REVIEW Storing and Retrieving Memories

Learning Objectives

Test Yourself by taking a moment to answer each of these Learning Objective Questions (repeated here from within the module). Research suggests that trying to answer these questions on your own will improve your long-term memory of the concepts (McDaniel et al., 2009).

Question

23-1 What is the capacity of long-term memory? Are our long-term memories processed and stored in specific locations?

ANSWER: Our long-term memory capacity is essentially unlimited. Memories are not stored intact in the brain in single spots. Many parts of the brain interact as we encode, store, and retrieve memories.

Question

23-2 What are the roles of the frontal lobes and hippocampus in memory processing?

ANSWER: The frontal lobes and hippocampus are parts of the brain network dedicated to explicit memory formation. Many brain regions send information to the frontal lobes for processing. The hippocampus, with the help of surrounding areas of cortex, registers and temporarily holds elements of explicit memories (which are either semantic or episodic) before moving them to other brain regions for long-term storage. The neural storage of long-term memories is called memory consolidation.

Question

23-3 What are the roles of the cerebellum and basal ganglia in memory processing?

ANSWER: The cerebellum and basal ganglia are parts of the brain network dedicated to implicit memory formation. The cerebellum is important for storing classically conditioned memories. The basal ganglia are involved in motor movement and help form procedural memories for skills. Many reactions and skills learned during our first three years continue into our adult lives, but we cannot consciously remember learning these associations and skills, a phenomenon psychologists call infantile amnesia.

Question

23-4 How do emotions affect our memory processing?

ANSWER: Emotional arousal causes an outpouring of stress hormones, which lead to activity in the brain's memory-forming areas. Significantly stressful events can trigger very clear flashbulb memories.

Question

23-5 How do changes at the synapse level affect our memory processing?

ANSWER: Long-term potentiation (LTP) appears to be the neural basis of learning. In LTP, neurons become more efficient at releasing and sensing the presence of neurotransmitters, and more connections develop between neurons.

Question

23-6 How do external cues, internal emotions, and order of appearance influence memory retrieval?

ANSWER: External cues activate associations that help us retrieve memories; this process may occur without our awareness, as it does in priming. Returning to the same physical context or emotional state (mood congruency) in which we formed a memory can help us retrieve it. The serial position effect accounts for our tendency to recall best the last items (which may still be in working memory) and the first items (which we've spent more time rehearsing) in a list.

Terms and Concepts to Remember

Test yourself on these terms.

Question

semantic memory (p. 292)
episodic memory (p. 292)
hippocampus (p. 293)
memory consolidation (p. 293)
flashbulb memory (p. 295)
long-term potentiation (LTP) (p. 295)
priming (p. 297)
mood-congruent memory (p. 298)
serial position effect (p. 299)
a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.
a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage.
an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.
explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is semantic memory).
the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.
the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.
our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items in a list.
the neural storage of a long-term memory.
explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is episodic memory).

Experience the Testing Effect

Test yourself repeatedly throughout your studies. This will not only help you figure out what you know and don’t know; the testing itself will help you learn and remember the information more effectively thanks to the testing effect.

Question 8.7

1. The hippocampus seems to function as a

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Question 8.8

2. Hippocampus damage typically leaves people unable to learn new facts or recall recent events. However, they may be able to learn new skills, such as riding a bicycle, which is an (explicit/implicit) memory.

Question 8.9

3. Long-term potentiation (LTP) refers to

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Question 8.10

4. Specific odors, visual images, emotions, or other associations that help us access a memory are examples of .

Question 8.11

5. When you feel sad, why might it help to look at pictures that reawaken some of your best memories?

ANSWER: Memories are stored within a web of many associations, one of which is mood. When you recall happy moments from your past, you deliberately activate these positive links. You may then experience mood-congruent memory and recall other happy moments, which could improve your mood and brighten your interpretation of current events.

Question 8.12

6. When tested immediately after viewing a list of words, people tend to recall the first and last items more readily than those in the middle. When retested after a delay, they are most likely to recall

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