Cognitive psychologyLesson 1 of 1 in the course Memory

Brain Systems, Emotional Arousal, and Memory Reconstruction

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Memory depends on interacting brain systems rather than a single storage location. This lesson introduces early research into memory’s physical basis and explains how several brain regions contribute to different kinds of remembering.

In the early twentieth century, psychologist Karl Lashley trained rats to navigate mazes and then made lesions—areas of deliberately damaged tissue—in their cerebral cortex. He hoped to erase the engram, a proposed group of neurons serving as the physical representation of a memory.

All flashcards

What is an engram?
An engram is a proposed physical trace or representation of a memory in the brain.
What did H. M.’s experience reveal about the hippocampus?
Removing both hippocampi severely impaired his ability to form new declarative memories, while many pre-surgery memories remained.
What is a flashbulb memory?
A vivid recollection of learning about an important event; vividness does not ensure accuracy.
What is memory reconstruction?
The process of bringing together stored components of an experience to form a recollection.
What is a false memory?
A recollection of something that did not happen.

Quiz questions

  1. After both hippocampi were removed, which memory ability was profoundly impaired in H. M.?Answer: Forming new declarative memories
  2. In a tone-and-shock conditioning study, what happened after researchers damaged neurons in rats’ lateral amygdalae?Answer: The learned fear response to the tone faded.
  3. Rabbits with damaged cerebellums had difficulty learning which conditioned response?Answer: Blinking to a cue paired with an air puff
  4. Which pattern of prefrontal activity has been associated with memory processing?Answer: Left frontal activity with encoding and right frontal activity with retrieval
  5. What does the term false memory mean?Answer: A recollection of an event or detail that did not occur

Based on Psychology 2e by Rose M. Spielman, William J. Jenkins, Marilyn D. Lovett (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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