MEMORYECE 275

Current Issues in Brain Development

by: Kyndra Lopez

What is memory?Our ability to encode, store, retain, and recall

information and past experiences in the human brain (Mastin) with bits and pieces located

throughout the entire brain.

Main

Recalling/Retrieving (3rd Step):

bringing back into thought events or information from the past, where patterns of

neural activity are being replayed in the brain. However, these replays

aren’t completely identical to the original thought, which leaves room for strengthening of the

memory.

Storing (2nd Step):

an active or inactive process

of retaining information. The

more the information is viewed, used,

and/or repeated, the better chance

it will be remembered long-term.

Encoding (1st Step):

begins with perception of a memorable or attention grabbing event through the senses causing the neurons to fire more frequently.

There are four types:• acoustic or sound, words, and other auditory

information• visual or images and visual sensory information• tactile or information on how something feels • semantic or sensory information that has particular meaning and can be applied to a

particular context

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/11/memory/brain-interactive

of

Memory

Processes

(Mastin)

The 3 Stages of Memory Formation

Sensor

y

Atkinson-Shiffrin model, developed in 1968 to study

memory

Lo

n

g

-

t

e

r

m

The

3

Stages of

Memory

Formation

Cont.

When information enters our eyes, ears, or other sensory channels, the nervous system creates a very brief but thorough record of

all those stimuli, which can hold a great deal of information, but only for a short

period. Our visual systems seem to retain images for about a tenth of a second, while our hearing retains sounds for one or two

seconds. (Bloom, Flint Beal, & Kupfer, 2006)

Sensory

Also know as “working memory,” where our brains temporarily store new and old information (Bloom, Flint Beal, & Kupfer, 2006) during

cognition, including sounds, images, and thoughts. (Sweeney &

Restak, 2009)

The 3 Stages of Memory Formation Cont.

Used for storage of an unlimited amount of information over a long period of time, decaying

very little over time. (Mastin) It encodes information for storage based on meaning,

association, & sound. There are 2 subtypes; declarative or explicit (facts & events

consciously recalled) & procedural or implicit (skills & how to do things unconsciously

recalled). Declarative also has 2 subdivisions; episodic (experiences & specific events in serial form) & semantic (structured record acquired

from facts, meanings, concepts, & knowledge).

The

3

Stages of

Memory

Formation

Cont.

M e m o r yActivity

• Imagine that you are driving in the left lane and you would like to move over to the right

lane.

• Close your eyes, grip an imaginary steering

wheel.

• Now, go through the motions of a the lane

change.

You are not consciously aware of the vast

majority of your brain's ongoing activities, nor

would you want to be -- it would interfere with the

brain's well-oiled processes.

How did you do?

More than likely you didn’t do it correctly,

because the motion of turning the wheel

rightward for a bit, then straightening it out again

would steer you off the road: piloting a course from the left lane onto

the sidewalk.

Don't believe it? Verify it for yourself next time you’re in the car. It's such a simple motor task that

you have no problem accomplishing it in your daily driving. But when

forced to access it consciously, you're flummoxed.

The correct motion for

changing lanes is banking the wheel to the right, then back through the

center, and continuing to turn the wheel just as

far to the left side, and only

then straightening out. (Eagleman, 2011)

http://vimeo.com/20900000

Video of Isolated Moments Forming A Memory by

Adam Chapman

The Pathway To RememberingActivation of specific

networks of neurons

were triggered

to the exact

memory of changing

lanes.

Which was

triggered by a

conscious stimuli,

but is also triggered

by random stimuli.The darkened neurons in

the picture are the ones activated through

stimulation, while the light ones remain dormant unless

stimulated as well.

Also:• distractions

• reduced attention • fading or becoming less distinctive if the storage of other

memories interferes with them, perhaps because they are stored in overlapping neural assemblies.

Why

Do

We

Forget?

1) If we don’t encode information in storable form.

2) If we don’t then retain that information conscientiously.

3) If we don’t enable it to be accessed at later point.

Then there are those, “on the tip of my tongue” memories where the brain's search algorithms aren't working correctly and

sometimes has trouble distinguishing the right signals from the other neural noise.

Bloom, F. M., Flint Beal, M. M., & Kupfer, D. J. (2006). The Dana Guide to Brain Health: A Practical Family Reference from Medical Experts. Dana Press.

Collection of free publications of references about the brain, such as How the Brain Works, Normal Aging in Memory, and Learning, Thinking, and Autism, through contributions from American scientists and clinicians. It has cross-references, a glossary, diagrams and charts, additional resources, and support groups.

Chapman, A. Diagram of Isolated Moments Forming a Memory. http://vimeo.com/20900000. Vimeo, LLC.

This is a four minute twenty second video of Adam Chapman’s generative drawings, so when the pieces slowly come together they form portraits of his family and friends. I put this in my memory powerpoint, because it shows in art form how our brains form memories.

Eagleman, D. (2011). Secret Life of the Mind. Discover , 32 (7), 50-53.This article is about subconscious thoughts of every day activities, such tying

shoes or riding a bike. That if we consciously accessed every thought, it would impact our daily lives in negative ways.

Foster, J. K. (2011). Memory. New Scientist , 212 (2841), 16-24.This article is about different kinds of memory along with processes that control

them through encoding, storing, and retrieval. It also talks about the understanding of the processes help dementia research.

Bibliography

Mastin, L. (n.d.). The Human Memory: What It Is, How It Works, and How It Can Go Wrong. Retrieved February 18, 2012, from The Human Memory : www.human-memory.net

This website is about what memory is, how it works, and the disorders that effect it. It breaks human memory down into its three types, the processes, the disorders and what they do, as well as the parts of the brain that control certain parts of memory.

National Geographic Society. (2007, November). Retrieved February 18, 2012, from National Geographic: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/11/memory/brain-interactive

This website gives a interactive mapping of the brain and some of its inner workings. It goes through a short version of how we make memories, how we store them, and how we forget them.

Sweeney, M. S., & Restak, R. M. (2009). Brain, The Complete Mind: How It Develops, How It Works, and How To Keep It Sharp. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

This book is about the brain, how it develops, and its functions. It also goes into detail about the physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of it.

Bibliography Cont.