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MEMORY
Involves an active, information-processing system that
receives, organises, stores and recovers information.
Page 286-287
STUDY DESIGN: KEY KNOWLEDGE
Mechanism of memory formation:
 the neuron in memory formation including the role of
axons, dendrites, synapses and neurotransmitters
 role of the temporal lobe including the hippocampus and
the amygdala
 consolidation theory
 memory decline over the lifespan
 amnesia resulting from brain trauma and
neurodegenerative diseases including dementia and
Alzheimer’s disease
THE NEURON IN MEMORY FORMATION INCLUDING THE ROLE
OF AXONS, DENDRITES, SYNAPSES AND
NEUROTRANSMITTERS (PAGE

334-336)
Neurons receive information from other neurons, process this
information and communicate it to other neurons.
Why study it in memory?

Memory is formed due to biochemical changes in synapses in response
to different neurotransmitters (chemicals), where neural connections
are removed and remade.
Activity for structure of the neuron and the different
parts
http://psych.athabascau.ca/html/Psych289/Biotutorials/1/part1.shtml?
Read through different parts of the brain
Define: dendrite, axon, synapse and neurotransmitter
Complete match up activity
Complete multiple choice activity
If you’re still confused watch the following:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4Gt322-XxI
STRUCTURE OF THE NEURON
Refer to handout: Neurons and
Neurotransmitters in memory and learning
(page 269 Oxford)
Nervous System – Creating a model of a Neuron Activity
Comparing the Brain to the Neuron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLp-edwiGUU
ROLE OF THE TEMPORAL LOBE INCLUDING
THE HIPPOCAMPUS AND THE AMYGDALA
The hippocampus transfers declarative information to other
relevant parts of the brain for permanent storage as longterm memory.
 In each hemisphere, the amygdala is located almost directly behind
the temple and beneath the cortex of the temporal lobe. It regulates
emotions such as fear and aggression and plays a more general role
in the formation of emotional memory.
The amygdala has been found to have a special role in the memory for
emotions shown on faces (Markoswitsch et al. 1994). The amygdala also
has an important role because the emotions it regulates enhance the
memorability of an event which is stated as declarative memory.
Research suggests that for declarative memory with emotional content,
such as winning an important sports competition, the amygdala has a
role in activating the hippocampus and therefore enhancing the
consolidation of the declarative memory (Garrett 2009).
 They found that the hippocampus was active for explicit
memory tasks but other parts of the brain were active for
procedural memory tasks—for example, the cerebellum was,
in part, responsible for remembering motor skill tasks

CONSOLIDATION THEORY
To date, most research on the consolidation
process has focused on
declarative memory. No clear evidence has
emerged to indicate that a process
of consolidation happens for non-declarative
memory.
In order for new information to
be transferred effectively from
STM to LTM there needs to be a
time period in which these
memories are able to stabilise
without being disrupted.
Physical changes occur to the
neurons in the brain when
something new is being learned
and immediately following
learning for a period of time as
the new info sets (consolidates)
in memory. If memory is
disrupted during consolidation
phase (stabilisation of changes in
the brain’s neurons) info may not
be processed in LTM & will be
lost. The consolidation process
takes 30 minutes.
PHYSICAL CHANGE
NO DISRUPTION
TIME
MEMORY DECLINE OVER THE LIFESPAN




Effect on Short Term Memory (S.T.M) - Dependent on the nature of the task.
If the task is relatively simple (e.g. remembering a list of words) then STM is not affected
by age. If the task is complicated and requires divided attention or manipulation of
information in working memory (e.g. remembering that list of words alphabetically whilst
recalling numbers), then STM may be affected by age related factors.
Causes - General slowing of the nervous system and neural processes. Often referred to as
“Cognitive Slowing”.
The ability to recall information tends to decrease in the elderly, while the ability to
recognise information tends to remain unchanged.
Effect on Long Term Memory (L.T.M) - Dependent on the type LTM of memory system.
Semantic memories (facts of the world) and Procedural memories (how to memories)
generally tend to remain intact whilst Episodic memories (past experiences and episodes)
tend to decline as people age.
Effect on Learning New Information
Older people take longer to learn new information, irrespective to which LTM Systems that
information is admitted to.


Older people do not encode new information with as much precision and detail as younger
people.
Causes - Lack of confidence in their memory and Lack of motivation to learn new things.
KEY KNOWLEDGE
Models for explaining human memory:
 Atkinson-Shiffrin’s multi-store model of memory
including maintenance and elaborative rehearsal,
serial position effect and chunking
 Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch’s model of
working memory: central executive, phonological
loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, episodic buffer
 levels of processing as informed by Fergus Craik
and Robert Lockhart
 organisation of long-term memory including
declarative (episodic and semantic) and
procedural
 memory, and semantic network theory
REMEMBERING: 3 KEY PROCESSES PAGE
290
Encoding is the entire process of converting information
into a useable form or code that can be stored in memory
 Storage is the retention of information overtime.
 Retrieval is the process of locating and recovering the
stored information from memory so that we are
consciously aware of it.

ATKINSON-SHIFFRIN’S MULTI-STORE MODEL OF
MEMORY INCLUDING MAINTENANCE AND
ELABORATIVE
MEASURES OF RETENTION
Memory is measured in 3 ways.
RECALL
 This involves being asked to reproduce
information with no or minimal external cues.
1.
Free recall- retrieval of items in any order
without cues or prompts.
2.
Cued recall- retrieval of items in any order but
with cues to aid retrieval
3.
Serial or ordered recall- retrieval of items in
the same order in which they were presented.

CONT... MEASURES OF RETENTION
Recognition








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Relearning
Correctly identifying or
selecting previously
learned information
from a set of
alternatives
Which of the following
are names of Walt
Disney’s 7 dwarfs?
Bashful
Happy
Grumpy Grouchy
Pop
Sleepy
Goofy
Dopey
Sneezy
Doc

Also called the savings
method, relearning
information previously
memorised, and
calculating the amount of
information saved (or
retained) in memory from
the original learning.
No. of trials (or time)
Original Learning
No. of trials (or time)
_
Relearning
_______________________________ = Savings
Score
No. of trials for Original learning
(or time)
RELATIVE SENSITIVITY OF EACH MEASURE OF RETENTION
RELEARNING
RECOGNITION
RECALL
____________________________________________________
MOST SENSITIVE
LEAST SENSITIVE
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STAGES OF MEMORY
SENSORY MEMORY
Sensory memory is a type of memory that stores sensory
information in a raw form for very short periods of
time.
 The 2 types of sensory memory most extensively
explored are:

Iconic memory: all information held in the visual
sensory register.

Echoic memory: all information held in the
auditory sensory register.
SENSORY MEMORY IS THE INITIAL STAGE OF THE MEMORY SYSTEM IN WHICH
ALL THE STIMULI THAT BOMBARD OUR SENSES ARE RETAINED IN THEIR
ORIGINAL SENSORY FORM
(EXACT COPIES & NOT ENCODED). SENSORY
INFORMATION REMAINS IN SENSORY MEMORY JUST LONG ENOUGH FOR US TO
ATTEND TO AND SELECT THE INFORMATION TO BE TRANSFERRED TO SHORT
TERM MEMORY. SELECTIVE ATTENTION IS AN AUTOMATIC PROCESS THAT
ALLOWS US TO ATTEND TO SOME INFORMATION ENTERING OUR MEMORY
SYSTEM AND TO IGNORE THE REST.
INFORMATION TRANSFERS TO
AS SOON AS IT IS ATTENDED TO,
STM.
SENSORY MEMORY
Iconic (visual)
memory
Echoic (auditory)
memory
Capacity
Very large (stores all sensory experiences briefly
and therefore assumed to have unlimited
capacity)
Duration
~0.3-0.5 sec
Encoding
Based on physical properties of the stimulus
~3-4 sec
SHORT TERM MEMORY
Short Term Memory
Capacity
Limited to 7 +- 2 bits of information (can be
increased by “chunking” –combining smaller
bits of information into larger, more
meaningful units).
Duration
Approximately 18-20 seconds (occasionally up
to 30 secs).
Encoding
Information is encoded verbally, although
visual-isation can be used to “rehearse” the
information.
REHEARSAL: MAINTAIN INFORMATION IN STM BY
PREVENTING IT FROM BEING LOST THROUGH DECAY (NOT BEING USED)
OR DISPLACED (BEING PUSHED OUT) BY OTHER MATERIAL.
Elaborative rehearsal
Maintenance
 Relies on therehearsal
conscious
recitation of information in
a rote fashion. It can be
verbal or non-verbal. Eg
either repeating info over
and over in one’s head
(sub-vocally) or by saying
the info aloud over and
over again (vocally).
 Easily affected by
distraction which can
displace information from
STM.



Is the process of linking new
information in a
meaningful way with
information already stored
in memory or with other
new information, to aid in
its storage and retrieval
from LTM.
Is a more active process
than maintenance
rehearsal.
It is a better method for
remembering information
because that info is encoded
well.
LONG TERM MEMORY


LTM is a relatively permanent memory system which has an
unlimited capacity for storing information for a relatively unlimited
duration.
LTM stores information semantically. ie. encoding is elaborative,
according to meaning.
TYPES OF LONG TERM MEMORY
 Procedural memory – is the memory of actions and skills that have
been learned previously and involves knowing “how to do something”
eg. how to ride a bike or how to bake a cake. They are also called
implicit memories because it is often difficult to recall when or how
we learned to perform the sequence of actions required to do
something .
 Declarative memory – is the memory of specific facts or events that
can be brought consciously to mind and explicitly stated or ‘declared’
eg. Identifying a type of flower or remembering what you ate for
dinner last night.
TYPES OF LONG TERM MEMORY
PROCEDURAL MEMORY

Memory for actions or
skills, knowing “how”
DECLARATIVE
MEMORY
Memory for facts and events
in the world, knowing “that”
TWO TYPES OF DECLARATIVE MEMORY
EPISODIC MEMORY
Memories which contain
autobiographical information
about personal events and
experiences in one’s life and
the context in which they
occurred.
SEMANTIC MEMORY
Memories which involve
specialised knowledge of
factual information about the
world. This includes general
knowledge , academic
knowledge (of that learned at
school) as well as the meaning
of words.
SEMANTIC NETWORK THEORY



Proposes that LTM is organised systematically into hierarchical
networks of concepts (nodes), arranged as interrelated categories
and sub-categories. Information within the nodes is
interconnected via meaningful links.
A shorter link between two concepts in a semantic network
indicates a strong association between concepts; while a longer
link between two concepts illustrates a more distant association.
Activating more nodes increases the chances of success and speed
of retrieval of an item.
LONG TERM MEMORY: SEMANTIC NETWORK THEORY
> nodes—the named units of information
> links—the lines showing the relationships between
nodes (the shorter the link, the closer the relationship)
> hierarchical structure—several nodes on the lowest level
form part of one node at the next level up, and so on.
SERIAL POSITION EFFECT


The serial position effect displays
the tendency for recall of items in a
serial list as being superior for
items at the beginning of the list
due to the primacy effect and if
tested immediately after
presentation of the list for items at
the end of the list due to the
recency effect (than for those in
the middle).
What causes the serial position
effect ?
If recall occurs immediately after a
list has been learned the last few
items are remembered best because
they are still in STM.
The first few items are remembered
well because they receive more
attention and rehearsal than other
items and are therefore transferred
into LTM.
Effect
Description
Encoding Explanation
Encoding Explanation
Primacy Effect
Superior recall for
items at the beginning
of a list compared to
items in the middle of
a list
Items at the beginning
of a list are stored in
and retrieved from
LTM.
Items have probably been rehearsed and
transferred into
LTM before the capacity of the STM was
full.
If list lasts longer than approximately 30
seconds (duration
of STM), it is likely that items from the
start of the list will
be forgotten unless they have been stored
in LTM.
The primacy effect will still occur if there
is a delay of more
than 12–30 seconds between learning
and reporting items.
Recency Effect
Superior recall for
items at the end of a
list compared to those
in the middle of the list
Items at the end of
a list are retained
in STM. There is a
tendency to get more
of these items correct
than items presented
earlier on the list.
Items from end of the list are recalled fi
rst. The recency effect will still occur
even if the list of items is
increased. Maintenance rehearsal has
probably been used. The recency effect
will not occur where there is a delay of
more than 12–30 seconds between
learning and reporting
the items (delayed free recall).
Asymptote
On a graph, this shows
inferior recall for items
in the middle of a list
compared to those at
the start and end of
a list.
Items are either not
stored in LTM or are
displaced from STM.
As STM reaches capacity, items are
displaced before they
can be adequately rehearsed and stored
in LTM.
WORKING MEMORY: THE ACTIVE STM
An active part of memory where information you are
consciously aware of is actively “worked on” thought about
and processed in a variety of ways.
 Baddeley (1999, cited in Grivas, Down & Carter, 2004)
proposed working memory consists of 3 sub-systems:
1.
The Phonological (or Articulatory) Loop (verbal working
memory) stores speech based information and is
comprised of 2 parts:
The phonological memory is a limited number of sounds
(phonemes) such as words for a short period of time of
about 2 seconds.
The articulatory sub-vocal rehearsal – silently repeating
words. Prevention of this results in rapid forgetting.

WORKING MEMORY – BY
BADDELEY AND HITCH
(FOCUSED ON STM)
WORKING MEMORY CONT...
The Visuo-spatial sketchpad:
 holds ‘mental pictures’
temporarily.
 is responsible for the
manipulation of visual and
spatial information.
 Such as the location and
nature of objects in the
environment. ie. Knowing
exactly where on the
kitchen bench we have
placed a cupcake and cup
when we turn to pour a
coffee from the perculator.
The Central Executive:
 Attends to information and
decides what should be
done with it (it plans and
coordinates).
 Integrates info from the
verbal and visual storage
systems as well as
information retrieved from
LTM.
 It is responsible for
suppressing irrelevant
information from our
conscious thinking.
AMNESIA RESULTING FROM BRAIN
TRAUMA
Retrograde amnesia is
difficulty in recalling
previously stored
memories.
Retrograde, can’t
remember some prior
memories
Memories
Affected
Usually, retrograde
amnesia involves the loss
of memories from a period
before the time when the
person’s brain was
damaged. Patients usually
have no memory of the
period just prior to the
injury, but sometimes the
Retrograde Amnesia – Scott
amnesia can go back
Balzan
several years.
Accident/
Injury
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q
Rzjur-rBvY
NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES INCLUDING
DEMENTIA AND
Case studies and modern brain scanning
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
techniques show that damage to the temporal
Anterograde amnesia is the
inability to encode and store
new memories. Typically,
people can retrieve
memories they had prior to
the trauma but cannot learn
anything new. This amnesia
is commonly associated with
Alzheimer’s disease.
lobe and hippocampus is often related to anterograde
amnesia. These structures are involved in the
consolidation process, especially for encoding and
storage of long-term declarative memories.
Memories affected
afterwards
Anterograde
Amnesia
Memories
affected after
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
5ObnErfTblY
DEMENTIA
Dementia refers to a
disorder affecting higher
mental functions
(Morris & Baddeley
1988). It can occur in
various forms and may
be caused by disease or
brain damage.
Dementia can be caused
by a variety of factors,
such as reduced blood
supply to the brain or
toxins such as alcohol.
ALZHEIMERS’S
This neurodegenerative disease occurs
mostly in old age and involves gradual,
severe memory loss, confusion,
impaired attention, disordered
thinking and depression (Kalat 2008).
It involves both anterograde and
retrograde amnesia because the
disease affects both the hippocampus
and the prefrontal cortex.
The earliest symptom is usually
impaired declarative memory, where
the patient has difficulty remembering
events from the day before, forgets
names and has difficulty finding the
right word when speaking. Next, the
patient might repeat stories or
questions, and eventually will fail to
recognise familiar people and family
members. (watch video)
What is Alzheimers?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wv9jrkgXc
(GREAT VIDEO ON DIFFERENT AREAS
OF THE BRAIN)
http://www.aboutalz.org/
(to get more information about Alzheimer’s)
An example of Alzheimer’s from the USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL_Gq7S
hc-Y
KARSOKOFF’S SYNDROME
This form of brain deterioration is
a syndrome that is almost always
caused by chronic alcoholism. The
hippocampus and temporal lobes
are unaffected but the frontal
lobes deteriorate. This
deterioration comes from a
deficiency in the vitamin
thiamine (B1), which is caused by
two factors:
1 the alcoholic consumes most of
his/her calories in
alcohol and therefore suffers
malnutrition
2 the alcohol reduces the amount
of absorption of
thiamine in the stomach.
3 Thiamine therapy can reverse