Learning and Memory Information Storage Exactly how learning is represented in the brain has been studied for years Two basic types of learning classical conditioning and operant conditioning Classical conditioning has CS UCS UCR CR Pavlov did a lot of early work in classical conditioning he won a Nobel prize in physiology Operant conditioning response is followed by a consequence which can be positive or negative It s important to remember that both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement lead to increases in behavior Many assume that through learning that something did in fact change in the brain They call it the engram It was one guy that did a lot of work looking for the engram He came up with two major findings Did his work primarily in the cortex One was known as the cortical law of mass action argued that the more cortex that is available the more likely one is learn something Other was law of equipotentiality states that every part of the cortex contributed equally to learning no part of the cortex was any better or any worse to learning When he came up with those two ideas everyone thought that it was over Search for engram was over at that point for years But finally researchers realized that his work was really based on two incorrect assumptions First was that the cortex was even the best place to look for memory one can classically condition certain responses in a rabbit without the cortex And it assumed that all memories were physiologically the same And they re very likely not First kind is short term memory STM STM are memories for events that have just occurred Long term memories LTM are memories from events of previous times A memory for an event for a previous time typical LTM Remote LTM is for someone in 70s remembering their childhood Evidence from brain damaged individuals would indicate that remote memories are stored differently it s not uncommon for people with Alzheimer s to remember their childhood but not their children STM and LTM differ in at least 3 ways First is capacity We can hold 7 plus or minus 2 items in STM LTM seems to be infinite Another difference is the need for rehearsal For STM rehearsal is required if one doesn t rehearse what one is trying to remember one won t remember it Rehearsal is not required for LTM Finally once one forgets something in STM it s gone it s not the case for LTM This distinction between STM and LTM is not always a clean break For example today you probably remember what you had for dinner last night but unless there was something extraordinary about it two months from now you re not going to remember it So you re not going to consolidate it into LTM That s called working memory longer than STM but not in LTM yet Working memory can be defined as memory for events that may or may not be consolidated into LTM It used to be believed a while ago that the length of time something stayed in STM or working memory increased the likelihood that it would be consolidated in LTM It turns out that that s not exactly true What really matters is that one is much more likely to remember things that are somewhat vivid and emotional sympathetically arousing One is much more likely to remember the first time that you were actually hurt than the first time you ate peas It is the case that emotional arousal sympathetic arousal helps with memories It s true but it s only true to a point If one has too much cortisol released if one is too stressed too much cortisol one won t remember anything Eyewitness testimony is lousy because of this One could be convicted of a felony in Texas based on the eyewitness testimony of a single individual Researchers have pretty much concluded that working memories have 3 separate components First is called phonological loop which stores sound the sound of an event including words Second is visual spatial sketchpad which stores sight including written words Third is central executive which directs one s attention to the best way for one to remember which is different for people some are more visual learners others are more audio learners People will talk about implicit memories An implicit memory defined is the influence of a recent memory on behavior without realizing one s using the memory One kind of implicit memory is procedural memory which is memory for the development of motor skill One can have explicit memory which is a deliberate recall of information that one realizes is a memory Explicit memories may be episodic which are memories for personal experiences like a birthday party Can also be semantic which are memories for textbook facts like Columbus sailing to America Flashbulb memories are memories of a personally significant event These flashbulb memories can be shared by a group like 9 11 assassination of John F Kennedy etc Interestingly our flashbulb memories aren t that great Part of that has to do with the amount of times one recalls these memories which increases the chances of that memory being altered Forgetting occurs for a couple of reasons One may not be able to remember something A because it was never consolidated or B it s there but one can t retrieve it There are two basic kinds of amnesia anterograde and retrograde Anterograde amnesia is the inability to form memories following a brain injury can t make new memories Retrograde amnesia is the loss of memory for events prior to a brain injury can t recall old memories There are memory studies in animal labs One task used to study memory is a delayed match to sample task Pigeon in a box blue light comes on turns off in a few seconds this is a sample There s a delay and then two choices come up a blue light and a red light If bird pecks blue key it gets fed Pecks red key gets nothing Sometimes researchers will use a delayed non match to sample task Blue light comes on goes off delay blue and red comes on Pigeon has to peck red key One can test memory by an increase or decrease in that delay 8 arm base task Center eight alleyways food at the end See how long it takes rat to go to end of alley to get food Rat needs to remember what to do Assuming he remembers what to do the rat needs to remember where he s already been so he doesn t repeat it Morris water tank with platform in it Water has powdered milk or something so animal can t see platform Animal has to find it Test how long it takes for a rat to swim and find a platform to stand on As far as brain areas correspond to memories tons of research has been done looking at