Memory Encoding and Storage

• Memory is the cognitive process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information.
• Learning is a process leading to permanent behavior or knowledge change.

Encoding

• The conversion of sensory input into a format suitable for memory storage.
• Automatic processing is the unconscious encoding of information without intentional effort.
• Effortful processing is conscious encoding that requires attention and effort.
• Semantic encoding is encoding based on the meaning of information.
• Acoustic encoding is encoding based on the sound of information.
• Visual encoding is encoding based on the appearance of information.

Memory Storage Types

• Sensory memory briefly stores sensory information for seconds.
• Short-term memory (STM) has a limited capacity and lasts for about 20-30 seconds.
• Long-term memory (LTM) has virtually unlimited storage capacity with potentially permanent duration.

Memory Enhancement

• Chunking helps memory by grouping information into larger, meaningful units.
• Semantic networks are interconnected concepts based on their meanings.
• Spreading activation refers to the activation of related concepts within semantic networks.

Types of Memory

• Explicit memory involves the conscious recall of facts and events.
• Implicit memory involves the unconscious memory for skills and conditioned responses.
• Episodic memory is the memory of personal experiences and specific events.
• Semantic memory is the memory of facts and general knowledge.
• Procedural memory is the memory for skills and procedures.
• Declarative memory (explicit memory) involves facts and events.

Memory Capacity and Duration

• Sensory memory has a large capacity but a brief duration.
• Visual sensory memory lasts less than a second, while auditory sensory memory lasts a few seconds.
• Short-term memory is limited to 7±2 items.
• Short-term memory lasts about 20-30 seconds without rehearsal.
• Long-term memory has virtually unlimited capacity and can be potentially permanent.

Learning and Memory Associations

• Classical conditioning is a learning process through the association of stimuli.
• Priming is improved recognition due to prior exposure.
• Associative learning involves learning to associate one stimulus with another.

Classical Conditioning

• Russian physiologist Ivan P. Pavlov is known for his work with classical conditioning.
• Classical Conditioning is learning through association of stimuli.
• A conditioned stimulus (CS) is a neutral stimulus that elicits a conditioned response.
• A conditioned response (CR) is a learned response to a conditioned stimulus.
• An unconditioned stimulus (US) is a stimulus that naturally triggers a response.
• An unconditioned response (UR) is a natural reaction to an unconditioned stimulus.
• An acquired response is a learned association between neutral and unconditioned stimuli.
• Extinction is the reduction of conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented alone.
• Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a conditioned response after an extinction period.
• Higher-order conditioning involves a new conditioned stimulus paired with an established conditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.
• Taste aversion involves avoidance of food associated with illness.
• The Little Albert study was an experiment showing fear can be conditioned in children.
• Inducing fear without consent, as in the Little Albert study, is unethical.
• Systematic desensitization involves gradual exposure to a feared object to reduce fear.
• Associating products with positive emotions influences behavior in advertising, and relates to classical conditioning.

Operant Conditioning

• Operant conditioning is learning through consequences of behavior.
• Thorndike's Law of Effect states that behaviors followed by satisfaction are repeated.
• Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations to achieve the desired behavior.
• Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring.
• Punishment decreases the likelihood of a behavior occurring.
• Positive reinforcement involves adding a pleasant stimulus to increase behavior.
• Negative reinforcement involves removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior.
• Positive punishment involves adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease behavior.
• Negative punishment involves removing of a pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior.
• Schedules of reinforcement are patterns determining when reinforcement is delivered.
• Fixed interval (FI) reinforcement occurs after a fixed time period.
• Fixed ratio (FR) reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses.
• Variable interval (VI) reinforcement occurs after varying time intervals.
• Variable ratio (VR) reinforcement occurs after a varying number of responses.
• Primary reinforcers are stimuli satisfying biological needs.
• Secondary reinforcers are stimuli gaining power through association.
• A timeout involves removing a child from a reinforcing environment after misbehavior.

Other Learning Types

• Latent learning is learning not immediately demonstrated until motivation arises.
• Observational learning happens by observing and imitating others.
• The Bobo doll study showed that children imitate aggressive behavior observed in adults.
• Vicarious reinforcement is learning from observing rewards received by others.
• Vicarious punishment is learning from observing punishments received by others.

Memory Retrieval

• Recognition involves identifying information that is presented to you.
• Recall involves retrieving information without cues.
• Relearning occurs when something is learned faster upon second exposure.
• Retrieval cues are stimuli that aid in retrieving stored information.
• Encoding specificity suggests better retrieval when the context matches the encoding context.

Brain Structures and Memory

• Equipotentiality states that memory is distributed across the brain, not localized in one specific area.
• The hippocampus is essential for forming long-term memories.
• The basal ganglia is involved in procedural memory.
• The cerebellum is associated with motor control and learning.

Memory Types

• Flashbulb memories are vivid memories of emotionally significant events.
• Procedural memory (implicit memory) involves skills and tasks.

Accuracy and Distortion

• Memory is a reconstructive process influenced by biases and new information.
• Eyewitness accounts can be inaccurate despite a witness's confidence.
• The misinformation effect refers to memory distortion from misleading post-event information.
• False memories are inaccurate recollections of events that did not occur.
• Memory accuracy is not guaranteed by confidence.
• Elizabeth Loftus is a researcher known for studying memory distortion.
• Multiple-choice questions are an example of recognition in memory testing.
• Essay questions are an example of recall in memory testing.

Memory Problems

• Absentmindedness is an encoding error due to lack of attention.
• Bias is a retrieval error influenced by preconceived notions.
• Blocking is a retrieval error characterized by the temporary inability to access stored information.
• Misattribution is a memory distortion involving wrong source attribution.
• Persistence is the involuntary recall of unwanted memories.
• Suggestibility is incorporating misleading information into memory.
• Transience is the decay of memory over time.

Interference

• Retroactive interference is when new information disrupts the recall of old information.
• Proactive interference is when old information disrupts the learning of new information.

Serial Position Effect

• Serial position curve is a memory recall pattern for items on a list.
• The primacy effect results in better recall of the first items in a list.
• The recency effect results in better recall of the last items in a list.

Amnesia Types

• Anterograde amnesia is the inability to form new memories after an event.
• Retrograde amnesia is the loss of memories formed before an event.

Case Studies

• Scott Bolzan had anterograde amnesia but intact STM and implicit memory.
• Clive Wearing had both anterograde and retrograde amnesia.

Conditions

• False Memory Syndrome is the inaccurate recall of events, potentially after suggestive influences

Sensation

• Sensation is information detected by a sensory receptor.

Perception

• Perception is the way in which sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced.

Transduction

• Transduction is the process of converting a physical stimulus into action potentials.

Absolute Threshold

• Absolute threshold is the minimum amount of energy required to detect the stimulus 50% of the time.

Difference Threshold

• Difference threshold is the minimum amount of energy required to detect a change in the stimulus.
• Difference threshold is measured in Just Noticeable Differences (JND) and is dependent on context.

Subliminal Message

• A subliminal message is a stimuli below absolute threshold that may influence behavior without awareness.

Top-Down Processing

• Top-down processing is a cognitive process that uses existing knowledge to interpret new information.

Bottom-Up Processing

• Bottom-up processing is a cognitive process where perception starts with raw sensory information from the environment.
• It gradually builds up a mental representation of an object or situation by analyzing individual details before forming a complete understanding.

Sensory Adaptation

• Sensory adaptation is a physiological process where senses become less responsive to a constant stimulus over time.

Inattentional Blindness

• Inattentional blindness when someone doesn't notice something obvious because they're focused on something else.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

• The electromagnetic spectrum encompasses all types of electromagnetic radiation, including those invisible to the human eye.

Visual Spectrum

• The visual spectrum refers to the small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that humans can see with their eyes.

Wavelengths

• Wavelength is the difference between two points on a wave.

Cones

• Cones are photoreceptor cells located mostly in the Fovea, requiring bright light to be active.
• Cones are responsible for color and acuity, with about 6 million present.

Rods

• Rods are photoreceptor cells located in the retina, not Fovea, requiring dim light.
• About 120 million rods are present, responsible for sensitivity.

Dark Adaptation

• Dark adaptation is the process by which eyes become adapted to a dark environment, with maximum rod sensitivity at 30 minutes.

Optic Nerve

• The optic nerve is made up of the axons of retinal ganglion cells.

Photoreceptors

• Photoreceptors are cells (rods and cones) that detect light and generate electrical signals.

Bipolar Cells

• Bipolar cells transmit the signal they receive from the photoreceptors to ganglion cells.

Primary Visual Cortex

• The primary visual cortex is located in the occipital lobe.

Visual Fields

• Visual fields refer to the areas of the external world that can be seen by each eye or by both eyes together.

Visual Afterimages

• Visual afterimages are images that persist after the original stimulus has been removed.
• Visual afterimages are illusionary images that remain in vision after looking at a bright light or a contrasting image for a short period of time.

Depth Perception

• Depth perception is the ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and to judge the distance of objects.

Monocular Cues

• Monocular cues are depth perception cues that involve the use of one eye.

Binocular Cues

• Binocular cues are depth perception cues that involve the use of both eyes.

Relative Motion

• Relative potion is a monocular cue that helps perceive depth and distance based on the way objects appear to move relative to one another as we move through space.

Linear Perspective

• Linear perspective is a monocular cue that helps perceive depth and distance in a two-dimensional image.
• Parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance.

Overlap

• Overlap, also known as interposition, is a monocular cue used in depth perception when one object partially or completely blocks the view of another object.

Convergence

• Convergence is a binocular cue that helps perceive depth and distance by using the inward turning of both eyes when focusing on a near object.

Relative Size

• Relative size is a monocular cue that refers to the perception that when two objects are known to be of the same size, the one that appears smaller is perceived as being farther away.

Texture Gradient

• Texture gradient is a monocular cue that refers to the way the texture of an object or surface appears to change as it recedes into the distance.

Differential Lighting

• Differential lighting is a monocular cue that helps with depth perception and object recognition by using the way light and shadows fall on objects.

Retinal Disparity

• Retinal disparity is a binocular cue that helps perceive depth by using the slightly different images that each eye receives.

Amplitude

• Amplitude refers to the height or strength of a wave.
• Amplitude plays an important role in the perception of sensory stimuli, particularly in sound and light waves.

Frequency

• Frequency refers to the number of cycles or vibrations a wave completes in a given period of time, typically measured in Hertz (Hz).

Auditory Canal

• The auditory canal is part of the outer ear that channels sound waves from the outside environment toward the eardrum.
• The active mechanical function is the transmission of sound waves to the eardrum.

Auditory nerve

• The auditory nerve is part of the inner ear and is crucial for transmitting sound information to the brain.
• It connects the cochlea (the auditory portion of the inner ear) to the brain.

Basilar Membrane

• The basilar membrane is part of the inner ear and is located inside the cochlea.
• The basilar membrane's primary function is to convert sound vibrations into neural signals that can be processed by the brain.

Cochlea

• The cochlea is part of the inner ear.
• The cochlea is a spiral-shaped, fluid-filled structure located within the temporal bone of the skull.
• The primary function of the cochlea is to convert sound vibrations into neural signals that the brain can interpret.

Eardrum

• The eardrum, also known as the tympanic membrane, is part of the outer ear.
• The eardrum serves as the boundary between the outer ear and the middle ear.
• The primary function of the eardrum is to vibrate in response to sound waves, converting sound energy from the air into mechanical vibrations.

Hair Cells

• Hair cells are located in the cochlea, which is part of the inner ear.
• They are specifically found in the organ of Corti, a structure within the cochlea.
• The primary function of hair cells is to convert mechanical vibrations (caused by sound waves) into electrical signals that can be processed by the brain.

Ossicles

• The ossicles are part of the middle ear.
• They consist of three small bones: the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup).
• The primary function of the ossicles is to amplify and transmit sound vibrations from the eardrum to the cochlea.

Pinna

• The pinna is part of the outer ear (also known as the external ear).
• It is the visible, external part of the ear that can be seen on the side of the head.
• The primary function of the pinna is to collect sound waves from the environment and direct them into the auditory canal (ear canal) toward the eardrum.

Primary Auditory Cortex

• The primary auditory cortex is located in the temporal lobe of the brain, specifically in the superior temporal gyrus.
• The primary auditory cortex is responsible for processing auditory information that is sent to the brain from the ears.

Encoding of Pitch and Loudness

• The cochlea plays a crucial role in encoding both pitch and loudness of sound.
• These two characteristics of sound are processed in different ways within the cochlea
• The brain interprets pitch and loudness based on the mechanical vibrations that occur inside the cochlea.

Two Ears

• There are two ears, one on each side of the head, to help with sound localization
• Two ears help to perceive the direction and distance of sounds.

Conductive Hearing Loss

• Conductive hearing loss occurs when there is a problem with the outer or middle ear that prevents sound from being efficiently transmitted to the inner ear.
• It is typically temporary and can often be treated or corrected.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

• Sensorineural hearing loss occurs due to damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or the auditory nerve pathways.
• This damage prevents transmission of sound signals to the brain.
• It is typically permanent, though some treatments (like hearing aids or cochlear implants) can help improve hearing.

Central Hearing Loss

• Central hearing loss is caused by damage to the brain areas that process sound information, such as the auditory cortex or neural pathways leading from the inner ear to the brain.
• It is relatively rare compared to conductive or sensorineural hearing loss.

Cochlear Implant

• A cochlear implant is a small, surgically implanted electronic device designed to help individuals with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss.
• Unlike hearing aids, which amplify sound, a cochlear implant bypasses damaged parts of the ear and directly stimulates the auditory nerve to send sound signals to the brain.

Chemical Signal Receptors

• The senses that have receptors adapted to sensing chemical signals are taste and smell.

Gustatory Receptors

• The receptors for taste are known as gustatory receptors, and they are located primarily in specialized structures called taste buds.

Primary Tastes

• Sweet, Salty, Sour, and Bitter are the primary tastes.

Umami

• Umami is a savory, meaty taste and is primarily triggered by amino acids as well as fat.

Gustatory Cortex

• Taste stimuli are processed primarily in the gustatory cortex, which is located in the insula (a region deep within the cerebral cortex).

Olfactory Stimuli

• The stimuli for the sense of smell are odorants.
• Odorants are chemical molecules that are volatile (can evaporate into the air) and can be detected by the olfactory system.

Olfactory Receptors

• The olfactory receptors are located in the olfactory epithelium, which is a small patch of tissue inside the nasal cavity.

Olfactory Bulb

• The first brain destination for olfactory information is the olfactory bulb.

Quality of Smell

• The quality of smell is determined by the chemical structure of the odorant, the activation of specific olfactory receptors, the brain's processing of this information, and individual factors like genetics, age, and experience.

Olfactory Bulb Processing

• The olfactory bulb sends processed olfactory information to several key brain areas:
  • The olfactory cortex for initial smell identification
  • The limbic system (amygdala and hippocampus) for emotional and memory associations
  • The orbitofrontal cortex for higher-level processing, evaluation of pleasantness, and decision-making

Vomeronasal Organ

• The vomeronasal organ is related to pheromone perception.
• It is a small, specialized structure found in the nasal cavity of many vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and some amphibians.
• The vomeronasal organ is part of the olfactory system but distinct from the primary olfactory system.

Smells as a Component of Flavor

• The perception of flavor is a combination of multiple sensory inputs, primarily taste and smell.

Nociceptors

• Nociceptors are specialized sensory receptors that detect potentially harmful stimuli that could cause tissue damage.

Inflammatory Pain

• Inflammatory pain results from tissue damage or inflammation, often linked to the body's healing process.

Neuropathic Pain

• Neuropathic pain occurs from nerve damage or dysfunction
• It causes malfunctioning pain signals and more chronic, often harder-to-treat pain.

Analgesia

• Analgesia is a lack of pain sensation.
• It can lead to serious health issues as pain serves as a warning system that protects the body from harm.

Somatosensory Cortex

• The somatosensory cortex is the area of the brain located in the parietal lobe where touch information is processed.

Figure-Ground Relationship

• A figure-ground relationship is a fundamental concept in visual perception that refers to the way an object (the figure) is distinguished from its background (the ground).

Grouping by Proximity

• Grouping by proximity is the tendency to perceive elements that are physically close to each other as a group.

Grouping by Similarity

• Grouping by similarity is the tendency to perceive elements that share common characteristics (color, shape, size, etc.) as part of the same group.

Closure (good figure)

• Closure is a principle from Gestalt psychology where the brain completes incomplete or fragmented information to perceive a whole object or pattern.

Common Movement

• Common movement is a principle from Gestalt psychology that refers to the tendency to perceive a group of objects moving in the same direction and at the same speed as a single entity.

Illusory Contours

• Illusory contours are visual phenomena where contours or shapes are perceived even though there is no actual physical line or edge present.

Auditory Perception

• Auditory perception is an example of a perceptual organization applied outside of vision, specifically in speech perception.

Proximity in Speech Perception

• Proximity in speech perception is the principle where sounds that occur close together are grouped as part of a word or sentence.

Similarity in Speech Perception

• Similarity in speech perception is the principle where sounds with similar tones or rhythms are grouped together to understand speech.

Fusiform Gyrus

• The fusiform gyrus is the part of the brain dedicated to face perception, particularly in the fusiform face area (FFA), located in the temporal lobe.

Prosopagnosia

• Prosopagnosia is a condition resulting from damage to the fusiform gyrus
• Individuals with prosopagnosia have difficulty recognizing faces.

Perceptual Constancies

• Perceptual constancies are the ability to perceive objects as maintaining consistent shape, size, color, and brightness, despite changes in their appearance due to changes in the viewer's perspective, lighting, or distance.

Shape Constancy

• Shape constancy means perceiving an object as having the same shape, even when viewed from different angles.

Size Constancy

• Size constancy means perceiving an object as being the same size, even when it appears larger or smaller depending on how far away it is.

Ames Box Phenomenon

• The Ames Box Phenomenon is the illusion created by a distorted room that makes a person appear much larger or smaller than someone in another corner, despite both being the same size.

Brightness Contrast

• Brightness contrast is the perceptual phenomenon where the perceived brightness of an object changes depending on the background or surrounding context.

Perceptual Illusions

• Perceptual illusions are distortions of reality that occur due to the way the brain processes sensory information.

Ponzo Illusion

• The Ponzo Illusion is an illusion where two horizontal lines of equal length appear to be of different lengths due to converging parallel lines in the background.

Müller-Lyer Illusion

• The Müller-Lyer Illusion is an illusion where two lines of the same length appear to be different lengths because of arrow-like markings at the ends.

Movement Illusions

• Movement Illusions are illusions where stationary images appear to be moving due to the way the brain processes contrasting colors and patterns.

Stroop Effect

• The Stroop Effect is a phenomenon where a person is asked to name the color of a word while ignoring the word itself, demonstrating the competition between reading and color perception.