PS102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Episodic Memory, Basal Ganglia, Amnesia
Document Summary
Flashbulb memories: retrieving emotional memory, long-term memory sometimes links strong emotion to vivid and detailed episodic memories, e. g. remembering a proposal after being married for many years. Flashbulb memories: vivid, clear recollections, like a snapshot" in time, not as accurate as they were presumed to be. Forgetting is a decrease in the ability to retrieve a previously formed memory. E. g. failure to encode: details that are not important to us. Decay: memory trace becomes eroded, birth of new neurons in the hippocampus leads to decay of memories in that brain region, happens naturally. Displacement: items are pushed out of memory. Past material interferes with recall of newer material: retroactive interference. New information interferes with ability to recall older information. What"s the biology of memory: consolidation of new memories, breakdown of acetylcholine in the synapse leads to memory loss. Infantile amnesia: memory loss for early childhood experiences, typically for events before ages of 3-4.
