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efficiencywith which signals are sent across the synapses within neural networks of long-term
memories.This requires fewer neurotransmitter molecules to make neurons fire and an
increase in receptor sites. Where were you when you heard about the 9/11 disaster? Like a
camera with a flashbulb that captures a picture of an event, you may have captured that
event in your memory. A flashbulb memory,a vivid memory of an emotionally arousing
event, is associated with an increase of adrenal hormones triggering release of energy for
neural processes and activation of the amygdala and hippocampus involved in emotional
memories. Although memory is distributed throughout the brain, specific regions are
more actively involved in both short-term and long-term memories. The role of the
thalamusin memory seems to involve the encoding of sensory memory into short-term
memory. STM seems to be located primarily in the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes.
Thehippocampus, frontal and temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex, and other regions
of the limbic system are involved in explicitlong-term memory. Destruction of the
hippocampus results in anterograde amnesia,the inability to put new information into
explicit memory; no new semantic memories are formed. Another type of amnesia, retro-
grade amnesia,involves memory loss for a segment of the past, usually around the time
of an accident, such as a blow to the head. This may result from disruption of the process
of long-term potentiation. Studies using fMRI indicate that the hippocampus and left
frontal lobe are especially active in encoding new information into memory, and the right
frontal lobe is more active when we retrieve information. A person with damage to the
hippocampus can develop skills and learn new procedures. The cerebellumis involved in
implicitmemory of skills.
Retrieving Memories
Retrievalis the process of getting information out of memory storage. Whenever we take
tests, we retrieve information from memory in answering multiple-choice, fill-in, and essay
questions. Multiple choice questions require recognition,identification of learned items
when they are presented. Fill-in and essay questions require recall,retrieval of previously
learned information. Often the information we try to remember has missing pieces, which
results in reconstruction,retrieval of memories that can be distorted by adding, dropping,
or changing details to fit a schema. When we try to retrieve a long list of words, we usually
recall the last words and the first words best, forgetting the words in the middle. This is
called the serial position effect.Theprimacy effectrefers to better recall of the first items,
thought to result from greater rehearsal; the recency effectrefers to better recall of the last
items. Immediately after learning, the last items may still be in working memory, accounting
for the recency effect.
What helps us remember? Retrieval cues,reminders associated with information we
are trying to get out of memory, aid us in remembering. Retrieval cues can be other words
or phrases in a specific hierarchy or semantic network, context, and mood or emotions.
Primingis activating specific associations in memory either consciously or unconsciously.
Retrieval cues prime our memories.
Cramming for a test does not help us remember as well as studying for the same total
amount of time in shorter sessions on different occasions. Numerous studies have shown
thatdistributed practice,spreading out the memorization of information or the learning
of skills over several sessions, facilitates remembering better than massed practice,cram-
ming the memorization of information or the learning of skills into one session.
If we use mnemonic devicesor memory tricks when encoding information, these
devices will help us retrieve concepts, for example acronyms such as ROY G. BIV
(red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) or sayings such as, “My very educated
mother just served us nine pizzas (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
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