Memory: Brain basis (Neurocognition)
Evidence for two memory systems?: See Nee et al (2007)
article and pp
William James (1900): Made Primary-Secondary memory
distinction
Evidence for different types of memory: Brain damage studies
– H. M & K. C.
PET studies: Brain evidence for Tulving’s HERA model (separate
Episodic vs. semantic memory systems)
Cognitive studies supporting separate memory systems: serial
order effects
Nee, et al., STM/LTM article
• Damage to
Medial Temporal
produced LTM
deficits while
leaving STM in
tact. Inferior
Temporal = LT
visual pattern
recognition
deficits
Medial and Inferior Temporal lobes
Perisylvian cortex: STM disruptions
STM/LTM distinction: Behavioral evidence – Serial
Order Effect
Models of Memory 1:
Boxes in Head Model of memory (Attkinson & Shiffrin,
1970’s)
•
•
-
SR – STM – LTM
Each distinguishable based on:
Duration
Representation
Loss
Capacity
Atkinson & Shiffrin 3 box model of memory
Diagram of Three-Stage Memory Model
Enhancing Memory
Properties of STM: Early Studies
• Waugh/Norman (1965): Early experimental test
List of numbers presented
7 9 5 1 2 9 3 8 6 4 3 7 2 (tone)
Tone marks repeated number; must recall number
coming after repeated number first time (answer: 9)
Two variables: rate of presentation: (1/sec; 4/sec
Number of intervening items (1-13)
If decay then rate should be critical
If interference then number of items
No effect of rate; significant effect of items.
Memory 2: Structures and Processes
STM: Processes – decay or displacement?
Waugh & Norman (1965)
3 4 1 9 6 8 2 1 (beep) var: presentation rate (1-4/sec); # of
intervening items (1-13).
Maintenance of information in STM: necessity of
rehearsal – Brown/Peterson Technique
Encoding of information in STM: predominance of
acoustic codes – Conrad’s confusion matrices
Visual codes: Posner Paradigm, mental rotation studies
Semantic codes: Wicken’s release from PI studies
STM influence by both SR (early) and LTM (late)
Brown/Peterson Technique:
Trigram: KNP; 517; backwards by 3 from number for variable amount of time,
by 15-18 seconds trigram gone
Conrad’s confusion Matrix:
Visually presented letters; recall in order; record mistakes; mistakes based on
sound or visual image F-P or G-P
Posner Paradigm:
Letter matching A-a; A-A; visual significantly faster than name until about 1
sec delay.
Wickens Release from PI
Dogs – distracter-recall; dogs-distracter-recall; dogs-d-r; then switch
Sternberg Task
Search set (1-6 digits); Comparison number; yes/no part of set?
Ex: 6 9 2 5 (9=yes) (7=no)
RT’s increase linearly with set size; RT for yes and no equal. Serial/Exhaustive
search.
Mental rotation studies
STM Processes (cont.)
• Retrieval from STM: parallel or serial search;
self-terminating or exhaustive?
• Sternberg paradigm: indicates
serial/exhaustive search
Baddeley’s Model of Working Memory
Central executive
Visio-spatial sketchpad
Phonological loop
Episodic buffer
Baddeley’s Model of Working memory