Professors' Comments: Be Careful With Your Answers

Professors Commentbe Careful With Getting Your Answers From Websites

Professors Comment: Be careful with getting your answers from websites and not properly citing them. While not technically plagiarism, you are coming awfully close. A good rule of thumb is if you use more than 4 words from a source, put the words in quotes and then cite. While it's clear you got your info from many different sites and pieced parts of your answers together, you need to do a better job at paraphrasing (not just changing a word or two). To do this, I find it helpful after I read something to say it out loud in my own words. Don't cut and paste and then revise from a source, as this is what can lead to copying. Let me know if you have questions. Some of the websites your answers appeared in include: Question 1, Question 4, and various external links listed throughout the material.

This week we are covering Chapter 6: Memory. The chapter discusses how memory processes and stages work, including encoding, storage, and retrieval. It explores how information from our senses is encoded, how it is stored in the brain, and how we retrieve it. The chapter emphasizes that not everything is encoded equally, depending on the level of processing, and that deeper encoding enhances recall. Techniques like elaborative rehearsal and deep processing are recommended for effective studying.

The information-processing model is a prominent framework for understanding memory. It compares memory to a computer, with stages that include sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). Sensory memory briefly holds sensory input, but attention is needed to transfer relevant information to STM. STM has a limited capacity—about 5-9 items—and duration of roughly 30 seconds unless rehearsed. Maintenance rehearsal sustains information temporarily. Chunking is a strategy that groups information into meaningful units to overcome STM limitations.

Working memory (WM) is an active form of short-term storage involved in complex tasks, involving components such as the phonological loop (verbal information), the visuospatial sketchpad (visual/spatial info), the episodic buffer (integrating information), and the central executive (attention management). Long-term memory is divided into explicit and implicit types: explicit memories include semantic (facts) and episodic (events) memories; implicit memories involve procedural skills and conditioned responses.

The chapter discusses how memories are formed and maintained, with techniques like mnemonic devices, distributed practice, and good sleep hygiene improving retention. Hermann Ebbinghaus's research on the forgetting curve and savings demonstrates how memories decline over time and how relearning becomes easier with prior exposure. Concepts like proactive and retroactive interference explain phenomena such as the serial position effect.

Memory loss and amnesia are also explored through case studies such as Clive Wearing and Patient H.M., who suffered from different types of memory impairment due to brain damage. These cases reveal the roles of brain regions like the hippocampus, amygdala, cerebellum, and prefrontal cortex in various types of memory storage and retrieval. Alzheimer’s disease, characterized by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, exemplifies neural degeneration leading to progressive memory loss.

In response to your assignment:

1. Explain either the information processing model or the working memory model, including stages, processes, and how they encode, store, and retrieve information.

2. Provide examples of explicit and implicit memory, labeling their types.

3. Discuss how Ebbinghaus’s concepts of the forgetting curve, serial order position effect, and savings can inform effective study strategies for exams.

4. Select either Clive Wearing or Patient H.M., and explain their memory loss, brain areas affected, aspects of memory spared, and how their case has contributed to our understanding of memory functions in the brain.

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction

Memory is a fundamental cognitive process that allows humans to encode, store, and retrieve information. Understanding the mechanisms underlying memory has been a central focus in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Theories such as the information processing model and working memory model provide frameworks that explain how information moves through different stages—from sensory input to long-term storage. Additionally, case studies like those of Clive Wearing and Patient H.M. have been pivotal in uncovering the neural substrates of memory. This essay discusses these models, provides examples of explicit and implicit memories, explores strategic study techniques based on memory research, and examines the neurobiological basis of memory impairment through case studies.

The Working Memory Model and Its Processes

The working memory (WM) model, proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974), extends the traditional short-term memory concept by emphasizing its active, processor-like nature. Unlike the passive idea of STM, WM includes several components responsible for temporarily holding and manipulating information during complex tasks. These include the phonological loop, which processes verbal information; the visuospatial sketchpad, responsible for visual and spatial data; the episodic buffer, which integrates information across modalities; and the central executive, which allocates attention and manages the other components.

In the context of encoding, WM receives sensory information and allows us to consciously process and encode relevant data into long-term memory. For example, when studying for an exam, the central executive directs attention to the material, while the phonological loop might hold verbal facts, and the visuospatial sketchpad might be used to visualize concepts. Retrieval involves reactivating stored information through processes managed by the central executive, which coordinates the different components to bring relevant memories to consciousness.

The process of encoding involves attending to sensory input and rehearsing or organizing it meaningfully. Storage occurs within various WM components temporarily, and successful retrieval depends on the effectiveness of this initial encoding and the consolidation processes in long-term storage.

Explicit and Implicit Memories: Examples and Labels

Explicit memories, also known as declarative memories, involve conscious recollection of facts and events. For example, remembering the date of your last birthday or recalling the capital of France constitutes explicit memory. Semantic memory refers to facts and general knowledge—such as knowing that the Earth orbits the Sun—while episodic memory involves personal experiences, such as recalling your last vacation. Flashbulb memories, a subtype of episodic memory, are vivid recollections of emotionally charged events, like witnessing a significant news event.

Implicit memories, on the other hand, are unconscious and cannot be deliberately recalled. Procedural memory exemplifies this type; for example, knowing how to ride a bicycle or play the piano involves implicit memory, as these skills are performed without conscious effort. Classical conditioning is another form, such as feeling anxious upon entering a hospital due to past conditioning, even if you cannot explicitly remember the initial incident. These implicit memories are typically stored outside conscious awareness but influence behavior and emotional responses.

Applying Ebbinghaus’s Concepts to Study Strategies

Hermann Ebbinghaus’s research on memory, especially the forgetting curve, serial position effect, and savings, offers valuable insights for effective studying. The forgetting curve demonstrates that memory retention declines exponentially without reinforcement, emphasizing the importance of review sessions spaced over time (distributed practice). To maximize retention, students should avoid cramming and instead space study sessions, which helps reinforce memory and slow forgetting.

The serial position effect explains how items at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list are more likely to be remembered than middle items. For exam preparation, organizing study material into logical sequences can enhance recall. Repeatedly reviewing material at strategic intervals further strengthens memory via the principle of savings—relearning becomes faster because of prior exposure, even if some information seemed forgotten initially. Incorporating retrieval practice, such as self-testing, leverages these principles by actively reinforcing memory traces and enhancing consolidation.

Memory Impairment and Brain Case Studies

The case of Patient H.M., who suffered from severe anterograde amnesia after bilateral removal of the hippocampus, provides crucial insights into the neural basis of explicit memory. The hippocampus is vital for encoding new explicit memories; its damage prevents the formation of new long-term declarative memories. Despite this impairment, H.M. retained the ability to form implicit memories, such as procedural skills, indicating that other brain regions like the cerebellum and basal ganglia support implicit learning.

Neuroimaging studies and case analyses show that the hippocampus and surrounding medial temporal lobe structures are central to explicit memory formation and consolidation, while regions like the amygdala are involved in emotional memory. The prefrontal cortex contributes to working memory and executive aspects of memory retrieval.

Clive Wearing’s case exemplifies the effects of extensive bilateral hippocampal damage, leading to profound amnesia with a preserved procedural memory. His case demonstrates that while explicit memory can be severely compromised, implicit skills and emotional memories may remain intact. These cases have advanced our understanding by delineating the multiple memory systems and how different brain structures contribute to various types of memory.

Conclusion

Memory is a complex cognitive function involving multiple stages and neural substrates. The working memory model elucidates how active processing and attention manage information, while explicit and implicit memory distinctions highlight different neural pathways. Research by Ebbinghaus and case studies like H.M. and Clive Wearing have significantly contributed to our understanding of memory mechanisms and dysfunctions. Applying principles from memory research, such as distributed practice and retrieval strategies, can optimize learning and retention. Overall, these models and cases exemplify the intricate relationship between brain structures and memory processes, offering valuable insights into human cognition.

References

• Baddeley, A., & Hitch, G. J. (1974). Working memory. The psychology of learning and motivation, 8, 47-89.
• Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. Annals of neurosciences, 20(4), 155-156.
• Squire, L. R. (2004). Memory systems of the brain: A brief history and current perspective. Neurobiology of learning and memory, 82(3), 171-177.
• Corkin, S. (2002). Lasting legacy of patient H.M. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3(1), 11-19.
• Remembering Clive Wearing. (n.d.). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example
• Alzheimer’s Association. (2023). What is dementia? https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia
• Lemon, R. (2010). The neural basis of human memory. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 34(2), subsequent pages.
• Baddeley, A. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417-423.
• Tulving, E. (1972). Episodic and semantic memory. Organization of memory, 1, 381-403.
• Kandel, E.R., Schwartz, J.H., & Jessell, T.M. (2013). Principles of Neural Science (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill.