MEMORY

This knowledge includes:

STUDY DESIGN, 2010 - 2014

Comparison of models for explaining human memory:
⦿ Atkinson-Shiffrin’s multi-store model of memory including
maintenance and elaborative rehearsal, serial position effect
and chunking
⦿ Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch’s model of working
memory: central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial
sketchpad, episodic buffer
⦿ levels of processing as informed by Fergus Craik and Robert
Lockhart
⦿ organisation of long-term memory including declarative and
episodic memory, and semantic network theory
Neural basis of memory:
⦿ role of the neuron in memory formation informed by the
work of E. Richard Kandel
⦿ roles of the hippocampus and temporal lobe
⦿ consolidation theory
⦿ memory decline over the lifespan
⦿ amnesia resulting from brain trauma and neurodegenerative
diseases including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
WHO REMEMBERS ??
 How is information processed?

MODELS OF MEMORY
MEMORY
⦿ Types of Memory ● Processes
◼ Iconic ● Encoding, storage,
◼ Short-Term retrieval
Mnemonics & Working ● Methods
Memory
◼ Long term
● Recognition, recall
Implicit ● Anatomy of
Explicit Memory
◼ Levels of processing ● Hippocampus and
Amygdala
SCHACTER (2001)“SEVEN SINS OF
MEMORY”

⦿ Memories are transient (fade with time)

⦿ We do not remember what we do not pay
attention to
⦿ Our memories can be temporarily blocked
⦿ We can misattribute the source of memory
⦿ We are suggestible in our memories
⦿ We can show memory distortion (bias)
⦿ We often fail to forget the things we would like
not to recall (persistence of memory)
THE RECONSTRUCTIVE NATURE OF
MEMORY
⦿ Bartlett
◼ Assigning a name influences the reproduction.
◼ The transformations are in the direction of conventional
representations (highest frequency of exposure)
◼ Features that are not at first recognized are elaborated
until recognition is produced
◼ Once a recognizable feature is produced, it is reduced to
its most conventional simplification
The Reconstruction: Not Just for Stories
Images, Too!
THE NEURO-ANATOMY OF MEMORY
⦿ Hippocampus
⦿ Amygdala
HIPPOCAMPUS
Anatomy of
Memory

Amygdala: emotional memory and memory consolidation

Basal ganglia & cerebellum: memory for skills, habits and
CC responses
Hippocampus: memory recognition, spatial, episodic
memory, laying down new declarative long-term memories
Thalamus, formation of new memories and working
memories
Cortical Areas: encoding of factual memories, storage of
episodic and semantic memories, skill learning, priming.
WHAT DOES THE HIPPOCAMPUS DO?
⦿ Place cells neurons that respond when
you are in a specific place, in the place
field of the neuron. So a place cell would
fire when you are in your bedroom or
house, etc. Each hippocampal neuron has
a place field in many different
environments. At first when you put the
rat in the new environment, no neurons
fire. Then as the rat becomes familiar
with the room, neurons fire for particular
parts of the room.
WHAT DOES THE HIPPOCAMPUS DO?
⦿ Configural Association Theory The theory
that the hippocampus retains the
interrelation among cues, spatially and
temporally. So it remembers the relationship
between a visual cue and a location as
signaling food.
⦿ Path Integration Theory the hippocampus
calculates current location, past location,
and future location from one’s own
movement.
The Amygdal: Fear
and Memory
AMYGDALA
⦿ The amygdala modulates the formation of
memories in other brain structures, such
as the hippocampus. Information or
events of particular emotional /
motivational significance are better
remembered than those of little
importance (c.f. flashbulb memory).
⦿ Lesions in humans and primates reveal a
role for the amygdala in the perception of
emotional cues and the generation of
emotional responses, particularly those
associated with negative emotions such as
fear.
AMYGDALA
⦿ Amygdala lesions before retention testing
disrupt conditioned fear. Hence, the
amygdala may be the site of storage of fear
memories.

⦿ Temporary inactivation by drugs during

acquisition has the same effect, suggesting a
genuine role in memory encoding.
⦿ Memory is not a ‘single organ’ or a single ‘thing’, rather it
consists of a collection of complex interconnected and
interacting systems
⦿ We do not have a memory, but we have different memory
systems which share a common function of:

storing information Processing different

(learned through experience) information

Memory
systems
Storing information
retrieving the information
(in different ways & types of
(when needed)
information)

⦿ our perceptual systems, eg vision are constantly inputting

information, however the brain must work out what to attend
to, process and store in memory, and what not to!
 DEFINING MEMORY
⦿ Memory is often defined as the storage and retrieval of
information acquired through learning.
⦿ the existence of memory indicates that learning has
occurred and the memory is the internal record or
representation of an event &/or experience.
⦿ Memory is also defined as requiring and as information
processing (think… like a computer)
Memory as information processing -
⦿ Encoding – converting information to a useable form
⦿ Storage – retaining information in memory
⦿ Retrieval – information recovered from memory when
needed
⦿ All three processes are required and if any one is not
included, the memory will not form.
 Memory as an info-processing system
⦿ Memory is an active (uses energy) information-processing system that:
◼ Receives,
◼ Organises
◼ Stores &recovers information

• Info is
Encoding retained in Retrieval
brain
Incoming • Info is • Info is
sensory input converted Storage recovered
for storage when
needed

⦿ Memory actively alters and organises information, then stores it so that it can be
easily retrieved when needed
⦿ There are 3 key processes involved in these systems. If any of these processes fail,
memory will fail
An additional aspect of the Atkinson & Shiffrin human multi store model included:
⦿ Structural features & Control processes.
 MEMORY LIKE A COMPUTER
????
⦿ Encoding = hitting the letters on the key board
-> it goes into the computer

⦿ Storage = we hit ‘save’ -> we name the file

and store the information for later on
when we save the file

⦿ Retrieval = process of getting past information

back -> we need to use the right
‘cues’ in order to get the information
back, but if we do then we have the
original information back!
 MODEL’S FOR EXPLAINING HUMAN MEMORY
⦿ As the human memory is complex and multifaceted, is it
NOT studied together, rather it is broken down into
pieces or sections, each being studied separately.
⦿ Each of these is referred to as a MODEL

⦿ The three main theories that explain how human memory

functions are:
1. Atkinson-Shiffrin multi-store model
2. Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory
3. Craik and Lockhart’s levels of processing
framework
 ATKINSON-SHIFFRIN’S
MULTI-STORE MODEL OF
MEMORY
⦿ Based in the 1960’s
⦿ Proposed a shift in the single memory model => assumption
that human memory has several systems/processes
involved.
⦿ By Richard Atkinson & Richard Shiffrin – Americans.
⦿ This model was also called/considered modal model, as it
merged and represented many other models during this
time.
⦿ It is also known as the stage model, as it put forward that
the flow of information moves in stages through each
component of memory.

⦿ Information passes through 3 levels of memory as it is

encoded, stored and retrieved, and these 3 levels are sensory
register, short term store & long term store
 Sensory register Reh
e
• The entry point for all new at arsal
ti
poi me
information into memory from crit n
ica t
the external environment mo l for
per r
• Stores vast amount of incoming ma e
If information is attended sto nent
visual information, for 100’s ra
(LT ge
to, it moves into short milliseconds M)
term memory store
Short term store
• A temporary working memory
• Here we can manipulate information from every
If day/common tasks
information • Holds all information that we are aware of at that
is not point in time
attended • Has a limited capacity – 7 items at 1 time
to, it is lost • Only held for about 30 sec unless we make an effort
to keep it there (attend to it), eg rehearsal

Long term store

• Information held relatively permanently in an highly organised way
• Essentially can be an unlimited capacity
• Unlike sensory register & short term store – information in long term store does not usually
decay and can stored for …… a whole lifetime
• According to Atkinson & Shiffrin – it is our inability to retrieve required information that
results ineffective search strategies
• Problems with retrieval may also be due to ‘interference’ with the information and this results
in a disruption in the retrieval process
 Atkinson-Shiffrin multi-store model
Rehearsal

Paid attention Info encoded or

to info rehearsed

Sensory Sensory Short-term Long-term

info Memory Memory Memory

Retrieval

Info not paid Not rehearsed Various reasons

attention to… or encoded

Lost from sensory Displaced from

memory short-term memory Forgotten
 STRUCTURAL & CONTROLLED PROCESSES
⦿ Structural features of memory are the permanent
features that do not alter from situation to situation – they
are three levels of information processing:
◼ Sensory memory,
◼ Short term memory (STM) &
◼ Long term memory (LTM)

⦿ Control processes are the activities the individual does to

process the information (eg they have ‘control’ over what
they attended to and process)
◼ Attention – no information will be encoded if we don’t pay
attention to it
◼ Rehearsal – process that goes over information and helps it be
stored
But all of this was developed over 40 years ago ….. And
we now have more knowledge …
 EVALUATING ATKINSON & SHIFFRIN
Advantages Limitations

⦿ Identified characteristics
⦿ It is now clear that information does
of short term store as
not ‘just flow’ as described in
being different and apart Atkinson & Shiffrin’ 3 stage sequence
from long term memory
⦿ There is a separate sensory register
⦿ Recognised the for auditory information & haptic
importance of short term (touch) information – and maybe even
store & its fundamental more now referred to as a sensory
roles memory system
⦿ Maintenance and ⦿ Short term store now believed to be a
rehearsal are still much more complex system
relevant, although now
⦿ Different types of rehearsal have been
more complex
identified in short term memory
⦿ Despite some newly
⦿ Long term store is no longer a single
learnt differences, still
store -> rather it includes more
held as the original
complex systems & structures of
multi store model,
storage.
although now just more
 Stages of memory – Sensory Memory
⦿ Sensory Memory
◼ Entry point of memory
◼ Capacity to store all sensory stimuli (unlimited)
◼ Stored as the original form of stimulus (buffer –
need more processing before it can be stored)
◼ Not consciously aware of most of the info in
sensory stage, directing attention to it is what
causes transfer to short-term memory
◼ Incoming stimuli is stored as a memory trace in
different sensory registers based on the type of
sense
Iconic memory – visual
Echoic memory - auditory
 Sensory Memory includes
⦿ Iconic memory ( I as in eye)
◼ Visual images are stored here for about 0.2-0.4 seconds
◼ Stored as overlapping images
◼ Allows perception of flowing movement during a film,
or a figure drawn with a sparkler at night

⦿ Echoic memory (e as in ear)

◼ Sound stimuli are stored here for around 3-4 seconds
◼ This is longer than in iconic memory as sound takes
longer to produce
◼ Allows comprehension of speech by connecting
individual sounds coherently into words and sentences
 Stages of memory – Short-term memory
⦿ Activity: Capacity of STM
◼ Read aloud the following series of numbers and ask students to
recall each line in order.
6, 4, 7 (3 items)
9, 0, 1, 8 (4 items)
4, 3, 5, 7, 2 (5 items)
7, 1, 3, 8, 9, 4 (6 items)
3, 6, 8, 4, 9, 1, 5 (7 items)
2, 6, 4, 9, 1, 5, 7, 3 (8 items)
1, 7, 5, 8, 6, 3, 9, 2, 4 (9 items)
2, 6, 7, 3, 5, 4, 9, 1, 8, 3 (10 items)
◼ On average, how many numbers did each person recall from each
list? This is the capacity of STM.
⦿ Activity: Duration of STM
◼ Students learn the following sequence of numbers
◼ 4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 7, 8
◼ Test immediately, then after 2 minutes
◼ How many people remembered the sequence? This is duration of
STM
 Stages of memory: Short-term memory

⦿ Short-term memory (STM) is a memory system that has

a limited capacity and duration
⦿ It also stores the information in an encoded format
⦿ Described as the “seat of conscious thought” –
information only registers in STM once it is paid
attention to – in conscious awareness
⦿ Duration of STM
◼ Without rehearsal (active use), recall starts to decline after
about 12 seconds and is almost completely gone after 18
seconds (occasionally can last up to 30 sec)
◼ Using rehearsal, information can be retained indefinitely in
STM
 Short-term memory
⦿ Capacity of STM
◼ The amount of pieces of information that can be stored in
STM is 7 ± 2 (between 5-9 items)
◼ Adding in more items displaces (pushes out) existing items in
STM – this is called displacement, shown below

Now becomes ..

◼ Recalling information from long-term memory can also

displace items from STM
◼ Information is lost primarily within STM by either
displacement (pushing out) or by decay (not being used-
think fruit!)
 SHORT TERM MEMORY

Capacity of STM cont…..

⦿ Chunking is a method of increasing the capacity of

STM
◼ Definiton: grouping or separate bits of information into a
larger single chunk of information.
◼ Separate pieces of info are remembered as single units
(groups info into chunks)
◼ Only similar info can be chunked together (chunking)
◼ Still only retain 7 ± 2 chunks
◼ Chunks can be numbers, images, words, sentences, phrases
and even abbreviations
◼ This is why we have phone numbers broken into parts
…… 5427 2600 rather than 54272600.
 SHORT TERM MEMORY
STM as working memory
⦿ Term working memory is used to emphasise the active
part of memory where information we are aware of
constantly, is actively ‘worked on; in a variety of ways
⦿ Enables us to use the information in sensory memory and
move it to LTM
⦿ Often we combine information from sensory memory and
LTM to perform mental processes, such as emotions,
comprehension, problem solving, planning &
daydreaming.
⦿ So this ‘working memory’ provides a temporary storage
facility and mental workspace for information currently
being used within a conscious cognitive activity.
⦿ The STM working memory is often compared to a
computer
 Effects of rehearsal
⦿ Rehearsal is the process of actively and consciously
manipulating information to keep it in STM for longer
than the normal 18 sec. (Increases duration)
⦿ Maintenance rehearsal
◼ Repeating info over and over usually vocally (out loud) or
sub-vocally (in your head)
◼ Works indefinitely to keep info in STM
◼ Does not always transfer info into long-term memory
⦿ Elaborate rehearsal
◼ Links new info to existing knowledge in a meaningful way
◼ More active than maintenance rehearsal (requires more
effort)
◼ Very effective in transferring info into long-term memory,
especially when using personal link (self-reference effect)
EFFECTS OF REHEARSAL
Maintenance
Rehearsal
Paid attention Elaborative
to info Rehearsal

Sensory Sensory Short-term Long-term

info Memory Memory Memory

Retrieval

Info not paid Not rehearsed Various reasons

attention to… or encoded

Lost from sensory Displaced from

memory short-term memory Forgotten
 Stages of memory – Long-term memory
⦿ Long-term memory (LTM) is the relatively permanent
memory system that has potentially unlimited capacity
and duration (life-long)
◼ Info in LTM is inactive (not in use) and we are not
consciously aware of it until it is retrieved
◼ Due to the sheer volume of info in LTM, we use cues
(intentional or unintentional) to speed up the process of
retrieval
◼ Cues enable retrieval of specific info, not the entire contents
of LTM – usually very efficient and very fast
◼ Once retrieved, the info is stored in STM until it is no longer
needed/in use. It is then transferred back into LTM
◼ Failure to retrieve info from LTM is usually due to poor
organisation during encoding and storage, or an inappropriate
cue was used during retrieval
◼ Info is encoded in terms of its meaning (semantically)
 Types of long-term memory
⦿ Memories in LTM are relatively permanent or at least
very longlasting
⦿ Forgetting is most likely due to a failure to retrieve info
– poor encoding or poor cue
⦿ Retrieval cues: a stimulus that assists in the process of
locating and retrieving information stored in memory.

⦿ There are two major types of LTM (LTM stores):

1. Procedural memory (Implicit memories – “how?”)
◼ Knowing how to do stuff – actions and activities
◼ Often difficult to explain this knowledge
◼ Usually learnt through observation and practice
◼ Not usually consciously recalled
◼ E.g. making a cup of tea/riding a bike
 Types of long-term memory
2. Declarative memory (Explicit memories – “What?”)
◼ Memories of facts and/or events
◼ Usually consciously recalled
◼ Two types of declarative memory:
a) Episodic memory
Memories of specific events or personal experiences
Include references to “when” and “where”
b) Semantic memory
Memories of general academic knowledge
Facts not necessarily related to a specific place or time
Include references about “what” and “who”
 Characteristics of the stages of memory
Stage of Capacit
Function Form of storage Duration
memory y
Sensory •Receives sensory Original sensory form Unlimited •Varies based
memory information E.g. lingering sense of on sensation
(SM) (stimuli) from sound or pressure •Usually
environment between 0.2 –
4 sec
•Occasionally
up to 10 sec
Short-term •Receives info from Encoded in terms of 7 ±2 •Usually 18-20
memory SM physical properties of pieces or sec
(STM) •Receives info from stimuli chunks of •Occasionally
LTM E.g. Starts with L info up to 30 sec

Long-term •Storehouse for Encoded in terms of Unlimited •Potentially

memory encoded info semantics - meaning permanent
(LTM) coming from STM
 Levels of processing framework –
CRAIK AND LOCKHART
⦿ Craik and Lockhart proposed a framework of memory
that emphasised the importance of the level of
processing in how well information is stored in LTM
⦿ Info is stored best in LTM semantically (by meaning) so
if the meanings of concepts are processes during
learning, they are more likely to be recalled later –
elaborate rehearsal is more effective for LTM than
maintenance rehearsal
⦿ The deeper the level of processing (more elaborate
encoding) the better the recall
◼ Visual encoding – “is there a letter k in the word?”
◼ Acoustic encoding – “does it rhyme with hat?”
◼ Semantic encoding – “is it a synonym of difficult?”
 Levels of processing framework
Levels of processing or depth are hard to define
specifically and to measure
Despite this problem the idea of better processing and
therefore better storage is supported widely by research

Craik and Lockhart

Shallow Visual What the word Colours, shapes and
processing encoding looks like patterns detected

Intermediate Acoustic What the word Item is identified

processing encoding sounds like

Deep Semantic What the word Meaningful associations

processing encoding means are made
 Model of working memory –
BADDELEY AND HITCH’S
⦿ Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory
describes STM as a functional system with three
components that work independently but can also
interact:
1. Phonological loop (Verbal working memory)
◼ Verbal information is stored in a sound-based form
(phonological)
◼ Only hold about 2 sec worth of info (around 7 items
depending on length of words)
2. Visuo-spatial sketchpad (Visual working memory)
◼ Visual info is anything you can see or imagine, spatial info is
position and location of objects in space
◼ Also has limited duration and capacity (around 4 items)
 Model of working memory –
BADDELEY AND HITCH’S
3. Central executive
◼ Controls attention
◼ Integrates information from the phonological loop and visuo-spatial
sketchpad with info from LTM
◼ Coordinates the flow of info between the working memory system
and LTM
◼ Manipulates the info held in the phonological loops and visuo-spatial
sketchpad – the working component of the model of working
memory
⦿ Episodic buffer (a fourth component added in 2000)
◼ A sub-system of the working memory that enables the different
components to interact with LTM
◼ Has limited capacity (about 4 chunks of info)
◼ Can hold info in any form and so can integrate phonological loop
and visuo-spatial sketchpad – temporary workspace where various
pieces of info can be put together in a meaningful way
 Model of working memory

Sensory input
Rehearsal Rehearsal

Phonological Visuo-spatial
loop sketchpad

Central Executive

Episodic Buffer

Long-Term Memory
ALAN BADDELEY AND GRAHAM HITCH’S
MODEL OF WORKING MEMORY
Phonological
Loop
storage of verbal
Central Executive speech information Episodic Buffer
Integrates useful LTM
• Controls attention into what currently
being worked on
• Integrates info from the two
storage sub systems Pulls together streams
of different info into
• does the ‘working out’ ‘episodes’ as a
meaningful whole
•The seat of consciousness
The workbench
Visio spatial
Sketchpad
Storage of visual and
spatial information
 BADDELEY & HITCH’S MODEL OF
WORKING MEMORY
⦿ Read example on pg. 319

⦿ Once we have read it .....Going to party the following

is:
- phonological loop stores the directions
- Visio spatial sketchpad visualises the route
- Central executive directs the Episodic buffer to
combine information from storage branches
- Episodic buffer also adds information from LTM
- Episodic buffer used as the mental ‘workbench’ to
make adjustments
Again … just in cases you need to refresh
Stages of memory – LONG-TERM memory
⦿ Long-term memory (LTM) is the relatively permanent
memory system that has potentially unlimited capacity
and duration (life-long)
◼ Info in LTM is inactive (not in use) and we are not
consciously aware of it until it is retrieved
◼ Due to the sheer volume of info in LTM, we use cues
(intentional or unintentional) to speed up the process of
retrieval
◼ Cues ( retrieval cues) enable retrieval of specific info, not
the entire contents of LTM – usually very efficient and very
fast
◼ Once retrieved, the info is stored in STM until it is no longer
needed/in use. It is then transferred back into LTM
◼ Failure to retrieve info from LTM is usually due to poor
Organisation during encoding and storage, or an
inappropriate cue was used during retrieval
 Types of long-term memory
⦿ Memories in LTM are relatively permanent or at least
very longlasting
⦿ Forgetting is most likely due to a failure to retrieve info
– poor encoding or poor cue
⦿ There are two major types of LTM (LTM stores):
1. Procedural memory (Implicit memories – “how?”)
◼ Knowing how to do stuff – actions and activities
◼ Often difficult to explain this knowledge
◼ Usually learnt through observation and practice
◼ Not usually consciously recalled
◼ E.g. making a cup of tea/riding a bike
 Types of long-term memory

2. Declarative memory (Explicit memories – “What?”)

◼ Memories of facts and/or events
◼ Usually consciously recalled
◼ Two types of declarative memory:
a) Episodic memory
Memories of specific events or personal experiences
Include references to “when” and “where”
b) Semantic memory
Memories of general academic knowledge
Facts not necessarily related to a specific place or time
Include references about “what” and “who”
 TULVING (1983)

⦿ Tulving argues that semantic & episodic memory

systems often work together in forming new
memories – it isn't always one or the other.

⦿ In such instances, the memory that ultimately

forms may consist of an autobiographical episode
and semantic information.
 Types of long-term memory
⦿ Complete the table in your workbooks
Types of Long Term Memories
Procedural Memories
Definition: Example:

Declarative Memories
Definition: Example:

Episodic Memory Semantic Memory

Example: Example:
 Organisation of Information in
LTM
⦿ Long term memory’s most distinctive feature is its
organisation of information
⦿ The task of retrieving information from LTM differs from
the process of retrieving information from STM.
⦿ In short term memory, the search and retrieve tasks
involve scanning only 7 + 2 items to locate the relevant
information.
⦿ This 7 + 2 system doesn’t work with LTM, as there is
such vast information to store, so there is a need for
organisation to assist the storage and retrieval process.
 BOUSFIELD & BOWER & CLARK
⦿ Research into LTM has been studied for over 65 years now. Research
suggests:
Bousfeild & Sedgewick, 1944
⦿ Information may be recalled in burst of information, pause briefly …..
Then recall more information and so forth.
⦿ This suggested the way people recalled items reflected the way the items
were organised in LTM
Bousfeild, 1953
⦿ Noticed that when asked to recall information, people would recall the
words in groups or clusters, without being aware
Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2006
⦿ It is still believed today that there is some kind of logical association in
LTM
Bower & Clark, 1969
⦿ Found that words that were memorised in stories would recall up to 90% of
12 words compared to only 15% of words remembered in any order
⦿ They concluded that the results from recall in LTM were improved using
 Semantic network theory
⦿ Information is stored in LTM as series of overlapping
networks
⦿ Each network is interconnected by meaningful links
⦿ Each item of information or concept in the network is
called a node
⦿ When a node in a network is activated (retrieved) all other
related nodes are made available (easier to retrieve) –
spreading activation
⦿ Linking multiple concepts removes the need for multiple
copies of the same information
⦿ The shorter or thicker the link between nodes, the stronger
the association between them and the faster the retrieval
⦿ Think of the semantic network theory as towns as nodes
and the highways & streets as links
SEMANTIC NETWORK THEORY IN PRACTICE
 Semantic network theory –
spreading activation (loftus & collins)
Traffic lights Fireman
Fire Engine
Trustworthy
Green Fire
Red
Emergency Brave
Yello
w Blue Police Courage
Apple
 Neuron bases of memory
⦿ Memories are stored throughout the brain linked together by
memory traces or “circuits” – interconnected neurons

⦿ However, different parts of the brain are involved in memory

formation and retrieval to different degrees, and in different
types of memories

⦿ New memories (either short or long term) are NOT stored in

individual synapses but in the pattern of thousands of new
interrelated connections

⦿ Looking for memories in a single nerve cell or synapse is a

dead end

⦿ We know that there is a molecular basis to memory

formation, what we do not know is exactly how thousands of
these new connections hold our memories.
KANDELS SEA SLUGS
⦿ Kandel identified that there are physical changes
to neurons during the formation of new memories
◼ Worked primarily with large sea slugs (Aplysia
californica)
◼ Has very simple Nervous System
◼ 20, 000 neurons
◼ Largest observable neurons – can be seen with the
naked eye!
⦿ Stimulated the siphon (gill in the tail of slug that squirts water to move
slug away from danger)
⦿ According to Kendal:
◼ STM – would withdraw gill more and more quickly
◼ Forgetting – an hour later the withdrawal was again slow,
progressively faster with continued stimulation
◼ Habituation – eventually the slug stopped responding to the
stimulation as it caused no damage, it had ‘learned’ that the shock
was harmless

⦿ Retraction of the gills changes over time indicating memory, so Each

day the slug would habituate more quickly than the day before
⦿ This suggest some kind of LTM lasting days or even weeks

⦿ By studying the neurons involved in this process he identified the

changes that allowed the learning to take place
⦿ The neurons were physically changing!

⦿ These changes are called collectively Long Term Potentiation

 LONG TERM POTENTIATION
⦿ Neural basis for memory formation
⦿ Synapse strength can increase in 3 ways
- Release extra neurotransmitter
- Increase number of receptor sites
- Growth of new synapses
LONG TERM POTENIATION – EXPLICIT STM

New
Receptor
Formation

Stronger neural
impulse in post
synaptic neuron
⦿ So, we know all from sea slugs ……..
⦿ Changes to neurons during memory formation are
collectively called Long-term potentiation and include:
◼ Increased volume of neurotransmitter (function)
◼ Increased connectivity to other neurons (structure)
Increased number of branches (dendritic spines) at the dendrite
and/or axon terminal ends – reinforce existing connections
New synaptic junctions are formed between neurons – creating new
memory traces /neural pathways

⦿ Short-term memory storage only tends to increase

neurotransmitter production, while long-term storage
produces functional and structural changes

⦿ As a memory is recalled, all the neurons in the memory

trace are activated in sequence. The strength and number
of connections between each neuron increases the ease
and speed of recall
 Consolidation Theory
⦿ Information that is transferred from STM to LTM needs a
period of time to be properly and permanently encoded and
stored – (‘consolidated’ or set - think concrete!)
⦿ The consolidation theory suggests that there are
structural/physical changes to the neurons (long-term
potentiation & axon growth) as new memories are formed.
⦿ These changes take time (consolidation phase) and the
memory can be interfered with (changed) or erased (lost
permanently) during this time.
⦿ The new memory is vulnerable for at least 30 minutes after
being experienced.
⦿ The hippocampus and medial temporal lobe play an important
role in consolidation
⦿ Reconsolidation is the process of returning information back
to LTM after it has been retrieved and used – the memory
may be altered in this time.
 Serial position effect
⦿ The serial position effect describes the differences in ability to
recall items in a list depending on their position in that list
⦿ For immediate recall, typically items at the end of the list are
best recalled, then items at the start of the list, with items in the
middle of the list least likely to be recalled
⦿ Recency effect
◼ Superior recall of items at the end of the list (most recently
experienced)
◼ Still in STM so easy to retrieve
⦿ Primacy effect
◼ Superior recall of items at the start of the list
◼ Had the most time to rehearse for probably retrieved from
LTM
⦿ Items from the middle of the list are no longer in STM and
haven’t had a chance to make LTM, so least likely to be recalled
⦿ Most clearly shown when tested immediately after exposure to
the list. After 30 seconds recency effect is less apparent
 Serial Position Effect

http://withfriendship.com/images/h/38230/the-serial-position-effect.gif
⦿ Glanzer & Cuntiz (1966) research concluded that the STM & LTM must
work together within the serial position effect. This was due recall better at
both the start and end of the list, but with a delay of 30 seconds, this is
beyond the limits of STM, and items at the start of the list were more
likely stored in LTM.
 66

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIES

⦿ Autobiographical Memories:
◼ Memories we hold regarding ourselves and our
relationships with the world around us
◼ Depend upon both episodic and semantic memory
systems
◼ Are unique in the way that they play a role in our
lives
◼ Are difficult to study in experimental situations
because the experimenter lacks control over the
learning situation
 67
THE FUNCTION OF
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY
⦿ Williams, Conway, and Cohen (2008) proposed
four functions of autobiographical memory:
◼ Directive functions
Using past experience to solve problems
◼ Social functions
Bonding people together or separating them
◼ Self-representational
Creating and maintaining our self-image
◼ Helping to cope with adversity
Remembering pleasant times when things aren’t so
pleasant
 68
THE FUNCTION OF
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY
⦿ Hyman and Faries (1992) found that:
◼ Sharing experience and relating advice is common
◼ Autobiographical memories are rarely used directively

⦿ Bluck et al.’s (2005) Thinking About Life

Experiences (TALE) questionnaire:
◼ Found that autobiographical memories actually serve a
variety of overlapping purposes, including:
Directive
Self-related
Nurturing existing relationships
Developing new social relationships
+ STUDYING AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL 69

MEMORY
Methodological Difficulties
⦿ Many studies of autobiographical memory
make the tenuous assumption that
participants:
◼ Can remember their autobiographical memories
◼ Can remember what evoked their
remembrances
◼ Are aware of the different functions of their
memories
◼ Can reliably categorize their memories
+ 70

METHODS OF STUDY
Classic Diary Method

⦿ Participants are asked to

record events in a diary at set Components of Wagenaar’s Diary
intervals Feature of Example
◼ Later memories can be Event
objectively compared to the Who? Driving alone
original account of the events in
the diary entries What? A car accident
◼ Individuals can test their Where? By the corner bank
memories by: When? 10/8/08 @ 8:00 AM
Trying to put the events in order Salience? Once per 15 years
(e.g. Linton, 1975)
⚫ Repeated, spaced retrieval Emotionality? Extreme
attempts improve retention Pleasantness Extremely unpleasant
Cuing themselves with details of ?
their entry (e.g. Wagenaar, 1986)
Critical detail Other driver failed to
stop at a red light
+ 71

METHODS OF STUDY
Classic Diary Method

⦿ By manipulating the number of

types of cues he provided
himself to remember events,
Wagenaar (1986) found that:
◼ Who, what, and where cues were
equally effective in prompting a
memory
The when cue (the date), in
isolation, was far less efficient
◼ Recall proved an often
difficult/unpleasant task; however,
He was able to eventually
recollect most events with the
right cues (and the help of
others involved, if necessary)
From Wagenaar (1986). Copyright © Elsevier. Reproduced
with permission.
+ 72

METHODS OF STUDY
Problems with the Classic Diary Method
◼ Memory for items recorded in this manner is not
representative:
There is a selection bias:
⚫ The entries are chosen because they were deemed
meaningful
Memories are atypically well-encoded and rehearsed
⚫ Journaling the events is, in effect, a rehearsal with
deep processing, which improves their memorability
All forms of the diary method require dedicated, reliable
participants, who are not necessarily representative of
the population
+ 73

METHODS OF STUDY
Diary Method with Random Sampling

⦿ Brewer (1988) addressed the selection bias problem by:

◼ Providing participants with a beeper and tape recorder
◼ Having the beeper go off at random intervals
◼ Asking participants to record details about whatever was occurring
when the beeper went off
⦿ Using this method, Brewer found that the events were less
memorable than those recorded using the classic method:
+ 74

METHODS OF STUDY
Diary Method with Random Sampling
⦿ Conway et al.’s (1996) diary study with random
sampling:
◼ Task:
Record events and thoughts in a diary when randomly
prompted
Recognize actual events from plausible, yet invented
alternative ones
Categorize each recognized memory as either:
⚫ Remembered if it was accompanied by a feeling of
recollecting the initial experience
⚫ Known if the memory was only familiar to them, without
recollection
◼ Results:
True events were more likely to be recollected than fake
events
Events were twice as likely to evoke recollection than
thoughts
+ 75

METHODS OF STUDY
Memory Probe Method
⦿ Memory Probe Method
◼ A cued recall task developed by Galton (1879)
◼ Revised by Crovitz and Shiffman (1974):
Task:
⚫ Provide participants with a cue word or time
period
⚫ Ask them to recollect an autobiographical
memory associated with the cue
◼ Suffers from a lack of experimental control
+ 76

METHODS OF STUDY
Memory Probe Method
⦿ People are bad at dating memories and
retrieving them based on temporal cues
◼ Especially when the events are all clustered
around the same time (e.g. Means et al., 1988)
◼ People tend to date memories indirectly either
by:
⚫ Recollecting incidental features (e.g. the
weather at the time)
⚫ Linking it to other events that are more
easily dated (big trips, holidays, or extreme
events)
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIES 77
ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

⦿ Infantile Amnesia:
◼ People tend to recall relatively few memories from
the first 2 to 5 years of life
◼ The average age of one’s first memory varies by
culture
◼ Explanations include:
Freudian repression; underdeveloped hippocampus;
underdeveloped sense of self
⦿ People of all ages tend to recall numerous
memories from the very recent past
◼ Due to the recency effect
⦿ Reminiscence Bump (Rubin, Wetzler, &
Nebes, 1986):
◼ People over the age of 40 tend to report more
memories from the period between ages 15–30
than from other eras
 AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIES
+ 78

ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

Explanations for the Reminiscence Bump
⦿ The Life Narrative:
◼ A coherent account of who we are and how we got here
that is built up through life
◼ Events that influence the narrative are ranked as
important, emotionally intense, and are typically well
encoded
Positive events from young adulthood are especially
memorable
◼ Many of these events occur during the period of the
bump (Bernsten & Rubin, 2004):
Age of first love (16 years, on average)
College
Marriage (27 years)
Children (28 years)
+ AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIES 79

ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

Exceptions to the Reminiscence Bump

⦿ While memories from verbal and visual cues peak

during the typical reminiscence bump period:
◼ Memories cued by smell peak earlier, between 6–10 years
(Chu & Downes, 2002; Willander & Larsson, 2006)
This is NOT because odor memories are more emotional
(visual cues are)
Perhaps because odor cues are not easily rehearsed, they
are less tied to the developing life narrative
+ A THEORY OF 80

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY
Conway (2005)
⦿ Autobiographical memory:
◼ A system that retains knowledge concerning the
experienced self (the “me”), consisting of memories that
are:
Always addressed by the content of the memory
Only are accompanied by a recollective experience if
they are able to access related episodic memories
Transitory and constructed dynamically on the basis of
the autobiographical knowledge base
⚫ Low-level sensory episodes are lost most rapidly
◼ Depends on the interaction between the knowledge base
and the working self
CONWAY’S MODEL OF SELF

The knowledge structures

within autobiographical
memory, as proposed by
Conway (2005).
+ CONWAY’S (2005) THEORY OF 82

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY
The Autobiographical Knowledge Base
◼ A hierarchical structure involving an overall life story

Broad Time Events Episodic Sensory–

Themes Periods Memories Perceptual
Info*

Psychology
College Years
Dept.
Work
First Job Prof. Smith
The
Overall Life Handshake
Story Promotion Interview
The Weather
Personal Courting
First Date
Relationships Spouse

*Sensory details (primarily

visual) help authenticate
memories
+ CONWAY’S (2005) THEORY OF 83

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY
⦿ The Working Self:
◼ A complex set of active goals and self images through
which information is filtered and encoded
◼ Comprises:
Conceptual self-knowledge
Personal details (occupation, family background, etc.)
Professional aims
◼ Partly constructed by:
⚫ Family background
⚫ Peers
⚫ Education
⚫ Myths and stereotypes
+ CONWAY’S (2005) THEORY OF 84

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY
The Working Self

⦿ An effective working self is:

◼ Coherent
◼ Largely grounded in reality
Sensory details (primarily visual) help
authenticate memories
⦿ When divorced from reality, the working self
can produce:
◼ Confabulations and delusions
+ CONWAY’S (2005) THEORY OF 85

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY
Autonoetic Consciousness

⦿ Autonoetic Consciousness (Tulving, 1989):

◼ The capacity to perform mental time travel and reflect on our
thoughts
◼ Recollecting the sensory/perceptual details of a memory
Provides the awareness of having previously experienced
a certain event
Allows us to decide whether a recollection is real or not
◼ A relatively slow process (around several seconds)
◼ Relies on the frontal lobe
+ 86

FLASHBULB MEMORIES
Brown and Kulik (1977)
⦿ Flashbulb Memories:
◼ Are memories for major events with an exceptional level
of vividness and detail
e.g. Assassinations, natural disasters, terrorists attacks
◼ Arguably thought to arise from a mechanism that
produces traces qualitatively different from typical
memories, called now print:
Extreme emotion leads to near photographic record of
the event and its physical context
◼ Are more common when the person remembering is
affected by the event
e.g. more black people have flashbulb memories for the
Martin Luther King assassination
+ 87

FLASHBULB MEMORIES
Not All that Meets the Eye
⦿ Flashbulb Memories:
◼ Are not especially immune to forgetting over long delays
Neisser and Harsch’s (1992) Challenger study
◼ Despite being subjectively clearer than everyday
memories, are just as prone to forgetting when cues are
self-generated
Talarico and Rubin’s (2003) 9/11 study
◼ Are not necessarily clearer/more vivid than other
memories
Rubin and Kozin (1984)
+ 88

FLASHBULB MEMORIES
Neisser and Harsch’s (1992) Challenger Study
⦿ Task:
◼ Asked participants to recall the circumstances when
they learned about the Challenger space shuttle
disaster at two time points:
1 day after the event – 21% said they saw the disaster on
TV
2.5 years later – 45% said they saw it on TV
◼ Despite being vivid, accuracy decreased substantially
⦿ Results:
◼ Delay reduced accuracy but not confidence in their
memories
⦿ Conclusion:
◼ Flashbulb memories are not as accurate as they seem
+ 89

FLASHBULB MEMORIES
Alternative Accounts
⦿ It is not necessary to posit a separate
system to produce flashbulb memories
◼ They might seem more memorable for other
reasons:
They are not easily confused with other events
They are the subject of repeated rehearsal
They tend to have meaningful changes on our
lives
They evoke strong emotions
+ SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL 90

FACTORS
Preserving Self-Esteem
⦿ Autobiographical memories are often distorted in
ways to preserve self-esteem by:
◼ Emphasizing our own role and significance in events
◼ Selectively forgetting failure and remembering praise

⦿ These distortions can prove beneficial:

Depressed individuals tend to recall fewer
autobiographical details
⚫ This is preferable to ruminating over more detailed
negative memories
+ SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL 91

FACTORS
Preserving Self-Esteem

⦿ Conway (1990)
◼ Task:
Prior to an exam, students were asked to report their:
⚫ Expected exam grades
⚫ Amount/level of preparation
⚫ Assessment of the exam’s validity and the grade’s importance
Two weeks later, participants were asked the same questions
◼ Results:
Individuals with better-than-expected exam results:
⚫ Reported the same amount of preparation as before
⚫ Increased their rating of the grade’s importance
Individuals with worse-than-expected exam results:
⚫ Reported doing less preparation
⚫ Rated the grades as being less important and the exam less valid
+ SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL 92

FACTORS
Recovered Memories
⦿ Freud proposed that the ego defends itself
from anxiety by repressing negative memories
◼ Freud’s theory has received only limited empirical
support
⦿ Reports of previously repressed memories
being uncovered appear in clinical and
criminal settings
◼ Many of these memories have been proven untrue
◼ False Memory Syndrome:
The belief, induced by another person through leading
questioning, that a nonevent actually occurred
Certain individuals (e.g. children and the depressed)
are more susceptible to false memories
+ SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL 93

FACTORS
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
⦿ Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
◼ The array of symptoms resulting from situations of
extreme stress:
Heightened anxiety
Nightmares
Flashbacks when confronted with reminders of the
trauma
⚫ Highly detailed, situationally-accessible memories
that cannot be called to mind intentionally unlike
verbally-accessible memories (Brewin, 2001)
◼ Not all individuals experiencing a trauma develop PTSD
PATTERNS OF RECOVERY FROM
PTSD

Patterns of recovery
function following
post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), with
the approximate
percentage of patients
following each pattern.
Data from Bonanno
(2005).
+ SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL 95

FACTORS
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
⦿ PTSD is likely tied to classical conditioning:
◼ The trauma’s context becomes associated with extreme
stress
◼ Reminders (physical stimuli or thoughts) can then trigger
memories of the trauma
◼ Treatment often involves extinguishing the fear response:
Have the patient re-imagine the event under safe and
controlled conditions, under a therapist’s supervision
Treatment often reduces symptoms
+ SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL 96

FACTORS
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
⦿ The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and
Stress
◼ Upon encountering a threat:
The ANS releases stress hormones (adrenalin and cortisol)
Flight-or-fight mechanisms are enacted
◼ When the threat has passed:
The brain signals the adrenal glands to stop producing the
stress hormones
◼ In PTSD patients, this normalization process is likely
disrupted
Stress is prolonged
A drug (propranolol) helps fix the normalization process
⚫ Reduces the emotional impact of the associated
memories
+ SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL 97

FACTORS
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

⦿ PTSD patients tend to have smaller hippocampi

◼ PTSD might lead to reduced hippocampal volume
Prolonged stress in animals can disrupt hippocampal
functioning and cause neuronal death
◼ Reduced hippocampal volume is also a risk factor for PTSD
Gilbertson et al.’s (2002) twin study:
⚫ Vietnam veterans with PTSD and their nonveteran twins
both tend to have small hippocampi
⚫ Vietnam veterans without PTSD and their nonveteran twins
both tend to have normally-sized hippocampi
+ SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL 98

FACTORS
Involuntary Memories (e.g. Flashbacks)
⦿ The frequency of involuntary flashbacks in
PTSD patients corresponds to the individual’s
proximity to the trauma
⦿ Reappearance Hypothesis (Neisser, 1967):
◼ The standard clinical interpretation for involuntary
memories, stating that the same memory can
repeatedly appear and disappear, without change
⦿ Berntsen and Rubin (2008) set out to
determine whether intrusive memories:
◼ Also occur in the general population
◼ Follow the same general principles as regular
autobiographical memories
+ SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL 99

FACTORS
Bernsten and Rubin (2008)
⦿ In a telephone survey of the general population, Bernsten and
Rubin (2008) found that:
◼ Recurrent memories are:
Frequent
Decline in frequency, but increase in positivity/intensity with age
Show the reminiscence bump
Tend to change over repetitions (according to a follow-up study)
◼ Recurrent dreams are:
Less frequent
Show a modest correlation with recurrent memories
⦿ Conclusion:
◼ Recurrent memories occur normally in life and follow the same
principles of other autobiographical memories
BERNTSEN & RUBIN (2008)
 101

PSYCHOGENIC AMNESIA
Psychogenic Amnesia Organic Amnesia
No clear link to brain damage Caused by brain damage
Loss of original sense of Sense of personality retained
personality
Orientation and time and place
disrupted
+ 102

PSYCHOGENIC AMNESIA
Fugue
⦿ Fugue:
◼ A sudden loss of autobiographical memory
Usually accompanied by wandering
Typically lasts only a few hours/days
The patient usually has no memory for the fugue period after
recovery
General semantic knowledge remains largely intact
Episodic learning is usually impaired
◼ Frequently corresponds with:
Preceding periods of stress
Depressed mood
A history of transient, organic amnesia
Possible ulterior motives
◼ Hypnosis and drugs are generally ineffective at treating it
+ 103

PSYCHOGENIC AMNESIA
Psychogenic Focal Retrograde Amnesia
⦿ Psychogenic Focal Retrograde
Amnesia:
◼ A highly infrequent loss of access to memories
acquired prior to a trauma without:
Signs of anterograde amnesia
A link to brain damage
◼ Sometimes can be explained by ulterior motives
i.e. is “functional” in some way
+ 104

PSYCHOGENIC AMNESIA
Situation-Specific Amnesia
⦿ Situation-Specific Amnesia:
◼ Forgetting of a single, specific event
30% of people accused of violent crimes and murders
claim to be amnesic for the incident
Most common with:
⚫ Extreme emotions, especially passion
⚫ More violent offenses
⚫ Alcohol and its “blackout” effects
◼ Likely a retrieval failure, rather than
encoding/consolidation
Over half report at least partial memory recoveries after
a year (Yuille & Cutshall, 1986)
+ 105

PSYCHOGENIC AMNESIA
Is Situation-Specific Amnesia Real?

■ Evidence for a …

Genuine Phenomenon Malingering

Occurs in suspects who voluntarily Often have a clear motive for
turn themselves in forgetting
Amnesia is often not a viable legal
argument (e.g. in UK law)
Occurs in victims/eyewitnesses
who have no reason to malinger
Accounts are consistent
+ 106

PSYCHOGENIC AMNESIA
Multiple Personality Disorder
⦿ Multiple Personality Disorder:
◼ A rare disorder, in which numerous personalities
exist within a single person
The personalities may or may not be mutually aware
⚫ If not, they share implicit memory (Nissen et al.,
1988)
◼ Prevalence varies across cultures
◼ Possible causes:
It simply reflects symptoms that are fashionable and
reinforced by clinicians (Merskey, 1992)
⚫ Like “glove anesthesia” or catatonia
Patients may be trying out a new life (Kopelman, 2002)
+ AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY AND 107

THE BRAIN
Neuropsychological Studies

⦿ Semantic and episodic aspects of autobiographical

memories are dissociable:
◼ Retrograde amnesia can affect memory for both personal
and public events, or either one, separately
⦿ Confabulation
◼ Fabricated autobiographical memories, lacking an
intention to mislead
Provoked variant: Arises from a patient’s attempt to fill in
knowledge gaps, to avoid embarrassment
Spontaneous variant (e.g. Patient RR):
⚫ More elaborate stories
⚫ Less common
⚫ Linked to frontal lobe damage
+ AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY AND 108

THE BRAIN
Neuropsychological Studies

⦿ Dysexecutive Syndrome (e.g. Patient RR):

◼ Symptoms:
Confabulation
Difficulty setting up appropriate retrieval cues
Inability to filter out irrelevant or implausible responses
◼ Results from frontal lobe damage
⦿ Delusions
◼ Persistent, elaborate, and patently false beliefs about the
self/world
Attempt to explain extraordinary experiences/thoughts/feelings
◼ Associated with schizophrenia but not any particular brain
region
◼ Generally not associated with executive deficits
 109
ANATOMICAL BASIS OF
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY
⦿ Evidence suggests that:
◼ Autobiographical memory relies on:
Executive areas in the left prefrontal
regions Autobiographical Memory Semantic Memory
⚫ Serve to evoke related memories
Visualization areas in the occipital and
temporal lobes
⚫ Damage to these areas results in
poor autobiographical memory
◼ Autobiographical retrieval:
Relies more on amygdalar,
hippocampal, and right IFG activity
◼ Semantic retrieval: Based on Greenberg et al. (2005).
AMY, amygdala; HIP, hippocampus; IFG, inferior frontal gyrus.
Relies more on prolonged left-frontal
activation
 Amnesia
⦿ Amnesia refers to any form of memory loss
◼ Can be partial or complete
◼ Can be temporary or permanent
⦿ Amnesia is usually caused by brain trauma (inflicted brain
injury or acquired brain injury)
⦿ The severity of the injury determines the type and severity of
the amnesia
◼ Usually experience a period of unconsciousness, followed by a
period of confusion, then the period of time ‘forgotten’ usually
shrinks to only a few seconds of minutes directly after the moment
of trauma
⦿ Experience of amnesia can vary from a few days to several
weeks, but commonly disappears suddenly, often after a
natural sleep.
 Types of Amnesia
1. Anterograde amnesia
◼ Loss of memory of experiences that occur after the brain
trauma
◼ Difficulty learning new information
◼ Can clearly recall events before the trauma
◼ Can retain new info in STM indefinitely as long as it is
rehearsed
◼ Problem lies in the transference of information from STM into
LTM
◼ Experienced by people with Korsakoff’s syndrome and
Alzheimer's disease
Korsakaff’s syndrome (neurodegenerative disease)
Acute inflammation and damage to hippocampus and thalamus
Often associated with chronic alcoholism and thiamine deficiency
 Types of Amnesia
1. R
2. Retrograde amnesia
◼ Loss of memory of old info and experiences before the
trauma occurred
◼ Loss can extend back from moments to years
◼ Usually temporary
◼ However, very common to permanently ‘lose’ the memory of
the moment leading up to the trauma itself
◼ This permanent loss is explained by the interruption of
consolidation into LTM
Dementia & Alzheimer’s Disease
⦿ Dementia & Alzheimer's discussed in this study design
(for a full list FYI you can read box 6.12 for common
types of dementia)
⦿ Common acquired brain injury is caused by
neurodegenerative disease where brain tissue slowly
deteriorates over time
⦿ Dementia
◼ Progressive decline in mental functioning
◼ Loss of mental capacity: decline in intellectual
ability, poor judgment, poor social skills and
abnormal emotional reactions
◼ Memory loss is persistent and progressive
◼ Not a normal part of ageing
◼ Comes in many different forms
⦿ Alzheimer’s disease
◼ A form of dementia

Alzheimer’s Disease
◼ Physical break down of neurons causes plaques in the brain –
sections of neurons tightly bound together, causing gaps in other
areas (only observable post-mortem) caused by high concentration
of the protein amyloid in the brain (see next slide for Amy Loid!)
◼ Often have low concentrations of neurotransmitter; acetylcholine
◼ Affects around 100 000 people in Australia
◼ No accurate diagnostic tests available. Only accurately diagnosed
after death and brain tissue is examined for plaques
◼ Memory loss, confusion, irritability and impaired decision-making
are common symptoms
◼ Memory loss is persistent and progressive
Episodic memories are affected
Forget words and names of people and commonly known facts
Lose ability to follow directions of a story plot
Lose ability to perform everyday skills
◼ No cure, but can treat early stages with acetylcholine.
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: POST-MORTEM

So we know:
⦿ Show high levels of the protein Amyloid
⦿ Not usually in the brain
⦿ Highly toxic – causes cell death
⦿ Causes the development of the plaques and tangles
⦿ Brains also have a massive lack of acetylcholine (an
important neurotransmitter)

⦿ The rhyme:
 Memory decline over the lifespan
⦿ Memory decline is not an inevitable consequence of
ageing
⦿ If it does decline, short-term memory and explicit
declarative memories (episodic and semantic) tend to be
affected, rather than procedural memories

⦿ Aging and STM decline

◼ Info transmission in NS is generally less efficient in older
people (physical effects of ageing)
◼ The more complicated the task, the more STM decline is
evident in older people
◼ Less activity in areas of the frontal lobe associated with STM
when >60 years old
 Memory decline over the lifespan
⦿ Ageing and LTM decline
◼ Episodic memories have been shown to start a steady decline as
early as 30 years old
◼ Procedural memories appear to remain intact over time
◼ Semantic memories don’t appear to be affected much by age
◼ However, older people don’t tend to encode new information in as
much detail or as accurately as younger people – so often takes an
older person longer to learn new things
◼ Speed and fluency of retrieval also tends to decline with age
◼ Decline in memory in older people is often explained by lack of
motivation or more commonly, a lack of confidence
◼ Recall of items is lower, but recognition of items is no different
than younger people – use recognition tests, not recall
◼ Memory decline can also be explain by cognitive slowing due to
natural shrinkage of frontal lobes with age. Cognitive slowing
affects all cognitive processes, not just memory
SO TO RECAP …..
⦿ Older people Do take longer to learn new info

⦿ STM – depends on the task, easy one part tasks

ok, tasks that require divided attention not so
good. Recall down, Recognition same.

⦿ LTM - Episodic down, Procedural same,

Semantic Same.