Learning and Memory

Learning: change in behavior as a result of experience

Memory: encoding storage, and retrieval of information

You can have memory without learning, but can't have learning without memory

Memory

Memory is not one thing

● Different kinds● Different ways of working● Different areas of the brain

Many different areas of the brain are involved in memory.

3 Kinds of Memory

● Sensory ● Short-term● Long-term

Sensory Memory

● Very fast● Lasts < 1 sec● Not consciously controlled● Can hold ~ 12 items but degrades so fast you

don't even have time to list all 12● Visual, sound, and touch

Sensory Memory

● Very fast● Lasts < 1 sec● Not consciously controlled● Can hold ~ 12 items but degrades so fast you

don't even have time to list all 12● Visual, sound, and touch

Short-term Memory

● Several seconds to a minute● 4-5 items (originally thought to be 7)● More items by “chunking”

– 808 652 3013 versus 8086523013

● Involves sound and visual code● Maintained by patterns of communication

between neurons

Long-term Memory

● Stores a lot of information, potentially for many years

● Maintained by stable and permanent changes in neuron connections

● Hippocampus is essential in moving information to long-term memory

● Attention and sleep are important

Long-term Memory

● Reinforced by silent speaking and imaginary sketching and examining pictures

● These happen unconsciously but can be made conscious

Types of Memory (1)

● Recognition: I've seen that before; choosing from a list

● Recall: bring back something learned

Types of Memory (2)

● Topographic – orienting in space and with maps● Explicit or Declarative – facts and experiences

– Conscious recall

– Semantic: facts independent of context

– Episodic: related to a particular event, time, place. Includes “flashbulb memories”

– Visual: mental images

Types of Memory (2)

● Implicit or Procedural – Not conscious

– Actions, motor skills and sequences; habits

– Habituation and sensitization

– Not verbal

– Involves cerebellum and basal ganglia

Types of Memory (3)

● Retrospective – looking back at the past● Prospective – looking forward, “remembering to

remember”– Time-based (degrades with age)

– Event-based

Memories are constructed

● Recalling a memory makes it easier to recall again

● Misinformation effect (what you remember depends on how you were asked)

● Construction of false memories

Memory Failures

● Transience – memories are stored, then lost before they're ever retrieved

● Absentmindedness – lack of attention causes memories to not be stored

● Injuries● Diseases (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's)● Mental illness (chemical imbalance)

What impairs memory?

● Long-term stress● Lack of sleep

What improves memory?

● Emotion, especially fear– Amygdala

– PTSD

● Excitement (more adrenaline and cortisol)● Sleep● Exercise (changes neurotransmitter levels,

stimulates the hippocampus)● Place and odor effects● Priming

Techniques to improve memory(1)

● Organization – make categories● Distinctiveness – say or spell out loud● Effort – people remember harder problems

better● Elaboration – recall is better with longer and

more complex descriptions

Techniques to improve memory(2)

● Repetition (rote learning)● “rehearsal spacing” - keep working with the

material over a period of time● Zeigarnik effect – you remember uncompleted

tasks better than completed ones● Method of loci or memory palace

Let's do some Experiments

● neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s4/chapter07.html● https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chmemory.html● http://www.psychologistworld.com/memory/test2.php● Selective attention:

http://www.simplypsychology.org/eyewitness-testimony.html

Learning

● Learning is the act of acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing, existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information.

● Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.

Learning

● Learning is not compulsory; it is contextual. It does not happen all at once, but builds upon and is shaped by what we already know. To that end, learning may be viewed as a process, rather than a collection of factual and procedural knowledge. Learning produces changes in the organism and the changes produced are relatively permanent.

Learning

● Requires time and brain complexity● When selected for?

– need for flexibility in behavior

– Worthwhile to remember and re-use strategies

– When learning can be passed on

In general, when an investment of work and time saves work and time, opens opportunities or avoids risk, in the future

Learning

● Cognitive – recall, calculate, discuss, analyze, construct

● Psychomotor – movement skills – dance, swim, drive, ride a bike

● Affective – to learn to like or dislike, enjoy, appreciate, fear, etc.

Non-Associative Learning

● Habituation (you get used to something) – less response over time

● Sensitization – more response over time

Associative Learning

● Conditioning – strengthens a stimulus-response connection

● Operant conditioning – consequences of behavior (reward/punishment)

Play – mammals and birds

● Functional (repetition)● Role play● Rule-based play● Construction play● Movement play

All play builds creativity and problem-solving abilities. Some builds social skills.

Learning your culture

● Language● Modes of behavior● Customs● How to fit in ● From parents, adults, peers

Learning can be...

● Formal (education) or informal● Tangential (one thing leads to pursuing

something else)● Active or passive● Solitary or social

Combined approaches: puzzle

● Directions● Hints● Reasoning; strategic thinking● Practice● Conversation (dialog)● Revisiting