Chapter 7: Memory
• First, let’s look at structures in the brain
involved in encoding, storage and
retrieval of memories.
• Even though the hippocampus is
considered the primary structure
involved in encoding and retrieval, it is
clear that memory is a whole-brain
process.
Introductory Psychology Concepts
The Brain - Major Structures and Their Function
Amygdala Hippocampus
Cerebrum Hippocampus
Thalamus Limbic system structure
Corpus involved in learning and
callosum memory
Hypothalamus
Pituitary gland
Pons Cerebellum
Medulla Brain stem
Reticular formation Spinal cord
Hippocampus
• A ring structure in the limbic system,
is involved in encoding and retrieval
of information.
• Short → Long-Term Processing
• Retrieval of Stored Memories with
Retrieval Cues
• Automatic Storage and Retrieval:
Episodic and Autobiographical
Memory
Introductory Psychology Concepts
The Brain - Major Structures and Their Function
Amygdala Hippocampus
Cerebrum Thalamus
Thalamus Relay center for incoming
Corpus sensory information
callosum
Hypothalamus
Pituitary gland
Pons Cerebellum
Medulla Brain stem
Reticular formation Spinal cord
Thalamus:
Relay of 4
sensory
signals to
specific
process
regions in
the brain.
Introductory Psychology Concepts
The Brain - Major Structures and Their Function
Amygdala Hippocampus
Cerebrum Corpus callosum
Thalamus Bridge of fibers passing
Corpus information between the
callosum two cerebral hemispheres
Hypothalamus
Pituitary gland
Pons Cerebellum
Medulla Brain stem
Reticular formation Spinal cord
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Corpus Collosum: Transmission Between the
Cerebral Hemispheres
• The Corpus Callosum
connects the two
cerebral hemispheres
and allows for
transmission of
impulses across the
hemispheres.
• An idea can involve
many regions in the
brain. This process
generalizes brain
function.
Introductory Psychology Concepts
The Brain - Major Structures and Their Function
Amygdala Hippocampus
Cerebrum Cerebrum
Thalamus Involved in sensing,
Corpus thinking, learning,
callosum emotion, consciousness,
and voluntary movement
Hypothalamus
Pituitary gland
Pons Cerebellum
Medulla Brain stem
Reticular formation Spinal cord
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The Cerebrum, Process • The Cerebral Cortexes (R/L) are Storage and
Regionality, and Processing Centers for Memory (Analogous
Sensory Association to the CPU and Hard Drive on your
computer).
Areas
Introductory Psychology Concepts
The Brain - Major Structures and Their Function
Amygdala Hippocampus
Cerebrum Cerebellum
Thalamus Coordinates fine muscle
Corpus movement, balance
callosum
Hypothalamus
Pituitary gland
Pons Cerebellum
Medulla Brain stem
Reticular formation Spinal cord
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Cerebellum: Motor Coordination and Storage of
“Muscle Memory”
• Learning motor skills, like
keyboarding on a computer or
driving a car, at first requires a
great deal of concentration.
With practice less and less
concentration is required until
the behavior becomes
automatic.
• This type of memory is part of
implicit memory, requiring no
awareness. That’s why you can
talk and drive and “type” on a
computer without having to
attend to the keyboard…I’m
doin’it right now…yeow!
Introductory Psychology Concepts
The Brain - Major Structures and Their Function
Amygdala Hippocampus
Cerebrum Amygdala
Thalamus Limbic system structure
Corpus involved in emotion and
callosum aggression
Hypothalamus
Pituitary gland
Pons Cerebellum
Medulla Brain stem
Reticular formation Spinal cord
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Amygdala:
• When emotion is stimulated,
memory for any related event or
stimulus becomes automatic.
This is an effective defensive
function of memory.
• The Amygdala and Hippocampus
are close in proximity.
Amygdala: Processing of Emotion
and Memory
Trauma memories or
intrusive memories are the
result of extreme fear or
horror associated with an
event, image, or other
sensory stimuli that store the
traumatic memory with a
low threshold for retrieval.
Hermann Ebbinghaus(1850-1909)
Earliest Inquiries into Memory
• Began his study by memorizing nonsense
syllables until he could recall them at
100% documenting the time duration of
learning.
• He then stopped recall for a period
sufficient to forget the syllables.
• When he relearned them, he
documented the time it took and
subtracted from the first trial.
• The difference in the time it took (less on
the relearning trial) he referred to as the
savings score.
• This indicated that a trace of the memory
was left.
Ebbinghaus and the Study of
Forgetting
• Most loss of a memory
occurs early and flattens
with time.
Ebbinghaus: Serial Position Effects –
Primacy and Recency (p.244)
3 Stages of Information
Processing
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model + Elaborative Rehearsal
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Information Processing
Log-term memory results from repetition + deeper-level
Long-term memory results from repetition (p238). processing.
To elaborate is to think about information at a
Long-term deeper level:
• association with related concepts,
Memory • thinking about examples,
• verbalizing concepts
and • “You never forget anything you ever
argued about”,
Elaborativ • making information personally
relevant…associating with personal
experience (autobiographical,
e automatic memory),
• being curious.
Rehearsal Think about how the process of elaboration
can enhance efficiency of memory storage.
Input: Attention and Distraction (Selective
Attention & Filter Theory, p235)
• Sensations are held in Sensory • Competing stimuli can weaken
Memory for a few seconds. attention on a specific stimulus.
Awareness of a sensory memory This is referred to as distraction.
occurs with attention.
• So, input into short-term memory
• Example: Images reach the retina is impaired by distraction or
that are not perceived when there inattention.
is no attention. Not all sounds that
reach the auditory track are • Studies of use of reading on a
perceived. So, while daydreaming, laptop (e-books) or cell phone
for example, an individual may not have found that retention of
see or hear the people around information is negatively
them. impacted by distraction (p.237)
Input of Information from Sensory Memory to
Short-Term Memory
Short-term memory is temporary.
• Retained by maintenance rehearsal
(repetition).
• Distraction removes the information
by interrupting maintenance
rehearsal.
• Short-term memory is not permanent.
• Maintenance Rehearsal is an
inefficient process of permanent
storage. That was a weakness in the
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of memory.
Working Memory(p.240)
• Short-term Storage (maintenance rehearsal) is
a buffer for holding information while it is
being addressed and related to other
processes in the brain → Working Memory.
• The Phonological Loop:
• Speak→ Hear
• Insights are gained and retrieval cues
constructed when ideas or facts are
verbalized out loud.
Elaborative Rehearsal and Encoding:
Processing Information from Short to Long-
Term Memory
• Memory is made relatively permanent
by encoding, the process of building
retrieval cues.
• Elaborative Rehearsal enhances the
building of retrieval cues by accessing a
broader set of brain functions and
mental representations – Deeper-Level
Processing.
Deeper-Level Processing and the Parieto-frontal Integration
Theory
(P-FIT)
• More brain processes
brought to a concept or
stimulus → greater levels of
elaboration → retrieval cues
→ long-term memory.
• These areas involve
sensory/attention, motor
(language, writing,
expressing), emotion (drive:
curiosity, joy, fear, and
achievement motivation).
Techniques for Elaboration (Deeper-
level Processing)
• Discuss concepts
• Conversation involves frontal lobes
(cognition, Language Center –
Broca’s/Wernichi’s Areas),
• temporal lobes (audition),
• parietal lobes (motor – gesturing,
writing; sensation – stored sounds
and images), and
• Occipital Lobes – vision and
visualization.
P-FIT: Active Learning and
Memory
• Teaching or explaining a concept: • Insight – a metacognitive sense that you
• The teacher learns as much as the know something or an awareness of a
student. connection between concepts.
• As deeper-level processing occurs • Insights are related to metacognition –
insights result. thinking about thinking (cognitive self-
• Associations between concepts occur awareness)
when the teacher retrieves information • Learning is most active when it involves the
and then verbalizes that content with most neurological activity: vision, hearing,
examples → Learning by Teaching. writing, explaining (verbalizing)
• This is the most active form of learning.
• What implications does P-FIT and the
concept of active learning have for
education?
Schemas: Concept Categories
• Schemas are “folders”
where information is
stored.
• A schema has a prototype
– the best representative
example of what belongs
in that category.
• An exemplar is compared
to the prototype based on
the degree of similarity.
Schemas and Cognitive
Efficiency
• Like the folders on a computer, • File Compression: Remember the IPOD (Apple
Music Device). This device was able to store
organization of information into enormous amounts of information on a very
schematic networks allowed for small device.
quick search, comparison, and • File compression is software that takes
base features of files (similarities) and
retrieval of information. overlaps them, eliminating repetition.
Then, just the novel features of the file
• The brain has almost infinite are saved and added back to the
capacity for storage…whut?...it’s common files when retrieved.
so small. • A similar process occurs in the brain. A
schematic network has overlapping
schemata with similar traits and
attributes shared.
The Schema,
Sematic Network,
and Network of
Associations
• A network of
associations provides a
system with which
information can be
quickly stored and
retrieved is a small
space (Figure 7.12,
p.246)
Schemas Theory: Memory,
Organization and Behavior
Categories of Memory: Explicit
and Implicit (p.249)
• Explicit memories are at our level of
awareness and involve conscious effort.
• Studying, Memorizing, Gaining
Experience
• Also referred to as declarative memory
• Implicit memories are below our level of
awareness and influence thought and
behavior in ways of which we are not aware.
• Conditioning (Operant and Classical
Conditioning)
• Cerebellar Memory (Muscle Memory),
Storage or Procedures, Subconscious
Associations (smells, auditory cues)
Types of Memory: Procedural, Semantic,
Episodic, Declarative
• Procedural Memory:
• Explicit – learning a procedure or techniques that involve
complex decision making
• Implicit – a repeated procedure becomes automatic,
requiring little attention or awareness
• Can humans multitask?
• Declarative Memory:
• Semantic - Knowledge is accumulated and stored.
• Explicit – when we are aware of the retrieval process
and problem solving
• Implicit – influences over thought or behavior that
are below our level of awareness. How can
knowledge effect decision-making in ways we are not
aware of?
• Episodic – memory for stories
• Episodes (stories) are easily stored, requiring little
cognitive effort.
• Autobiographical – stories about the self and
automatically stored with no cognitive effort. You
don’t have to memorize what happened to you.
Implicit Memory: Classical
Conditioning
• Stimulus pairings that result in classically
conditioned responses are often below
our level of awareness.
• We can be made aware of these stored
pairings (often a goal in therapy).
• How might stimuli in the environment
(smells, sounds, colors) effect attitudes
and behavior without awareness?
• Examples: music in a restaurant, odors that
elicit memories – cut grass, certain foods
• Examples: Real Estate agents advise sellers
to “cook brownies” on open-house days.
Why?
Prospective Memory
• Characteristics of Good Prospective Memory Cues
• Salience or distinctiveness
• Ability to attract focal processing
• Meaningful association with the intended
action or goal
• Examples of Good Prospective Memory Cues
• Sticky notes placed strategically with
reminders
• Habits like checking calendar at the same time
every day
• Placement of the schedule part of the syllabus
in the front of textbook to keep track of
upcoming dates for exams and assignments
• Placing medication bottles on countertops as
reminder to take medications
Reconsolidation of Memories (Nader
& LeDoux, p.254)
• Retrieval of stored memories get
utilized and placed back in
storage.
• The process of retrieval results in
reconsolidation and, as you can
see in the graphic here
←
the memory can be changed. How
might this effect eye-witness
testimony?
Reconsolidation of Memories:
Situational Factors during Retrieval and
Reconsolidation
• When memories are
retrieved, they can be
modified by situational
(contextual variables),
internal states (emotions,
medications, alcohol) or
other factors.
• Then they go back into
storage they have been
altered.
State-Dependent Learning and
Retrieval
State Dependent Learning: Memory
Enhancement
• Duplicating the state,
context, and environmental
variables at retrieval that
were present at encoding
will improve recall.
• Example: If you tend to
drink caffeinated beverages
when studying, do the
same when testing.
• Example: Studying in an
environment, like a lecture
hall (including sample tests)
can improve performance
on the exam.
State Dependent Learning: Memory
Enhancement or Distortion in Eye-Witnesses
• Some procedures can impair and
distort eye-witness testimony:
• Removal of witnesses from the
scene can change the context,
negatively effecting recall.
• To improve eye-witness
testimony:
• Interview soon after event at the
scene. Match the context.
• Avoid the display of biases and
leading questions.
Causes of Forgetting
• Retroactive Interference:
• Learning a new procedure, like a
computer task, may make it
difficult to remember the one it
replaced…grrrr.
• The more similar the two the
more interference.
• Proactive Interference:
• Changing platforms in computer or
cell phone can result in
interference in adapting to the
new technology.
Memory Persistence and Trauma
• Trauma memories are stored
with a high degree of arousal
(fear) resulting in a very low
threshold for retrieval.
• Retrieval can occur
spontaneously (nightmares) or
as a result of a weak
environmental stimulus (odor,
sound, visual stimulus).
• In PTSD patients this process
can be maintained by cycles of
retrieval and fear response.
Memory Biases
• Memories can change over time
as a result of adjustment to
preconceived notions or biases.
• Misattributions – Distortions in the
context (time, situation, people)
can change how information is
stored.
• Suggestibility – Presentation of
leading information can lead to
false memories (Loftus, 1974)
Certain
biases can
effect how
observatio
ns or facts
are
stored.
Loss of Memory: Amnesia
Anterograde Amnesia Retrograde Amnesia
• The loss of ability to make new • The loss of ability to retrieve old
memories after brain disease or trauma. information that was previously stored and
easily retrieve.
• Common in early-phase Alzheimer’s
Disease. • This involves the type of information like
• Patient cannot adapt to new conditions or episodic (autobiographical) memory. After
information. a head injury or with a brain disease
process, the patient begins to lose self-
• Common result of concussion: relevant information (phone numbers,
• Inability to remember events just after a address, SS#, names of family members,
concussion. etc.).
• Also occurs after excessive consumption of
alcohol, known as a “blackout”. • Advanced Retrograde Amnesia leads to
dementia → decline in mental status.