Psych memoryMemory The ability to store and retrieve information over time.Encoding the process by which we transform what we perceive, think, or feel into an enduring memoryStorage the process of maintaining information in memory over timeRetrieval the process of bringing to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored.

Encode Store RetrieveENCODESemantic, rhyme, visual judgmentsMemories are constructed not recorded.Elaborative encoding process of actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory. (increased acivity in the lower left part of the frontal lobe and inner part of the left temporal lobe)Visual imagery encoding The process of storing new information by converting it into mental pictures. Also relates incoming information to knowledge already in memory. (activates visual processing regions in the occipital lobe)Organizational encoding the process of categorizing information according to the relationships among a series of items. (activates upper surface of the left frontal lobe)

Survival encoding allowed for highest recall Evolution of memory that aids survival.

STORESensory, short term, and long-termSensory memory holds sensory information for a few seconds or less.Iconic memory fast decaying store of visual information.Echoic memory a fast decaying store of auditory information.

Short-term memory holds nonsensory information for more than a few seconds but less than a minute.Rehearsal the process of keeping information in short-term memory by mentally repeating it.Chunking combining small pieces of information into larger clusters or chunk.

Working memory active maintenance of information in short term storage. Includes subsystems that store and manipulate visual images or verbal information. Includes central executive that coordinates the subsystems. Depends on regions within the frontal lobe that are important for controlling and manipulating information on a wide range of cognitive tasks.

Long Term memory holds information for hours, days, weeks, or years. No known capacity limits. Hippocampal region is critical for putting new information into the long term store. If hippocampal region is damaged, people suffer from Anterograde amnesia the inability to transfer new information from the short term store into the long term store.Retrograde amnesia inability to retrieve information that was acquired before a particular date, usually the date of an injury or operation.The fact that HM (one with hippocampus removed) had much worse anterograde than retrograde amnesia suggests that hippocampal region is not the site of long term memory. Research shows that different aspects of a single memory are stored in different places in the cortex. Scientists believe that the hippocampal region acts as an index that links together all of the different aspects of a memory together to form one memory. It is possible that the hippocampal region becomes less necessary for old memories while critical for new memories.Consolidation process by which memories become stable in the brain. Even seemingly consolidated memories can again become vulnerable to disruption when they are recalled, thus requiring them to be consolidated again. Reconsolidation

Memories Neurons and Synapses Long term storage involves the growth of new connections between neurons. Cells that fire together wire together. (act of sending actually changes the synapse to make it easier next time) Same thing happens in the hippocampus. Long-term potentiation or LTP the process whereby communication across the synapse between neurons strengthens the connection, making further communication easier. Drugs that block LTP can turn people HM (no transition from short term to long term) LTP in hippocampus depends on the NMDA receptor which influences the flow of information between neurons by controlling the initiation of LTP in most hippocampal pathways.

RetrievalRetrieval cue external information that is associated with stored information and helps bring it to mind. HintsEncoding specificity principle a retrieval cue can serve as an effective reminder when it helps recreate the specific way in which the information was initially encoded. Environment (divers learning on land and in water)Retrieval cues can be internalState dependent retrieval the tendency for information to be better recalled when the person is in the same state during encoding and retrieval. Mood has a direct influence on semantic encoding. If the persons state at the time of retrieval matches the persons state at the time of encoding, the state itself serves as a retrieval cue.Transfer appropriate processing memory is likely to transfer from one situation to another when the encoding context of the situations match.

Retrieval can improve subsequent memory. Retrieval got better results in the long term than re-studying.Retrieval can impair subsequent memory Retrieval-induced forgetting process by which retrieving an item from long-term memory impairs subsequent recall of related items. As in a witness who was asked about the murderers appearance may later forget the murderers weapon.Trying to recall and successfully recalling are fundamentally different processes that occur in different parts of the brain. Regions in the left frontal lobe show activity when people TRY to retrieve information. Hippocampal region shows activity when a memory is successfully retrieved. Remembering a sound is accompanied by activity in the auditory cortex (upper part of temporal lobe) Remembering a picture is accompanied by activity in the visual cortex (in the occipital lobe) During retrieval, regions in the frontal lobe that are involved in retrieval efforts work to suppress competitors. Thus, the frontal lobe no longer has to work as hard at controlling retrieval and the competitors are forgotten as part of retrieval-induced forgetting.

Multiple forms of Memory Some that are accessible to conscious recall and some that we cannot consciously access. Dead father. Didnt know he died. But sad.Explicit memory when people consciously or intentionally retrieve past experiences.Implicit memory when past experiences influence later behavior and performance, even though people are not trying to recollect them and are not aware that they are remembering them. Procedural memory the gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice, or knowing how to do things. HM gets better at tracking game but dont remember playing. Riding a bike The fact that people with amnesia can acquire new procedural memories suggests that the hippocampal structures may be necessary for explicit memory but not for implicit procedural memory. Motor cortex appears important for procedural memory. Priming an enhanced ability to think of a stimulus, such as a word or object, as a result of a recent exposure to the stimulus Priming the memory system makes some information more accessible. People guessing words better on scrambled words after having seen those words but not remembering that they did show that priming is implicit memory. Priming does not require hippocampal structures. Priming seems to make it easier for the parts of the cortex that are involved in perceiving a word or object to identify the item after a recent exposure to it (ex. Occipital lobe, frontal lobe)Explicit MemorySemantic memory a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world Hippocampus is not necessary for acquiring new semantic memoriesEpisodic memory the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place. (mental time travel) People with amnesia can go back to episodes before the amnesia. Also related to imagining future events. Most amnesic patients cant imagine what theyll do in the future. A network of brain regions known to be involved in episodic memory including the hippocampus shows similarly increased activity when people remember the past and imagine the future. Regions involved (hippocampus, medial temporal lobe) We rely on episodic memory to envision the future.Memory failures: Seven Sins Transience forgetting what occurs with the passage of time. Occurs during the storage phase. Transience occurs in sensory, short term, and long term storage. Long term (illustrated by Hermann Ebbinghaus) Rapid drop off in retention during first few tests than slower rate in later tests. Retroactive interference later learning impairs memory for information acquired earlier. Proactive interference earlier learning impairs memory for information acquired later. Absentmindedness A lapse in attention that results in memory failure. Causes Lack of attention attention plays a vital role in encoding information into long term memory. Without proper attention, material is much less likely to be stored properly and recalled later. Greater activity in the lower left frontal region during encoding is associated with better memory. Dividing attention prevents the lower left frontal lobe from playing its normal role in encoding. Divided attention also leads to less hippocampal involvement in encoding. Forgetting to carry out actions that we planned to do in the future. Prospective memory, remembering to do things in the future. Blocking failure to retrieve information that is available in memory even though you are trying to produce it. Full blown retrieval failure Occurs often for the names of people and places because their links to related concepts and knowledge are weaker than those for common terms. Name blocking usually results from damage to parts of the left temporal lobe on the surface of the cortex. Memory misattribution assigning a recollection or an idea to the wrong source. Source memory recall of when, where, and how information was acquird. De ja vu? Destination memory to whom one told something to. People made more errors trying to remember whom they told something to than from who they learned something. False recognition feeling of familiarity about something that hasnt been encountered before. Patients with damage to the frontal lobes are especially prone to memory misattribution errors. Frontal lobes play a significant role in effortful retrieval processes. Deja vecu Thinking one has already done something he hasnt. Probably involves disruption to temporal lobe that normally generates a subjective feeling of remembering. Many of the same brain regions are active during false recognition and true recognition, including the hippocampus. Suggestibility tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal recollections. Happens because we do not store all details of our experiences in memory. Bias distorting influences of present knowledge, beliefs, and feelings on recollection of previous experiences. Consistency bias bias to reconstruct the past to fit the present. Change bias the tendency to exaggerate differences between what we feel or believe now and what we felt or believed in the past. People remember the past as they wanted it than the way it actually was. Persistence the intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget. Emotional experiences tend to be better remembered than nonemotional ones. For example, memories of dead people etc. Flashbulb memories detailed recollections of when and where we heard about a shocking event. When we talk about flashbulb experiences, we elaborately encode them and thus further increase the memorability of those aspects of the experience that we discuss. Amygdala influences hormonal systems that kick into high gear when we experience an arousing event. Adrenaline and cortisol, enhance memory for the experience. People with amygdala damage do not remember emotional events and better than nonemotional ones.It is helpful to forget information that isnt current.Information used infrequently is less likely to be needed in the future.Transience is an adaptive property of memory.Absentmindedness and blocking are side effects of our memorys attempts to sort through incoming information and sorting out what is worthy and discarding the unworthy. Same with misattribution and suggestibility.Bias makes us happy.Persistence still helps us survive by remembering life-threatening situations.