Exercise Effects in Cognition and Motor Learning
Henning Budde, Mirko Wegner in The Exercise Effect on Mental Health, 2018
In addition to being essential for declarative memories, the hippocampus is thought to be especially important for associative learning and memory. Associative, or relational, learning and memory involves forming and using representations among elements within an internal or external environment (Henke, Buck, Weber, & Wieser 1997). An example would be the nostalgic alphabet posters in grade school classrooms that pair a letter (such as A) with an item (like an Apple). By forming this association (A for Apple), children are able to learn the letters, their sounds, and how they may be used to begin to spell words. Beyond the alphabet, associative learning is important as it allows for binding information and is integral to learning within and outside the classroom. In vivo functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have provided further evidence that the hippocampus is engaged during encoding and retrieval of declarative information (Binder, Bellgowan, Hammeke, Possing, & Frost 2005; Chua, Schacter, Rand-Giovannetti, & Sperling 2007; Davachi & Wagner 2002; Giovanello, Schnyer, & Verfaellie 2004; Greicius et al. 2003; Karlsgodt, Shirinyan, van Erp, Cohen, & Cannon 2005; Reber, Wong, & Buxton 2002; Schacter & Wagner 1999), and is especially so during associative learning (Giovanello et al. 2004). Additionally, the hippocampus is activated alongside the prefrontal cortex during memory retrieval; although this pattern is moderated by type of retrieval being performed (e.g. recall versus recognition) (Okada, Vilberg, & Rugg 2012).
Brain Implants
L. Syd M Johnson, Karen S. Rommelfanger in The Routledge Handbook of Neuroethics, 2017
Memory retrieval is to some extent involuntary and beyond our conscious control. But one can recall an episodic memory if one puts enough conscious effort into it. Failure to do this may result in serious harm. For example, there have been cases in which children died of hyperthermia after being left in a car on a hot day (Rogers, 2013). When charged with criminal negligence causing death, a parent or grandparent may claim that they had many tasks to attend to that day, and the information associated with the child being left in the car was pushed into their unconscious. Given the potential harm from hyperthermia, the parent should have been more attentive to the situation. Would it make any difference to a charge of criminal negligence if the parent had an HP implanted in his brain and it malfunctioned? The claim that he was unable to retrieve the information at the critical time would not have much legal weight because HPs restore memory formation, not retrieval (Berger et al., 2011). But a malfunctioning HP could mean that the person was unable to form a memory of his action and therefore could not recall the event. The missing cognitive content impaired his capacity for reasoning and decision making at that time and accordingly excused him from responsibility for the child’s death because the HP malfunction would imply that he lacked the necessary cognitive content for negligence. This example illustrates the importance of memory function or dysfunction in both “natural” and “artificial” forms for attributions of agency and responsibility.
Psychology across the lifespan
Dominic Upton in Introducing Psychology for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals, 2013
As well as intellectual deterioration, several aspects of an individual’s memory appear to decline with age. As we age our memories of recent events tend to become less precise and less specified (Glisky et al., 2001), and for some individuals memories such as declarative, non-declarative, working memory and remote memory become worse. This may affect the ability to live safely without assistance (Shagam, 2009). Memory is the ability to store, retain and recall information and experiences. A possible explanation that could explain memory deterioration could be the declined effectiveness of our information processing system (Stuart-Hamilton, 2007). Research conducted using recall tests has suggested a pronounced difference in memory recall, with older adults performing significantly lower (see Old and Naveh-Benjamine, 2008 for a meta-analysis of the research). Conversely, research concerning recognition tests has presented very small differences between younger and older individuals, with many of the differences often disappearing altogether (Luo and Craik, 2009). Nevertheless, evidence does seem to suggest that elderly people’s memories do deteriorate for more recent events. This is seen particularly in elderly individuals with cognitive impairments where they seem to have more difficulty recalling events from later on in life but are able to recall events from their youth and early lives (Cuetos et al., 2010).
How adults with cardiac conditions in Singapore understand the Patient Activation Measure (PAM-13) items: a cognitive interviewing study
Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2018
Bi Xia Ngooi, Tanya L. Packer, Grace Warner, George Kephart, Karen Wei Ling Koh, Raymond Ching Chiew Wong, Serene Peiying Lim
The cognitive interviews used scripted questions, adding emergent probes as needed. The PAM-13 questions were reviewed item by item with participants, probes were structured according to the four stages Tourangeau’s cognitive model (comprehension of the question; retrieval from memory of relevant information; decision processes; and response processes).[27] This model was chosen as it has contributed to the background theory underlying cognitive interviewing.[26] Comprehension of the question refers to what participants believe the questions to be asking and the meaning of specific terms within the questions. Retrieval from memory of relevant information involves recall-ability of information and recall strategies used. Decision processes reflect whether participants possess sufficient motivation to answer the question thoughtfully, and the influence of social desirability. Lastly, response processes examine if participants are able to match internally generated answers to response categories given by questions. Sample questions used included: “Can you explain this question in your own words?” and “How did you come to your answer?”
Reducing age-related Memory Deficits: The Roles of Environmental Support and self-initiated Processing Activities
Published in Experimental Aging Research, 2022
Against this general background, Craik (1983, 1986) proposed that memory retrieval processes may also be described in terms of an interaction between internal neural processes and external environmental events; not simply that the environment provides cues to trigger retrieval operations, but that the processing of external objects and events forms an integral part of both encoding and retrieval activities. In the 1983 article, he stressed the similarity between remembering and perceiving, and also (following Kolers, 1973) that retrieval processes are not seen as a “search” for wanted traces, but as a reinstatement of the original encoding operations. In summary, “the present proposal is that remembering and perceiving are essentially similar. Both should be thought of as mental activities, as opposed to mental objects or contents, and both reflect interactions between incoming information (stimulus patterns or retrieval cues) and the mental representation of the organism’s accumulated past experiences” (Craik, 1983, p. 345). A further implication of this position is that inadequate processing within the organism may be “repaired” by drawing on relevant information from the environment, which thereby complements internally generated information in the reconstruction (or reinstatement) of the original encoding operations.
Alteration of the α5 GABA receptor and 5HTT lead to cognitive deficits associated with major depressive-like behaviors in a 14-day combined stress rat model
Published in International Journal of Neuroscience, 2023
Gwladys Temkou Ngoupaye, Makwena Mokgokong, Thobeka Madlala, Musa Vuyisile Mabandla
The memory impairment is further observed in the NORT which assessed episodic memory. Animals from the CS and CORT28 groups were not able to distinguish between the novel and the familiar objects, exhibiting a decreased discrimination index [46,92]. These behavioural results are corroborated by the findings on increased levels of hippocampal AChE in animals that underwent the 14-day combined stress treatment. We also observed that in the PFC, animals receiving corticosterone only showed elevated levels of AChE compared to their control group, confirming the behavioural results observed in the MWM and NORT. Indeed, elevated levels of AChE has been associated with memory deficits [93]. Of note, functional imaging reports in humans have shown enhanced encoding of spatial context during working memory tasks as a result of cholinergic stimulation, but this cholinergic stimulation decreased PFC’s maintenance of memorized information [94,95]. This suggests that ongoing memory retrieval processes are disrupted, and as such would require future studies to distinguish between the stimulatory effects of the cholinergic system on the phase of memory formation, i.e. encoding and retrieval.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Cognitive Revolution
- Free Recall
- Memory
- Recognition Memory
- Encoding
- Storage
- Encoding Specificity Principle
- Pseudoword
- Short-Term Memory
- Atkinson–Shiffrin Memory Model