Chapter 13 Outline

Introduction: Trapped in the Eternal Now

PART I  Types of Learning and Memory

There Are Several Kinds of Learning and Memory

For Patient H.M., the present vanished into oblivion

RESEARCHERS AT WORK: Which brain structures are important for declarative memory?

Damage to the medial diencephalon can also cause amnesia

Brain damage can destroy autobiographical memories while sparing general memories

Different Forms of Nondeclarative Memory Involve Different Brain Regions

Different types of nondeclarative memory serve varying functions

Animal research confirms the various brain regions involved in different attributes of memory

Brain regions involved in learning and memory: A summary

Successive Processes Capture, Store, and Retrieve Information in the Brain

BOX 13.1: Emotions and Memory

Long-term memory has vast capacity but is subject to distortion

PART II  Neural Mechanisms of Memory

Memory Storage Requires Physical Changes in the Brain

Plastic changes at synapses can be physiological or structural

Varied experiences and learning cause the brain to change and grow

Invertebrate nervous systems show synaptic plasticity

Classical conditioning relies on circuits in the mammalian cerebellum

Synaptic Plasticity Can Be Measured in Simple Hippocampal Circuits

NMDA receptors and AMPA receptors collaborate in LTP

Is LTP a mechanism of memory formation?

PART III  Development of the Brain

Growth and Development of the Brain Are Orderly Processes

Development of the Nervous System Can Be Divided into Six Distinct Stages

Cell proliferation produces cells that become neurons or glia

In the adult brain, newly born neurons aid learning

The death of many neurons is a normal part of development

An explosion of synapse formation is followed by synapse rearrangement

Genes Interact with Experience to Guide Brain Development

Genotype is fixed at birth, but phenotype changes throughout life

Experience regulates gene expression in the developing and mature brain

The Brain Continues to Change as We Grow Older

Memory impairment correlates with hippocampal shrinkage during aging

Alzheimer’s disease is associated with a decline in cerebral metabolism

SIGNS & SYMPTOMS: Imaging Alzheimer’s Plaques