NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING AND
MEMORY EXAM I
Neurobiology of learning and memory - Correct Answers -a scientific field that seeks to
understand how the brain stores and retrieves information about out experiences
Tolman - Correct Answers -studied learning and motivation; known for founding
purposive behaviorism which focused on meaningful behavior and the goal of the
behavior
Nonsense syllables - Correct Answers -meaningless non-words created by placing a
vowel between two consonants
Anterograde amnesia - Correct Answers -the loss of memory for events that occur after
a brain insult or experimental treatment
Retrograde amnesia - Correct Answers -the loss of memory for events that occurred
prior to a brain insult or experimental treatment
After images - Correct Answers -briefly lasting sensations; the first of three traces in
William Jame's theory of memory
Primary memory - Correct Answers -the persisting representation of an experience; the
second of three traces in William Jame's theory of memory
Secondary memory/memory property - Correct Answers -the third of three traces in
William Jame's theory of memory; the reservoir of enduring memory trace that can be
recalled
Plasticity - Correct Answers -the property of the brain that allows it to be modified by
experience; change synaptic connections (a synapse is plastic if it can change the
strength with which it affects its target
Neuron doctrine - Correct Answers -the idea that the brain is made up of discrete cells,
called neurons or nerve cells, that are the elemental signal units of the brain (Cajal)
Synapse - Correct Answers -the point of contact between the presynaptic sending
neuron and the post-synaptic receiving neuron
Synaptic plasticity hypothesis - Correct Answers -the hypothesis that the strength of
synaptic connections can be modified with experience (Cajal)
, Nodes of Ranvier - Correct Answers -gaps between myelination on the axon that allows
for faster communication down the axon
Instrumental learning - Correct Answers -learning that a reward or reinforcer is
contingent on the occurrence of a particular regeneration
Memory trace/Engram - Correct Answers -a sustained neural representation of a
behavioral experience, also called an engram
Simply system approach - Correct Answers -a strategy used to recuse the complexity of
studying the neural basis of memory by studying an animal with the simples nervous
system that can support a modifiable behavior
Long term Potentiation (LTP) - Correct Answers -a persistent strengthening of synapses
produce by low-frequency, intense electrical stimulation
Gill Withdrawal reflex - Correct Answers -a defensive behavior displayed by aplasia
californica when its skin is stimulated
Habituation - Correct Answers -finding that the magnitude of the response to an eliciting
stimulus decreases with repeated stimulation; weakens the synaptic connections
between the sensory and motor neurons
Spontaneous recovery - Correct Answers -the recovery of a habituated response that
occurs "spontaneous" with the passage of time
Short term habituation - Correct Answers -a form of habituation that does not endure;
less neurotransmitter is released
Long term habituation - Correct Answers -a long-lasting form of habituation that is
produced by many sessions of repeated stimulation; sensory terminals pruned; over
several days the animal will habituate faster
Sensitization - Correct Answers -an enhanced reflex response to a reflex-producing
stimulus; causes the release of serotonin and causes voltage-gated Ca2+ channels to
stay open increasing the amount of neurotransmitter relased
Hippocampus - Correct Answers -a region of the brain believed to make a critical
contribution to episodic memory; involved in spatial navigation and memory
In vitro preparation - Correct Answers -a method of performing an experiment in a
controlled environment outside of a living organisms (i.e., slice of hippocampus tissue is
often used to conduct long-term potentiation (LTP) experiments)
MEMORY EXAM I
Neurobiology of learning and memory - Correct Answers -a scientific field that seeks to
understand how the brain stores and retrieves information about out experiences
Tolman - Correct Answers -studied learning and motivation; known for founding
purposive behaviorism which focused on meaningful behavior and the goal of the
behavior
Nonsense syllables - Correct Answers -meaningless non-words created by placing a
vowel between two consonants
Anterograde amnesia - Correct Answers -the loss of memory for events that occur after
a brain insult or experimental treatment
Retrograde amnesia - Correct Answers -the loss of memory for events that occurred
prior to a brain insult or experimental treatment
After images - Correct Answers -briefly lasting sensations; the first of three traces in
William Jame's theory of memory
Primary memory - Correct Answers -the persisting representation of an experience; the
second of three traces in William Jame's theory of memory
Secondary memory/memory property - Correct Answers -the third of three traces in
William Jame's theory of memory; the reservoir of enduring memory trace that can be
recalled
Plasticity - Correct Answers -the property of the brain that allows it to be modified by
experience; change synaptic connections (a synapse is plastic if it can change the
strength with which it affects its target
Neuron doctrine - Correct Answers -the idea that the brain is made up of discrete cells,
called neurons or nerve cells, that are the elemental signal units of the brain (Cajal)
Synapse - Correct Answers -the point of contact between the presynaptic sending
neuron and the post-synaptic receiving neuron
Synaptic plasticity hypothesis - Correct Answers -the hypothesis that the strength of
synaptic connections can be modified with experience (Cajal)
, Nodes of Ranvier - Correct Answers -gaps between myelination on the axon that allows
for faster communication down the axon
Instrumental learning - Correct Answers -learning that a reward or reinforcer is
contingent on the occurrence of a particular regeneration
Memory trace/Engram - Correct Answers -a sustained neural representation of a
behavioral experience, also called an engram
Simply system approach - Correct Answers -a strategy used to recuse the complexity of
studying the neural basis of memory by studying an animal with the simples nervous
system that can support a modifiable behavior
Long term Potentiation (LTP) - Correct Answers -a persistent strengthening of synapses
produce by low-frequency, intense electrical stimulation
Gill Withdrawal reflex - Correct Answers -a defensive behavior displayed by aplasia
californica when its skin is stimulated
Habituation - Correct Answers -finding that the magnitude of the response to an eliciting
stimulus decreases with repeated stimulation; weakens the synaptic connections
between the sensory and motor neurons
Spontaneous recovery - Correct Answers -the recovery of a habituated response that
occurs "spontaneous" with the passage of time
Short term habituation - Correct Answers -a form of habituation that does not endure;
less neurotransmitter is released
Long term habituation - Correct Answers -a long-lasting form of habituation that is
produced by many sessions of repeated stimulation; sensory terminals pruned; over
several days the animal will habituate faster
Sensitization - Correct Answers -an enhanced reflex response to a reflex-producing
stimulus; causes the release of serotonin and causes voltage-gated Ca2+ channels to
stay open increasing the amount of neurotransmitter relased
Hippocampus - Correct Answers -a region of the brain believed to make a critical
contribution to episodic memory; involved in spatial navigation and memory
In vitro preparation - Correct Answers -a method of performing an experiment in a
controlled environment outside of a living organisms (i.e., slice of hippocampus tissue is
often used to conduct long-term potentiation (LTP) experiments)
