Can I get a “what? WHAT?” Memory

What comes to mind when I say the word “YELLOW?” What did you do on your 5 th birthday? Describe the events that occurred the last time you went to a restaurant. Who is the character in the next photo?

Three Basic Processes

ENCODING: This is the process in which a stimulus (word, object, idea…) in translated into a mental representation and can be stored in the memory. STORAGE: The changes in the neural system that allows retention of information. Moving encoded information to a memory store. RETRIEVAL: The process of recovering information from the memory store. This depends on how the information was encoded and stored.

Information-processing theories – Atkinson & Shiffrin (1977) Subdivide memory into 3 different stores Sensory, Short-term, Long-term

SENSORY: Brief preservation of information in original sensory form (iconic, echoic, tactile, taste, olfaction) ICONIC: Visual sensory store for a brief period of time (250 milliseconds or less... animation). Large storage capacity that we are generally not aware of. For information to have meaning and be retained beyond sensory memory, we must encode it is something recognizable and more durable.

Short-Term / Working Memory Some argue information is converted into acoustic, verbal code. Others argue that it is simple image-like. Others that it is an abstract representation, neither verbal or imaginable. STM: information we are currently thinking about or thought about within seconds. – Maintain current information like “rehearsal” – Mental Workbench where we can perform operations (division) Capacity is limited Can only hold information briefly Let’s test our memory!

Short-Term Memory as “Working Memory” STM not limited to phonemic encoding Loss of information not only due to decay Baddeley (2001) – 4 components of working memory – Phonological rehearsal loop – Visuospatial sketchpad – Executive control system – Episodic buffer

Long-Term Memory A class experiment

FROG – BOOTS TREE – BELLS HORSE – CLOCK BIRD – DANCE CAR – SPIN CANARY – TUXEDO SHOE - PIANO TREE - PENCIL BIRD - BUS DOG - BOOK PIZZA - FLOWER TV - DOOR RABBIT - BASKETBALL

LTM Rehearsal: repeat things over and over Elaboration: connecting new information with information already stored – Semantic Memory: list these words Horse, desk, shirt, chair, cat, jeans, dog, couch, cow, socks, table, jacket, hat, sheep Episodic Memory: One of my happiest days Procedural Memory: Tie someone's shoe Flash bulb memories: “9/11”

Memory, Language, and Thinking Lab Free your mind!

What will you remember from this next slide?

Write down all the objects that you remember just seeing.

Who’s up for some Simon?

List 1: read, pages, letters, school, study, reading, stories, sheets, cover, pen, pencil, magazine, paper, words List 2: house, pencil, apple, shoe, book, flag, rock, train, ocean, hill, music, water, glass, school What word (s) were also in List 1? Only pencil and school were on list 1 False Memories

List 1: sheets, pillow, mattress, blanket, comfortable, room, dream, lay, chair, rest, tired, night, dark, time List 2: door, tree, eye, song, pillow, juice, orange, radio, rain, car, sleep, cat, dream, eat What items were on list 1? Only pillow and dream were on list 1. Why the false memories? Because we semantically want to group words, the activation of these concepts (the word “sleep”) spreads to other related concepts (doze, nap, tired).

Fill in the blanks… _ _ e _ o_o_ _e_ _e_ i_ a _o_u_a_ _o_o_ i_ _u_a_. I_ _a_ _ _ _ _ o_i_e _o_e, _o_e_, _a_ _ e_, _o_a_ _ _, o_ a_ e_e_ _ e _ _ _. I_ i_ a _o_o_ _o_ _ _ _i_ _ _a_ a_ _ _a_e_ _i_e’_ _a_. I_ _a_ _e a “_e_ _e_ _e_ _a_” o_ _ou _a_ “_e i_ _ _e _e_.” _ea_i_ _ _e_ _a_ _oo_ _ _ou_ _o_ _i_e_ _ e.

Fill in the blanks… Th_ C_l_r R_d R_d _s _ p_p_l_r c_l_r _n h_m_n c_lt_r_. _t c_n symb_l_z_ l_v_, p_w_r, d_ng_r, r_y_lty, _r _n _m_rg_ncy. _t _s _ c_l_r f_r Chr_stm_s _nd V_l_nt_n_’s D_y. _t c_n b_ _ “r_d l_tt_r d_y” _r y_ _ c_n “b_ _n th_ r_d.” W_ _r_ng r_d c_n b_ _st y_ _r c_nf_d_nc_. Why is this easier?

Would you be a good eyewitness?

Eyewitness Testimony If you had watched two vehicles involved in a car accident, how would the wording of the following questions influence your recall. – How fast was the car going when it smashed into the other car? – How fast was the car going when it collided into the other car? – How fast was the car going when it hit the other car? – How fast was the car going when it bumped the other car? – How fast was the car going when it contacted the other car? Leading Questions: estimates based on the suggestion of the verb Altered Memory Representation: actual change in the memory of the severity of the accident Which questions would lead you to recall broken glass a week later?

Cat Apple Ball Tree Square Head House Door Box Car King Hammer Milk Fish Book Tape Arrow Flower Key Shoe REMEMBER THESE WORDS

1.Cat 2.Apple 3.Ball 4.Tree 5.Square 6.Head 7.House 8.Door 9.Box 10.Car 11.King 12.Hammer 13.Milk 14.Fish 15.Book 16.Tape 17.Arrow 18.Flower 19.Key 20.Shoe

Improve your memory! Mnemonics: cues that enhance memory by linking organizational sets of “411” to memory elements that already exist. – Imagery (Paivio’s research on “dual coding”) verbal + pictorial – Acrostics – Songs & Rhymes – Method of Loci: use of locations to remember items and associate to- be-remembered “411” with a specific location. Snack vs Binge Learning Over learning Limiting interference

How is Knowledge Represented and Organized in Memory? Clustering and Conceptual Hierarchies – Schemas and Scripts – Shank & Abelson (1977) Semantic Networks – Collins & Loftus (1975) – Connectionist Networks and PDP Models – McClelland and colleagues - pattern of activity – neuron based model

A semantic network..

The Physiology of Memory Biochemistry – Alteration in synaptic transmission Hormones modulating neurotransmitter systems Protein synthesis Neural circuitry – Localized neural circuits Reusable pathways in the brain Long-term potentiation – changes in postsynaptic neuron Anatomy – Anterograde and Retrograde Amnesia – case of H.M. – resection in 1953 – Cerebral cortex, Prefrontal Cortex, Hippocampus, Dentate gyrus, Amygdala, Cerebellum

Are There Multiple Memory Systems? Implicit vs. Explicit Declarative vs. Procedural Semantic vs. Episodic Prospective vs. Retrospective –