Memory

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Why is it that long term memories stored before the surgery have been unaffected?

Consolidation theory.

What does the theory propose? Give examples.

Amnesia resulting from brain Trauma and neurodegenerative diseases.

What is brain trauma, neurodegenerative disease and amnesia?

Anterograde (Korsakoff’s syndrome) and Retrograde Amnesia. What is unable to be recalled, memories before or after? Symptoms. Causes of these types of amnesia.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

What have autopsies found?

Physiological causes. Amyloid, Acetylcholine. How can these contribute to neuron degeneration?

What have PET scans found?

Symptoms.

Effects of ageing on memory

In what way does the memory decline as we age?

What aspects of memory are affected by age?

Effect of ageing on short term memory.

Effect of ageing on long term memory.

The three possible factors that may contribute to memory decline. AGE RELATED, LACK OF MOTIVATION, LOSS OF CONFIDENCE.

FORGETTING

Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve.

What does it refer to? Be able to predict the rate and amount of forgetting that occurs after learning new information.

Measures of retention.

What does the sensitivity of each measure of retention refer to?

Recall (free recall, serial recall), Recognition. What does each involve? Relearning/Savings method. What does it involve?

Ebbinghaus and the nonsensical syllables. Know the formulas for time and interval.

Which is the most sensitive measure of retention and why?

THEORIES OF FORGETTING

Retrieval Failure Theory. Cue dependent forgetting.

What does the theory propose?

Tip of the tongue phenomenon

What is it? What can we tell about a word and still not be able to say it?

Partial retrieval process..

What does TOT suggest about the organisation of information in LTM?

What does TOT suggest about the retrieval process?

Interference Theory.

Retroactive and Proactive interference. How are they studied? Know the difference.

Motivated Forgetting.

Freud and Repression. fMRI findings (pg 381).

Decay theory.

Define, explain (chemical trace), example. Evidence to contradict this theory.

Manipulation and Improvement of memory.

How can long term memories be deconstructed and why?

Elizabeth Loftus’ studies on the reconstructive nature of memory.

What has she concluded?

How do leading questions affect eyewitness testimonies?

Improvement of memory

Context and state dependent cues.

What are they? How do they enhance retrieval? How are they researched?

Mnemonic Devices

What are they, how are they used, why do they work? Give examples.

Method of loci, Peg word, Narrative chaining, Acrostics, Acronyms and rhymes, SQ3R

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