198 • CHAPTER 7 Long-Term Memory: Encoding and Retrieval
Brunet ran two groups. One group of PTSD patients listened to a 30-second record-
ing describing the circumstances of their traumatic experience and received probanolol.
Another group listened to the recording describing their experience but received a pla-
cebo, which had no active ingredients.
One week later, both groups were told to imagine their traumatic experience,
while again listening to the 30-second recording. To determine their reaction to imag-
ining their experience, Brunet measured their blood pressure and skin conductance.
He found that the probanolol group experienced much smaller increases in heart rate
and skin conductance than the placebo group. Apparently, presenting probanolol
when the memory was reactivated a week earlier blocked the stress response in the
amygdala, and this reduced the emotional reaction associated with remembering the
trauma. Brunet has used this procedure to treat patients with PTSD, and many of the
patients report signifi cant reductions in their symptoms, even months after the treat-
ment (Singer, 2009).
Research on reconsolidation and its potential applications is just in its infancy, but
from what researchers have learned so far, it appears that our memory is not static or
fi xed. Rather, it is a “work in progress” that is constantly being constructed and remod-
eled in response to new learning and changing conditions. We will be describing this
aspect of memory in detail in the next chapter, when we consider the creative, construc-
tive properties of memory.- Describe the following six ways of improving the effectiveness of studying:
(1) elaborate; (2) generate and test; (3) organize; (4) take breaks; (5) match
learning and testing conditions; (6) avoid “illusions of learning.” Be sure you
understand how each technique relates to experimental fi ndings about encod-
ing and retrieval. - What is the idea behind the statement “Memories are stored at synapses”?
What evidence supports this idea? - Why is it not correct to say that there is a single “memory center” in the brain?
- Describe evidence for the idea that memory is distributed. Be sure you under-
stand Davachi’s experiment and what it means. - Why can we say that new memories are “fragile”? Relate this idea to types of
amnesia. - What is the standard model of consolidation? How does it describe the process
of systems consolidation? - What is the multiple trace theory of consolidation? How is it different from the
standard model? - What is reconsolidation? What are the implications of the results of experi-
ments that demonstrate reconsolidation?
CHAPTER SUMMARY
TEST YOURSELF 7.3
- The process of acquiring information and transferring
it into long-term memory (LTM) is called encoding.
The process of transferring information from LTM into
working memory is called retrieval. - Some mechanisms of encoding are more effective
than others in transferring information into LTM.
Maintenance rehearsal helps maintain information in
STM but is not an effective way of transferring informa-
tion into LTM. Elaborative rehearsal is a good way to
establish LTMs.- Levels-of-processing theory states that memory depends
on how information is encoded or programmed into the
mind. According to this theory, shallow processing is not
as effective as deep processing. An experiment by Craik
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