PSY1022 Final: Memory processes

• School: Monash University
• Department: Health Sciences - Psychology
• Course: PSY1022
• Professor: Various

Document Summary

Refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store and retrieve information. Allows us to learn about the things in our environment that promote survival and avoid things that may harm us. More adaptive than relyi(cid:374)g o(cid:374) (cid:858)i(cid:374)sti(cid:374)(cid:272)t(cid:859) alo(cid:374)e. The (cid:858)e(cid:374)gra(cid:373)(cid:859) is a physi(cid:272)al lo(cid:272)atio(cid:374) of a (cid:373)e(cid:373)ory i(cid:374) the (cid:271)rai(cid:374) This concept was disproven by studies on rats involving brain lesions- memory was not fully affected, indicating that memories are distributed throughout the brain. When new ltms are stored, physical changes occur to neurons (long-term potentiation), forming a memory trace. Hippocampus is essential in formation of long-term memories. Following factors must be present: physical change in the synapse, no disruption to the consolidation process (e. g. concussion, new similar information, changes in arousal level or attention) Hippocampus can be affected by psychological factors, brain trauma, neurodegenerative disease, other disease e. g. encephalitis, prolonged stress: time (at least 30 min, enabling new synaptic connection to form)