Thinking with the Dancing Brain by Minton Sandra C.;Faber Rima;

Author:Minton, Sandra C.;Faber, Rima;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory represents consciousness of the self and provides the thread that ties together events in our lives. It stores and retains all the information and experiences we acquire through study and from personal experiences. It endures.24

There are structural differences between short-term and long-term memory. Short-term memory is transformed into long-term memory actively through repetition or passively through sleep. The frequency of repetition or the intensity of original stimuli determines which memories become long term. As mentioned, long-term memories can change over time. The brain is plastic, and memories are colored by or open to change from new experiences or information.

Brain Network

Long-term memories are initiated in the hippocampus—more specifically in the pyramidal cells of the hippocampus.25 Consolidation, the process of laying down long-term memories, involves a replay between the hippocampus, the cortex, and back again. It turns fleeting impressions into long-term memories so they are embedded or etched into cortical tissue. It also links memories together related to the same experience.26

Different types of long-term memories are associated with different parts of the brain and distributed throughout interconnected neural networks.27 The hippocampus redirects memories for storage in different parts of the brain. Emotional memories are stored in the amygdala, language memories in the temporal lobe, visual information in the occipital lobe, and sense of touch and movement in the parietal lobe.28

Declarative or explicit and procedural or implicit are two types of long-term memory. Declarative/explicit memory involves selective attention during encoding, recalls words and events, and organizes them.29 Doctors discovered the function of the hippocampus in declarative/explicit memory from treating an epileptic individual by removing his hippocampus. It became impossible for the patient to remember new information. From this it was deduced that the hippocampus transforms short-term into long-term memories.30

Procedural/implicit memory refers to remembering how to automatically perform an action or task;31 for example, riding a bicycle or brushing your teeth. These memories, are formed through habits, sensitivities, classical conditioning, and as perceptual motor skills32 that are remembered but hard to explain because they are stored in our reflexive, unconscious mind.33 Nonverbal interactions with people and emotionally based memories are also part of this system; in the first years of life, children rely on procedural memory to learn basic skills.34

Memory is not a single system because it relies on several functions in structures deep in the cerebral cortex, including emotional associations in the amygdala, habits involving the striatum (the caudate nucleus and putamen together), and the cerebellum to learn motor skills. The individual, described previously, who had his hippocampus removed could still learn automatic skills and remember those acquired previous to his surgery.35

Integration and resonance of experiences with what is already known are primary to long-term memory or learning. Effort expended during the learning process is also a factor, as is spending more time in working memory. Effort combined with trial and error may be uncomfortable, but demonstrated learning is occurring.36 As mentioned, stress interferes with the formation of memories because it produces glucocorticoid that kills hippocampal cells.37

To explain further, long-term

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.