Psychology 200

Module 26

Storage: Retaining Information

• Sensory Memory
• Working/Short-term Memory
• Long-Term Memory
• Storing Memories in the Brain

Whole Report

Partial Report

Time Delay

Working memory, a new name for short-term memory, has limited capacity (7±2) and short duration (20 seconds).

Capacity

Chunking

Duration

Working Memory Duration

Long-Term Memory

Storing Memories in the Brain

1. Wilder Penfield (1967) through electrical stimulation of the brain concluded that old memories were etched in the brain.
2. Loftus and Loftus (1980) reviewed Penfield's data and showed that only a handful of brain stimulated patients reported flashbacks.
3. Lashley (1950) using rats, suggested that even after removing parts of the brain the animals retained partial memory of the maze.

Synaptic Changes

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) refers to synaptic enhancement after learning (lynch, 2002). Increase in neurotransmitter release or receptors on the receiving neuron indicates strengthening of synapses.

Stress Hormones & Memory

Heightened emotions (stress related or otherwise) make for stronger memories. Continued stress can disrupt memory.

Storing Implicit & Explicit Memories

Explicit Memory refers to facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare. Implicit memory involves learning an action, and the individual does not know or declare what she knows.

Anterograde Amnesia