Brainstorm… What is learning? How would you define it? Are there different types of learning? How do you learn new facts? New skills? Is all knowledge due to a conscious processes, or is some knowledge acquired by unconscious processes?

Neurological Function Theories Plasticity- - The changing of neurons, the organization of their networks, and their function via new experiences. Compartmentalization- - Sections of brain are specialized to perform specific tasks- includes implicit & explicit learning.

Explicit vs. implicit learning chart Theorists believe that there are multiple forms of long-term memory that differ in their basic information processing properties and in the brain structures that support them. These various forms of memory are thought to fall into two general classes, described as declarative and nondeclarative. Declarative memory (also known as explicit memory) refers to forms of long-term memory that can ordinarily be consciously recollected and “declared,” or described to other people, such as memory for facts, ideas, and events. Declarative memory encompasses episodic memory, the memory of events in our own personal past, and semantic memory, our general knowledge about things in the world and their meaning, a distinction proposed by Endel Tulving in 1972. Tulving defined episodic memory as the conscious knowledge of temporally dated, spatially located, and personally experienced events or episodes. Tests that assess declarative memory are termed explicit memory tests because they require the retrieval of an explicit description or report of knowledge from memory. Declarative memory is highly flexible, involving the association of multiple pieces of information into a unified memory representation; thus, we may have different routes to retrieval of a given memory. Both forms of declarative memory, episodic and semantic, depend on the operation of the medial temporal lobes. Semantic memories are memories for facts; meaning-based memory. They are explicit, and thus declarative. For instance, you may be able to state, “I know the first president of the United States was George Washington.” Episodic memories are memories for specific events of “episodes” in time. They, too, are explicit, and often involve personally-experienced events. For instance, you may remember the first roller coaster experience you had, or your first kiss. With episodic memories, you should be able to recollect the details revolving around that particular event. Procedural memories are skill-based memories. They involve knowledge of “how to” do things. Procedural memories begin as explicit, but with practice and experience, become implicit. For instance, when you first learned to ride a bike, you had to watch the sidewalk, watch your hands, watch your feet. You had to balance your body and the bike, and think about which foot was cycling; left then right. You had to steer the handlebars. You had a lot on your mind and your body was involved in many simultaneous tasks. Each part of this task was explicit (you had to pay attention to and consciously monitor). Then, with practice, the task of riding your bike became easier. Over time, you no longer had to think about your feet, or focus on balancing. You didn’t have to think about it at all. The memory, with practice, became implicit. You don’t recollect the details, now, in how to ride a bike, you just “do it”. The same could be said about how to drive a car (remember all the training you had to go through and how you had to recall and think about each detail!); not any more. When someone asks you “how to drive a car”, it is difficult for you to explain explicitly, because the memory has become implicit. (From http://psiexp.ss.uci.edu/research/teachingP140C/Lectures2009/2009_memory_partI.ppt) Medial Temporal Lobe Neocortex Striatum Amygdala Diencephalon Cerebellum- Sk. Musc. http://psiexp.ss.uci.edu/research/teachingP140C/Lectures2009/2009_memory_partI.ppt

H.M. and Implicit Learning H.M. is a famous patient who had part of his brain removed and was no longer able to form new memories. When performing tasks, such as mirror tracing, he was able to improve over time. This result shows that he was capable of some types of implicit learning or “motor memory”

Implicit v. Explicit Learning http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=frcogimp&part=ch12&rendertype=figure&id=ch12.f7

Bean Bag Toss Experiment For each trial, record the following: Student: _______________ # beanbags in bucket w/out goggles: ___ # beanbags in bucket w/ goggles: ___ # beanbags in bucket after wearing goggles: ___ Notes: ____________________________________________________________________

Questions: Explain which part of each trial demonstrated explicit and implicit learning – use evidence for your reasoning. 2. Which portions of the brain are believed to be responsible for these two types of learning? Can explicit learning lead to implicit knowledge? Provide two justifications for your conclusion. In your opinion, does this experiment support the brain plasticity and compartmentalization theories? Why or why not?

Questions: Explain which part of each trial demonstrated explicit and implicit learning – use evidence for your reasoning. Implicit: passive process (aiming for the bucket in the general location where you expected it to be aiming for it with goggles on) Explicit: Active process (without goggles on after wearing them, trying to correct your aim – actively over compensating for your throw). 2. Which portions of the brain are believed to be responsible for these two types of learning? Skill memory (shooting for the bucket) – Cerebellum Short term memory: Prefrontal cortex: access location of bucket from first trial. Long term: hippocampus (old experiences) Can explicit learning lead to implicit knowledge? Provide two justifications for your conclusion. Any examples? Linking new knowledge to prior understanding and experiences. In your opinion, does this experiment support the brain plasticity and compartmentalization theories? Why or why not?