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40 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is amnesia? |
Amnesia is the profound loss of memory in the presence of a relatively preserved cognitive abilities |
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There are different types of amnesia? |
Psychogenic Amnesia, organic Amnesia, Transient, Persistent, Degenerative, Non-degenerative, Material specific and global |
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What is Psychogenic Amnesia? |
Psychogenic Amnesia is characterised by abnormal memory functioning in the absence of structural brain damage. This can be as a result of severe stress |
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What is organic amnesia? |
Organic amnesia refers to a loss of memory resulting from head trauma, substance abuse or epilepsy. |
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What is material specific amnesia? |
Refers to naming impairment with respect to objects or materials |
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What is global amnesia? |
Refers to the inability to remember all types of information, for example visual, tactile etc. |
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What brain region is involved in Amnesia? |
The hippocampus |
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What is the function of Papez's circuit? |
It is involved in central emotion and emotional expression. It is part of the limbic system. |
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Describe the circuitry of Papez's circuit, starting from the cingulate gyrus |
Cingulate gyrus-->entorhinal cortex-->hippocampus-->mammillary bodies -->Anterior Thalamic Nuclei --> Cingulate Gyrus |
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What is hippocampal amnesia and how is it caused? |
It is caused by damage to the medial temporal lobe. Hippocampal amnesia includes a loss of both episodic and semantic memory. |
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What is Korsakoff's Amnesia and how is it caused? |
It is caused by a thiamine deficiency, which can be caused by over consumption of alcohol. It results in retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia. |
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What is anterograde amnesia? |
Anterograde amnesia is the difficulty in forming new memories |
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Retrograde amnesia? |
Retrograde amnesia is the severe loss of existing memories |
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What are the common causes of Amnesia? |
Physical Damage - Head trauma or surgery Viral Disease - Encephalitis Loss of blood flow - Ischaemia Loss of oxygen - Anoxia Nutritional deficiency - Low Thiamine |
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What are the spared functions in amnesia? |
1) General cognitive abilities 2) Short-term memory 3) Implicit memory |
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How can general cognitive ability be tested? |
WAIS for IQ and attention Wisconsin Card Sorting Test for executive function Graded Naming Test for general semantics |
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How can short-term memory be tested? |
Digit span Corsi block span |
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How can implicit memory be tested? |
It can be tested using the perceptual priming test. Priming is where exposure to one stimulus influences the response to another stimulus |
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What is implicit/procedural memory? |
It is one of two types of long-term memory. It involves recollection memories that do not need to be recalled consciously. For example skills and preferences |
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What are the impaired functions of amnesia? |
Impaired episodic memory. This results into retrograde and anterograde amnesia |
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What is episodic memory? |
Episodic memory is memory of events and episodes which you have personally experienced |
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How is episodic memory tested? |
Episodic memory is tested using the Rey figure. It is a complex figure, which needs to be copied and then recalled. |
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Describe the taxonomy of long-term memory. |
1) Long term memory is split into explicit and implicit memory 2) Explicit memory can be split into semantic and episodic memory |
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What is explicit memory? |
Are memories that require conscious thought, for example recalling a name or a date |
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What is semantic memory? |
Semantic memory is the memory of facts and information independent from the initial experience |
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What topics are controversial? |
Brain regions supporting recognition and semantic memory Memory consolidation Hippocampus involvement in spatial perception |
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What is recollection? |
Recollection is rich detailed memory of past events |
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What is familiarity? |
Feeling that something is familiar but no details about it are retained |
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The hippocampus is not essential for tasks which can be solved by a sense of familiarity. True or false |
True |
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Is the hippocampus involved in semantic memory? |
-HM had impaired memory for word definitions -In patients episodic and semantic affected in amnesia -Early onset of amnesia spared semantic memory -Late onset cases some degree of semantic learning |
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Conclusion? |
Either -neocortex allows slow gradual learning -a small fragment of remaining hippocampus supports semantic memory |
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Hippocampus and memory consolidation |
HM - Old memories still remembered - Memories 5-10 years before lesion lost |
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Implication? |
Hippocampal memories consolidated in the neocortex over time and become independent of the hippocampus |
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Retrograde Amnesia in amnesics |
Most patients suffer from some form of RA There is a high variability in the length of the RA |
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Problems of measuring RA |
Not often examined in studies Few standardised tests available Low motivation of patients |
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Consolidation Model |
In this model, the hippocampal memories are consolidated in the neocortex over time and become independent of the hippocampus |
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What is the multiple trace theory? |
Episodic memories are never completely consolidated from the hippocampus |
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What does the multiple trace model show? |
It shows that semantic memories are consolidated in the neocortex over time and become independent if the hippocampus It shows that episodic memories are not completely consolidated in the neocortex over time and hence never becomes independent of the hippocampus |
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What is the role of the hippocampus in imagination and scene construction |
- Patients can't imagine the scene - But they can imagine objects - Patients also have problems perceptually processing complex scenes, but not objects |
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What does it suggest? |
The hippocampus is involved in the mental scene construction |
