Chapter 6 - Lecture notes 5 PDF

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6 Memory 6.1 What is memory?

- Memory is the ability ti store and retrieve information overtime - Memories are residues of these events, the enduring changes that experience makes in our and leaves behind when it passes There are three functions of memory: 1. Encoding - the process of transforming what we perceive, think and feel into enduring memory 2. Storage - the process of maintaining information in memory overtime 3. Retrieval - the process of brining to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored

6.2 Encoding: Transforming Perceptions Into Memories We make memories by combing information we already have in our brains with new information that comes in through our senses (add old information to new information). Memories are constructed and encoding is the process by which we transform what we perceive, think, feel into enduring memory Encoding Processes 1. Semantic encoding 2. Visual imagery encoding 3. Organizational encoding How we remember something depends on how we think about it at the time We often think about the meaning behind our experiences, so we semantically encode them without even trying Semantic encoding - the process of relating new information in a meaningful way to knowledge that is already stored in memory Toronto researchers Fergus Craik and Endel Tulving presented participants with a series of words and three types if judgment: 1. Semantic Judgement - required the participants to think about the meaning of the words 2. Rhyme Judgement - required the participants to think about the sound of words 3. Case Judgement - required participants to think about the appearance of the words The purpose of this experiment was to see how participants thought about each word, what old information they combined with the new and if it had a powerful impact on their memory. Participants with semantic judgement - thought about the meaning of the word - Had much better memory of the word than about how the word looked or sounded

- Semantic encoding enhances long-term retention - Semantic encoding is uniquely associated with increased activity in the lower frontal lobe and the inner part of the left temporal lobe Visual Imagery Encoding - the process of storing new information by converting it into mental pictures Simonides method - simply convert the information that you wanted to remember into visual image and then store it in a familiar location

- When you create a visual images, you relate information to knowledge already in memory

- Using visual imagery to encode words and other verbal information allows people to end up with two different placeholder for the items — visual and verbal

- Visual imagery encoding activates visual processing regions in the occipital lobe Organizational Encoding - the process of categorizing information according to the relationships among a series of items - Instructing people to sort items into categories is an effective way to enhance their subsequents recall of those items Organizational encoding activates the upper surface the left frontal lobe Encoding of Survival-Related Information - survival encoding resulted in higher levels of recall than non survival encoding tasks involving semantic, imagery or organizational encoding

- survival encoding draws on elements of semantic, visual imagery and organizational encoding - Survival encoding encourages participants to think detail about the goals they want to achieve and engage in extensive planning, which in turn benefits memory. Survival scenarios that involves planning produce memory compared with survival scenarios that do not involve planning

6.3 Storage: Maintaining Memories Over Time Three kinds of memory storage; 1. Sensory 2. Short-term 3. Long-term Sensory Storage - is a type of storage that holds sensory information for a few seconds or less We have more than one kind of sensory memory 1. Iconic memory- is a fast decaying store of visual information 2. Echoic memory- is a fast-decaying store of auditory information Both hold information for a very short period of time — Iconic memory decays in about 1 second or less and echoic memory decays in about 5 seconds If information from sensory memory is quickly lost we can recall it through attention and it brings use to short terms memory Short-term storage and working memory Short term memory - holds non sensory information for more than a few seconds but less than a minute Rehearsal and “Chunking’ Strengthen Memory

- if we need the information for awhile we can use a trick called rehearsal — the process of keeping information in short- term memory by mentally repeating it

- If you’re repeating something, each time you reenter it into short term memory giving the thought another 15-20 seconds of shelf life Serial portion effect - the first few and last few items in a series are more likely to be recalled than the items in the middle One way to increase storage is yo group several letters into a single meaningful item.

Chunking - combining small pieces of information into larger clusters or chunks that are more easily held in shortterm memory (chunking information) Working Memory Stores and Manipulates Information

- working memory : active maintenance of information in short-term storage Working memory includes two subsystems that stores and manipulates information: 1. Visual images (the visuo- spatial sketchpad) 2. Verbal information (the phonological loop) The episodic buffer integrates visual and verbal information from the subsystems into a multidimensional code and a central executive for manipulation. Central executive controls mental manipulation of the possible moves and awareness of the flow of information into and out of memory all stored for a limited time. Research is Examining the Link Between Working Memory Training and Cognitive Functioning - recent studies found that working memory training improved performance on the working memory task that was trained but not result in an improvements on other cognitive tasks Long-term Storage - storage that holds information for hours, days, weeks or years. The Hippocampus as Index: Linking Pieces Into One Memory The hippocampal region of the brain is critical for putting new information into the longterm store When this region is damaged individual suffer from anterograde amnesia — the inability to transfer new information from the short-term store into the longterm store Retrograde amnesia - inability to retrieve information that was acquired before a particular date, usually the date of an injury or surgery Consolidation Stabilizes Memories Consolidation - the process by which memories become stable in the brain...