NEUROSCIENCE OF LEARNING AND
MEMORY EXAM 1 QUESTIONS WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
neurobiology of learning and memory - Answer-an important scientific field that
seeks to understand how the brain stores and retrieves information about our
experiences
dendrites - Answer-branched projections of a neuron that receive synaptic input from
the presynaptic terminal
synapse - Answer-the point of contact between the presynaptic sending neuron and
the post-synaptic receiving neuron
reticulum theory - Answer-a theory popularized by Camillo Golgi that the brain is one
continuous network
nonsense syllables - Answer-meaningless non-words created by placing a vowel
between two consonants
after images - Answer-Briefly lasting sensations; the first of three traces in William
James's theory of memory.
axon - Answer-the long fiber of a neuron that extends from the soma and conducts
electrical signals away from cell body
anterograde amnesia - Answer-the loss of memory for events that occur after a brain
insult or experimental treatment
secondary memory - Answer-the record of experiences that have receded from the
stream of consciousness but can be later retrieved or recollected; the theird of theree
traces in William James's theory of memory
neuron doctrine - Answer-the idea that the brain is made up of discrete cells called
neurons or nerve cells that are elemental signal units of the brain
associative learning - Answer-learning based on the principle that new information
can be acquired by connections between elements
behavioral system - Answer-a system that is organized specifically to ensure that
some particular need is met.
competing memory hypothesis - Answer-a hypothesis that assumes extinction
produces a new associatino called a CS-noUS association, while the original CS-US
association that produced the CR remains intact
, cortical pathway - Answer-a pathway that carries information from the sensory
thalamus to the neocortical regions of the brain where a richer, more detailed
representation of the experience is constructed.
CS-noUS association - Answer-a new association generated when the CS is no
longer presented with the US. This idea forms the basis for competing memory
theory in extinction studies
medial temporal hippocampal (MTH) system - Answer-the region of the brain
composed of the perirhinal, parahippocampal, and entorhinal cortices and the
hippocampal formation, which is composed of the hippocampus proper (CA1 and
CA3 regions), subiculum, and denate gyrus
cellular consolidation - Answer-the biochemical and molecular processes that take
place immediately following the behavioral experience and initially stabilize the
memory trace. This type of consolidation is thought to take several hours to
complete.
competitive trace theory (CTT) - Answer-a theory that proposes that as memories
age interactions between the hippocampus and neocortex degrade the validity of
episodic memories
standard model of systems consolidation - Answer-a theory that assumes that as
episodic and semantic memories age they no longer require the medial temporal
hippocampal (MTH) system for retrieval
extrahippocampal system - Answer-a collection of cortical areas that can support
fear conditioning independent of the hippocampus
systems consolidation - Answer-a theory that assumes that a change in strength of
the memory trace is brought about by interactions between brain regions (the medial
temporal hippocampal system and neocortex). It is assumed to take place over a
long period of time, after the memory is initially established
procedural memory - Answer-a category of memory that supports the performance of
actions and skills
classical conditioning - Answer-the methodology invented by Ivan Pavlov to study
learning and memory
instrumental learning - Answer-learning that a reward or reinforcer is contingent on
the occurence of a particular behavior
cell theory - Answer-the accepted view that the fundamental element in the structure
of living bodies is a cell
synaptic plasticity hypothesis - Answer-the hypothesis that the strength of synaptic
connections - the ease with which an action potential in one cell excited (or inhibits)
its target cell - is not fixed but is plastic and modifiable
MEMORY EXAM 1 QUESTIONS WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
neurobiology of learning and memory - Answer-an important scientific field that
seeks to understand how the brain stores and retrieves information about our
experiences
dendrites - Answer-branched projections of a neuron that receive synaptic input from
the presynaptic terminal
synapse - Answer-the point of contact between the presynaptic sending neuron and
the post-synaptic receiving neuron
reticulum theory - Answer-a theory popularized by Camillo Golgi that the brain is one
continuous network
nonsense syllables - Answer-meaningless non-words created by placing a vowel
between two consonants
after images - Answer-Briefly lasting sensations; the first of three traces in William
James's theory of memory.
axon - Answer-the long fiber of a neuron that extends from the soma and conducts
electrical signals away from cell body
anterograde amnesia - Answer-the loss of memory for events that occur after a brain
insult or experimental treatment
secondary memory - Answer-the record of experiences that have receded from the
stream of consciousness but can be later retrieved or recollected; the theird of theree
traces in William James's theory of memory
neuron doctrine - Answer-the idea that the brain is made up of discrete cells called
neurons or nerve cells that are elemental signal units of the brain
associative learning - Answer-learning based on the principle that new information
can be acquired by connections between elements
behavioral system - Answer-a system that is organized specifically to ensure that
some particular need is met.
competing memory hypothesis - Answer-a hypothesis that assumes extinction
produces a new associatino called a CS-noUS association, while the original CS-US
association that produced the CR remains intact
, cortical pathway - Answer-a pathway that carries information from the sensory
thalamus to the neocortical regions of the brain where a richer, more detailed
representation of the experience is constructed.
CS-noUS association - Answer-a new association generated when the CS is no
longer presented with the US. This idea forms the basis for competing memory
theory in extinction studies
medial temporal hippocampal (MTH) system - Answer-the region of the brain
composed of the perirhinal, parahippocampal, and entorhinal cortices and the
hippocampal formation, which is composed of the hippocampus proper (CA1 and
CA3 regions), subiculum, and denate gyrus
cellular consolidation - Answer-the biochemical and molecular processes that take
place immediately following the behavioral experience and initially stabilize the
memory trace. This type of consolidation is thought to take several hours to
complete.
competitive trace theory (CTT) - Answer-a theory that proposes that as memories
age interactions between the hippocampus and neocortex degrade the validity of
episodic memories
standard model of systems consolidation - Answer-a theory that assumes that as
episodic and semantic memories age they no longer require the medial temporal
hippocampal (MTH) system for retrieval
extrahippocampal system - Answer-a collection of cortical areas that can support
fear conditioning independent of the hippocampus
systems consolidation - Answer-a theory that assumes that a change in strength of
the memory trace is brought about by interactions between brain regions (the medial
temporal hippocampal system and neocortex). It is assumed to take place over a
long period of time, after the memory is initially established
procedural memory - Answer-a category of memory that supports the performance of
actions and skills
classical conditioning - Answer-the methodology invented by Ivan Pavlov to study
learning and memory
instrumental learning - Answer-learning that a reward or reinforcer is contingent on
the occurence of a particular behavior
cell theory - Answer-the accepted view that the fundamental element in the structure
of living bodies is a cell
synaptic plasticity hypothesis - Answer-the hypothesis that the strength of synaptic
connections - the ease with which an action potential in one cell excited (or inhibits)
its target cell - is not fixed but is plastic and modifiable
