Psychology2016

Memory 255

Neuroscience of Memory

Researchers have evidence that specific areas of the brain may be the places in which
memories are physically formed and that these areas are different for different types
of memory.

The Biological Bases of Memory

6. 12 Explain the biological bases of memory in the brain.

Nondeclarative memories seem to be stored in the cerebellum (Boyd & Winstein, 2004;
Daum & Schugens, 1996). Research involving PET scanning techniques strongly suggests
that short-term memories are stored in the prefrontal cortex (the very front of the frontal
lobe) and the temporal lobe (Goldman-Rakic, 1998; Rao et al., 1997). Memories related to
fear seem to be stored in the amygdala (Dębiec et al., 2010).
As for semantic and episodic long-term memories, evidence suggests that these mem-
ories are also stored in the frontal and temporal lobes but not in exactly the same places,
nor in the same location as short-term memories (Binder et al., 2009; Weis et al., 2004).

Practice Quiz How much do you remember?

Pick the best answer.

1. Raven has just finished learning a list of nonsense words given to
   her by her psychology instructor as part of a class activity. She had
   100 percent recall at the end of class. According to Ebbinghaus’s
   curve of forgetting, how quickly will Raven likely forget about 40 per-
   cent of the information she has just learned?
   a. within the first 20 minutes after leaving the class
   b. within the first day after leaving the class
   c. nearly a week after the class
   d. nearly a month after the class


2. Collin is asked to repeat what his mother just told him. He says he
   “forgot,” but in reality Collin wasn’t paying attention to his mother at
   all. This is an example of the __ explanation of forgetting.
   a. interference c. encoding failure
   b. memory trace d. repression
   3. Shantel spent a year living abroad in Spain. During that time, her
   ability to read and speak Spanish grew tremendously. However,
   now, 2 years later, Shantel feels she can no longer travel there
   because she can barely remember a thing. Her problem is most
   likely due to
   a. encoding failure. c. proactive interference.
   b. retroactive interference. d. decay theory.
   4. Noland bought a fancy new smart phone. It was a different brand of
   phone than his old phone, so he spent quite a few frustrating hours
   learning to use the new one. The problem was that he kept trying to
   tap icons on the new phone in the places they had been on his old
   phone. Noland’s problem was most likely due to
   a. encoding failure. c. proactive interference.
   b. retroactive interference. d. decay theory.

proactive:

previously learned

retroactive:

newly acquired

Forgetting

(originally studied by Ebbinghaus in 1913, research produced forgetting curve)

distributed practice

produces far better

retrieval than massed

practice (cramming)

encoding failure

nonattended

information is

not encoded

into memory

memory trace decay

over time, if not

used, neuronal

connections can

weaken or decay

interference

other information

interferes with

accurate retrieval

Concept Map L.O. 6.10, 6.11

Interactive

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