harmless stimulus. Sensitization is the process of becoming more reactive to a repetitive, usually harmful stimulus.Slide 8: Brain areas involved in Semantic versus Episodic memory, and their associated pathologies (Semantic dementia and Source amnesia, respectively)Slide 9: Specific brain areas associated with semantic memories (of tools versus animals). Note how different areas of the brain are activated for recalling the names of two different kinds of semantic knowledge. Slide 10: Figure demonstrating Greater brain activation occurs during the processing of Personal Episodic Memories, as opposed to the processing (in this case, listening) of someone else's episodic memories (in this case, their autobiography)Slide 11: Types of Long-Term MemorySlide 12: What happened after the surgical removal of the temporal lobe tissue of patient H.M. In the time before it was known what function the hippocampus area of the brain served, patient H.M. was experimented on. H.M. was experiencing extremely frequent seizures and since all other treatments failed, partial removal of his temporal lobe was performed in hopes of alleviating this issue. The seizures stopped, but apparently so did his ability to form new memories after the surgery (=anterograde amnesia).Slide 13: H.M.'s ability to perform the Mirror-Drawing Task. This experiment showed that although damage to H.M.'s hippocampus damaged his explicit declarative memory, his implicit procedural memory remained intact. Although H.M. had no explicit memory of having ever performed this task, by Day 2 and 3 he showed significant improvement. Slide 14: The Hippocampus and it's associated structuresThis powerpoint presentation was prepared by Dr. Smilek of the University of Waterloo using figures and tables from "Biological Psychology 11th ed. by James Kalat" with permission from the author. I take no credit for this material.TRANSCRIPT
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Learning and Memory
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Pavlovconditioning strengthened connections between the CS center and UCS center in the brain.
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Lashely
searched for engrams: physical representations of what had been learnedproposed two key principles about the nervous system:Equipotentiality all parts of the cortex contribute equally to complex functioning behaviors (e.g. learning)Mass action the cortex works as a whole, not as solitary isolated units.
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Karl Lashley Observed the Results of Brain Lesions on Maze-Learning Performance
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Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory
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Types of Long-Term Memory
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Semantic memoryanterior and inferior region of the temporal lobe are involved in semantic memorysemantic dementia (loss of semantic memory)
Episodic memoryAnterior prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortex are important for episodic memorySource amnesia (loss of memory for the specific episode in which something occurred)
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Semantic Memories Are Widely Distributed
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Greater Brain Activation Occurs During the Processing of Personal Episodic Memories
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Types of Long-Term Memory
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Surgical Removal of Temporal Lobe Tissue in Patient H.M.H.M. showed massive anterograde amnesia after the surgery.
Patient HM also displayed greater implicit than explicit memory.
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The Mirror-Drawing Task
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The Hippocampus and Its Associated Structures
Reinforcement an event that increases probability of a responsePunishment an event that reduces probability of a response***Habituation - response to a repeated, harmless stimulus becomes progressively weakerSensitization a type of learning in which the experience of one stimulus heightens response to subsequent stimuli******Input through the enterorhinal cortex, out through fornix*