Chapter 12: Learning and Memory 12.1 Multiple Choice 1) In the prologue for the memory chapter, Patient H.M. A) is unable to learn new information. B) is unable to count numbers from 1 to 10. C) is unable to speak coherent sentences. D) suffers from a motor tic of the eye. E) underwent surgery in 1998 to treat aphasia. Answer: A In the prologue for the memory chapter, Patient H.M. is unable to learn new information. 2) Which of the following is true of learning? A) Learning and memory are synonymous. B) Memories are related to the electrical activity of the brain. C) Learning involves the modification of the nervous system by experiences. D) Experiences are stored in the brain in separate folders, like those of a filing cabinet. E) Learning is possible in the absence of memory. Answer: C Rationale: Learning involves the modification of the nervous system by experiences. 3) The ability to recognize a series of photos that you looked at a month ago is an example of A) classical conditioning. B) stimulus-response learning. C) extinction. D) intermodal learning. E) perceptual learning. Answer: E Rationale: The ability to recognize a series of photos that you looked at a month ago is an example of perceptual learning. 4) Your ability to recognize a series of tones as the opening to “The Star-Spangled Banner” is an instance of ________ that likely involves the ________. A) musical learning; left hemisphere B) perceptual learning; auditory association cortex C) stimulus-response learning; frontal cortex D) perceptual learning; visual association cortex E) intermodal learning; corpus callosum Answer: B Rationale: Your ability to recognize a series of tones as the opening to “The Star-Spangled Banner” is an instance of perceptual learning that likely involves the auditory association cortex. 5) The primary function of perceptual learning is to A) identify and categorize objects. B) train a sensory system to accurately detect the location of a stimulus. C) learn to adjust behavior according to its consequences. D) exhibit a specific behavior in the presence of a specific stimulus. E) make an association between two stimuli. Answer: A 6) Stimulus-response learning involves the ability to A) learn to adjust behavior according to its consequences. B) make an association between two stimuli. C) identify and categorize objects. D) exhibit a specific behavior in the presence of a specific stimulus. E) train a sensory system to accurately detect the location of a stimulus. Answer: D 7) In classical conditioning, an organism A) is able to recognize objects by the sounds they make. B) identifies and categorizes objects. C) shows a species-typical behavior in response to a previously unimportant stimulus. D) learns the consequences of a specific behavior. E) forms an association between a response and a stimulus. Answer: C Rationale: In classical conditioning, an organism shows a species-typical behavior in response to a previously unimportant stimulus. 8) Classical conditioning is considered to be a form of A) relational learning. B) instrumental learning. C) stimulus-response learning. D) intra-modal learning. E) perceptual learning. Answer: C 9) You are listening to a song on the radio while doing your homework—the phone rings, and your mother has called to tell you that your favorite uncle has died after being hit by a car. Three months later, you again hear the same song and suddenly feel very sad. In this example, the unconditional response is A) your feelings about your uncle before he died. B) listening to the song. C) your feelings about the song prior to the phone call. D) the voice of your mother. E) feeling sad. Answer: E Rationale: In this emotion conditioning example, the unconditional response is feeling sad. 10) The key function of classical conditioning is to allow an organism to A) adjust behavior according to its consequences. B) acquire new physical skills. C) recognize familiar objects. D) learn new species-typical behaviors. E) understand the relationship between stimuli. Answer: D Rationale: The key function of classical conditioning is to allow an organism to learn new species-typical behaviors. 11) A bird breeder feeds her hungry, chirping chicks a diet formula after heating it in her microwave. After a few days, the chicks begin chirping when they hear the sounds of the buttons on the microwave being pushed. In this example, the conditional stimulus is the A) taste of the formula. B) hunger experienced by the birds. C) chirping sound made by the chicks. D) sounds of the microwave. E) sense of satiation produced by the consumption of the formula. Answer: D Rationale: A bird breeder feeds her hungry, chirping chicks a diet formula after heating it in her microwave. After a few days, the chicks begin chirping when they hear the sounds of the buttons on the microwave being pushed. In this example, the conditional stimulus is the sounds of the microwave. 12) The ________ states that a weak synapse will be strengthened if its activation occurs at the same time that the postsynaptic neuron fires. A) all-or-none principle B) law of effect C) perforant path hypothesis D) Hebb rule E) law of summation Answer: D 13) The key function of instrumental conditioning is to allow an organism to A) adjust behavior according to its consequences. B) acquire new physical skills. C) recognize familiar objects. D) learn new species-typical behaviors. E) understand the relationship between stimuli. Answer: A Rationale: The key function of instrumental conditioning is to allow an organism to adjust behavior according to its consequences. 14) Instrumental conditioning results from an association between A) a weak stimulus and a strong stimulus. B) two responses that occur at the same time. C) motor responses and a stimulus. D) a conditional and an unconditional stimulus. E) a weak response and a strong response. Answer: C 15) In instrumental conditioning, a response that produces a favorable consequence A) weakens adjacent circuits in the brain. B) will occur more frequently. C) will produce a species-typical response. D) will be immediately suppressed. E) is said to involve the process of punishment. Answer: B Rationale: In instrumental conditioning, a response that produces a favorable consequence will occur more frequently. 16) Your best friend Doogie is bitten as he tries to pet your dog. Eventually, Doogie stops petting your dog. This is an example of A) positive reinforcement. B) classical conditioning. C) relational learning. D) instrumental conditioning. E) perceptual learning. Answer: D Rationale: Your best friend Doogie is bitten as he tries to pet your dog. Eventually, Doogie stops petting your dog. This is an example of classical conditioning. 17) Which of the following is true of motor learning? A) Motor learning is a component of perceptual learning. B) Motor learning involves changes in the sensory pathways. C) Motor learning can occur in the absence of sensory feedback. D) Motor learning is a component of stimulus-response learning. E) Motor learning involves sensory-sensory connections. Answer: D Rationale: Motor learning is a component of stimulus-response learning. 18) An example of relational learning is A) practicing a golf swing repeatedly, which results in more accurate strokes. B) salivating in response to a favorite food. C) forming a mental map of a room based on your experience in the room. D) recognizing a familiar stimulus. E) recalling an event from your childhood. Answer: C Rationale: An example of relational learning is forming a mental map of a room based on your experience in the room. 19) Relational learning involves changes in A) connections between different regions of the sensory association cortex. B) a motor system. C) connections between a sensory system and a motor system. D) a single sensory system. E) contingencies between a response and a subsequent stimulus. Answer: A Rationale: Relational learning involves changes in connections between different regions of the sensory association cortex. 20) The ability to recall a series of events is referred to as A) observational learning. B) spatial learning. C) perceptual learning. D) episodic learning. E) serial memory. Answer: D 21) Intense electrical stimulation of axons within the hippocampal formation results in A) long-term potentiation of postsynaptic neurons. B) axoaxonic inhibition of presynaptic neurons. C) recurrent inhibition of the stimulated axons. D) long-term potentiation of presynaptic neurons. E) “synaptic fatigue.” Answer: A 22) The perforant pathway A) is another name for the fornix. B) interconnects the entorhinal cortex with the granule cells of the dentate gyrus. C) is the major output of the hippocampus. D) interconnects the CA2 and CA3 fields of the hippocampus. E) interconnects the granule cells of the dentate gyrus with the amygdala. Answer: B 23) Which of the following is true of long-term potentiation (LTP)? A) LTP is the cellular basis for episodic memory. B) LTP occurs independent of synaptic activity. C) LTP reflects a persistent temporal summation of postsynaptic potentials. D) LTP can be produced in isolated hippocampal slices. E) LTP typically lasts up to one hour. Answer: D Rationale: LTP can be produced in isolated hippocampal slices. 24) The primary input to the hippocampus is from the A) granule cells of the dentate gyrus. B) the nucleus accumbens. C) entorhinal cortex. D) granule cells of field CA2. E) pyramidal cells of field CA4. Answer: C 25) In a typical long-term potentiation (LTP) study, a stimulating electrode is inserted into the perforant path, while a recording electrode is inserted into the dentate gyrus. LTP is produced in this preparation by delivering ________ via the stimulating electrode. A) a long duration but low-intensity pulse B) a single low-intensity electrical pulse C) an electrical pulse every minute for 2–3 hours D) a single high intensity electrical pulse E) a burst of 100 electrical pulses in a few seconds Answer: E 26) Associative long-term potentiation requires ________ occur about the same time as ________. A) binding of a transmitter to the postsynaptic neuron; the postsynaptic cell is depolarized B) that a single electrical pulse; a recording is made of the presynaptic axon C) that a conditional stimulus; a reinforcing stimulus D) that a reinforcing stimulus; a response E) that a low-frequency train of electrical pulses; the postsynaptic neuron is hyperpolarized Answer: A Rationale: Associative long-term potentiation requires binding of a transmitter to the postsynaptic neuron occur about the same time as the postsynaptic cell is depolarized. 27) Receptors for ________ are involved in long-term potentiation. A) dopamine B) glutamate C) acetylcholine D) serotonin E) GABA Answer: B 28) The NMDA receptor is unusual in that it is ________ dependent and ________ dependent. A) ligand; ion B) neurotransmitter; hormone C) neurotransmitter; voltage D) Na+; Mg2+ E) Ca2+; Cl- Answer: C 29) The NMDA receptor controls ________ that is normally blocked by ________. A) the input to the hippocampus; presynaptic inhibition B) a potassium channel; magnesium ions C) the presynaptic membrane potential; GABA D) a calcium channel; magnesium ions E) a chloride channel; sodium ions Answer: D 30) We would expect that ________ would block the induction of LTP in the hippocampus. A) a drug that blocks NMDA receptors B) using high-frequency electrical pulses C) a drug that inactivates NMDA receptors D) injection into the presynaptic cell of a drug that induces calcium release E) a drug that blocks GABA receptors Answer: A Rationale: We would expect that a drug that blocks NMDA receptors would block the induction of LTP in the hippocampus. 31) The pyramidal cells of hippocampal field CA1 are unique in that A) axon firing results in action potentials within the dendrites. B) the threshold of activation of the pyramidal cell is quite low. C) the dendritic spikes are always hyperpolarization’s. D) dendrite depolarization results in action potentials in the axon. E) these cells do not conduct action potentials. Answer: A Rationale: The pyramidal cells of hippocampal field CA1 are unique in that axon firing results in action potentials within the dendrites. 32) An action potential that occurs in a dendritic branch after an action potential in a pyramidal cell is termed A) an axon potential. B) the dendritic spike. C) a population postsynaptic potential. D) the perforant potential. E) a presynaptic potential. Answer: B 33) The increase in synaptic strength that occurs in long-term potentiation is due to a physical modification of the synapse to include A) more postsynaptic NMDA receptors. B) more postsynaptic AMPA receptors. C) fewer synaptic connections. D) more postsynaptic GABA contacts. E) fewer presynaptic GABA contacts. Answer: B 34) Long-term potentiation is associated with the movement of ________ to the ________. A) Kappa receptors; base of dendritic spines B) AMPA receptors; base of dendritic spines C) AMPA receptors; tip of dendritic spines D) NMDA receptors; base of dendritic spines E) NMDA receptors; tip of dendritic spines Answer: C 35) Associative long-term potentiation reflects increased ________ produced by changes in ________. A) calcium entry; NMDA receptors B) chloride efflux; AMPA receptors C) calcium entry; D2 receptors D) calcium efflux; D1 receptors E) calcium immobilization; NMDA receptors Answer: A 36) Inactivation of type II calcium calmodulin kinase would be expected to A) promote the creation of new NMDA receptors. B) promote the formation of new memories. C) block the entry of calcium into the postsynaptic cell. D) block the formation of long-term potentiation. E) facilitate the production of long-term potentiation. Answer: D Rationale: Inactivation of type II calcium calmodulin kinase would be expected to block the formation of long-term potentiation. 37) Persistence of a long-term potentiation for more than an hour requires A) insertion of GABA receptors into the postsynaptic membrane. B) presynaptic inhibition. C) increased synthesis of PKM-zeta within the postsynaptic dendrite. D) formation of new axonal spines. E) All of the above are correct. Answer: C Rationale: Persistence of a long-term potentiation for more than an hour requires increased synthesis of PKM-zeta within the postsynaptic dendrite. 38) Which of the following is NOT true of long-term potentiation (LTP)? A) Protein synthesis is required for persistent LTP. B) NMDA receptors admit calcium ions when glutamate is present and the membrane is depolarized. C) AMPA receptors are inserted into the dendritic membrane during LTP. D) Presynaptic nitric oxide acts as a messenger on the postsynaptic membrane. E) Glutamate is released from the axon terminal. Answer: D Rationale: Nitric oxide acts as a messenger on the presynaptic membrane. 39) Which of the following is a strong candidate to act as a retrograde messenger from the dendrite to the terminal button? A) glutamate B) nitric oxide C) nitrous oxide D) norepinephrine E) NMDA Answer: B 40) Long-term potentiation may involve the formation of ________ within the postsynaptic dendrite which then acts on the presynaptic element to increase the release of ________. A) nitric oxide; glutamate B) nitrous oxide synthase; GABA C) nitric oxide; aspartate D) nitrous oxide synthase; glycine E) new NMDA receptors; AMPA receptors Answer: A 41) Which of the following is true of long-term depression (LTD)? A) LTD is associated with an increase in the number of AMPA receptors in the postsynaptic neurons. B) LTD reflects a gradual strengthening of synaptic connections. C) LTD is associated with a decrease in the number of AMPA receptors in the postsynaptic neuron. D) LTD can be produced by high-frequency stimulation of CA1 neurons. E) LTD is not an associative phenomenon. Answer: C 42) Simple perceptual learning involves A) our capacity to associate sensory and motor stimuli. B) our recognition of particular stimuli or categories of stimuli. C) learning how to respond to a particular stimulus. D) changes in the outputs of the motor system. E) our ability to associate a new stimulus with an old reflex. Answer: B 43) The ventral stream of the visual association cortex continues into the ________ and carries information relating to ________. A) primary visual cortex; object shape and color B) posterior parietal cortex; object location C) posterior parietal cortex; object recognition D) inferior temporal cortex; object recognition E) inferior temporal cortex; object location Answer: D 44) Object recognition analyses occur in the A) primary visual cortex. B) lateral geniculate. C) visual ventral stream. D) dorsal stream. E) somatosensory cortex. Answer: C 45) The dorsal stream of the visual association cortex continues into the ________ and carries information relating to ________. A) inferior temporal cortex; object location B) posterior parietal cortex; object location C) posterior parietal cortex; object recognition D) primary visual cortex; object shape and color E) inferior temporal cortex; object recognition Answer: B 46) A human who suffered damage to the inferior temporal cortex would be unable to A) sense changes in the color of objects. B) detect movement. C) differentiate between two tones. D) recognize familiar objects or people. E) detect changes in binocular depth cues. Answer: D Rationale: A human who suffered damage to the inferior temporal cortex would be unable to recognize familiar objects or people. 47) Which of the findings below supports the notion that recognition of a stimulus involves activation of the association cortex for that sensory system? A) Recall of a word stimulus activates the visual association cortex, as measured by fMRI. B) Recall of a visual stimulus activates the auditory association cortex, as measured by fMRI. C) Electrical stimulation of the auditory association cortex results in the report of a remembered sound. D) Electrical stimulation of the visual association cortex cannot produce a memory experience. E) Stimulus recognition is a function of primary sensory cortex. Answer: C Rationale: Electrical stimulation of the auditory association cortex results in the report of a remembered sound. 48) In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus A) becomes inactive over repeated presentations. B) reliably produces a response. C) is termed the unconditional stimulus. D) must always be presented after the unconditional stimulus. E) is paired repeatedly with a stimulus that evokes a reflexive response. Answer: E Rationale: In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus is paired repeatedly with a stimulus that evokes a reflexive response. 49) In a conditioned emotional response (CER) study, a tone is paired with a foot shock for a rat. After several trials, the tone alone is a CS that can elicit fear emotional responses. Which of the following is true of the anatomy of this fear response? A) The central nucleus of the amygdala integrates the pairing of tone and shock information. B) Tone information is relayed directly to the central nucleus of the amygdala. C) The lateral nucleus of the amygdala integrates the pairing of tone and shock information. D) Damage to the lateral nucleus of the amygdala impairs perceptual learning, but not CER learning. E) Damage to the central nucleus of the amygdala impairs perceptual learning, but not CER learning. Answer: C 50) In a conditioned emotional response (CER) study, a tone is paired with a foot shock for a rat. After several trials, the tone alone is a CS that can elicit fear emotional responses. Which of the following is true of the physiology of this fear response? A) Damage to the lateral nucleus of the prefrontal cortex impairs CER learning. B) Tone-shock pairings rapidly decrease the electrical activity of the lateral nucleus of the amygdala. C) Damage to the central nucleus of the amygdala impairs CER learning. D) Activation of the lateral nucleus of the amygdala during CER training blocks the formation of the CER. E) CER learning is an example of perceptual learning. Answer: C 51) The notion that learning a conditioned emotional response to a tone involves long-term potentiation is supported by studies in which A) cells of the amygdala do not show evidence of long-term potentiation. B) electrical stimulation of neurons that project to the amygdala produces less overall neural firing in the amygdala. C) a drug that blocks the NMDA receptor blocks CER learning. D) activation of NMDA receptors impairs CER learning. E) few NMDA receptors are found in the amygdala. Answer: C 52) Instrumental conditioning involves strengthening connections between A) two stimuli. B) the lateral and central nuclei of the amygdala. C) the dorsal and ventral streams. D) a neutral stimulus and a stimulus that produces a reflexive response. E) circuits that detect a stimulus and motor control circuits that produce a response. Answer: E Rationale: Instrumental conditioning involves strengthening connections between circuits that detect a stimulus and motor control circuits that produce a response. 53) Transcortical connections between the sensory association cortex and the motor association cortex are involved in A) conditioned emotional responses. B) sensory memory. C) the acquisition of simple behaviors by observation. D) the acquisition of episodic memory. E) conditioned emotional responses. Answer: D 54) Which of the following is important for the acquisition of complex behaviors? A) As a person becomes proficient in a new complex behavior, control of the process is transferred to the basal ganglia. B) As a person becomes proficient in the behavior, control of the process is transferred to the transcortical pathways. C) As a person becomes proficient in the new behavior, the transcortical circuits become more active. D) Acquisition of the behavior is accompanied by long-term depression in the motor cortex. E) Acquisition of the behavior is accompanied by long-term depression in the basal ganglia. Answer: A Rationale: As a person becomes proficient in a new complex behavior, control of the process is transferred to the basal ganglia. 55) The correct flow of information into and from the basal ganglia is A) sensory signals → lateral amygdala → primary motor cortex. B) sensory cortex → globus pallidus → caudate nucleus/putamen → primary motor cortex. C) sensory cortex → caudate nucleus/putamen → globus pallidus → frontal cortex/primary motor cortex. D) motor cortex → primary motor cortex → premotor cortex → basal ganglia. E) sensory cortex → central amygdala → caudate nucleus/putamen → primary motor cortex. Answer: C 56) Damage to the caudate nucleus/putamen in monkeys would be expected to A) impair spatial memory. B) promote the formation of new motor memories. C) impair the acquisition of a stimulus-response relationship. D) impair instrumental conditioning. E) impair episodic memory. Answer: D 57) Which pathway below connects the ventral tegmental area with the nucleus accumbens? A) the corticofugal system B) the mesolimbic system C) the nigrostriatal system D) the mesocortical system E) the spinothalamic system Answer: B 58) The behavior of an animal is strongly reinforced by electrical stimulation of the A) ventral aspect of the basal ganglia. B) substantia nigra. C) central nucleus of the amygdala. D) premotor cortex. E) caudate nucleus. Answer: A 59) Which pathway below connects the ventral tegmental area with the hippocampus and limbic cortex? A) the mesocortical system B) the mesolimbic system C) the nigrostriatal system D) the corticofugal system E) the spinothalamic system Answer: A 60) Reinforcing effects of electrical brain stimulation and of drugs such as amphetamine partly reflect an action on ________ projections of the ________. A) dopamine; nigrostriatal pathway B) norepinephrine; nigrostriatal pathway C) GABA; mesocortical pathway D) dopamine; mesolimbic pathway E) leptin; mesocortical pathway Answer: D Rationale: Reinforcing effects of electrical brain stimulation and of drugs such as amphetamine partly reflect an action on dopamine projections of the mesolimbic pathway. 61) An example of a natural reinforcer is A) dopamine. B) food for a satiated rat. C) amphetamine. D) GABA. E) food for a hungry rat. Answer: E 62) Imaging studies indicate that neural activity within the ________ is increased by ________. A) nucleus accumbens; presenting stimuli associated with money B) striatum; presenting stimuli associated with money C) hippocampus; food for a satiated rat D) hippocampus; viewing photos of people eating E) amygdala; presenting stimuli associated with money Answer: A 63) Increased release of dopamine within the nucleus accumbens can be induced by A) blocking connections between the basolateral amygdala and the ventral tegmental area. B) satiation. C) reduced activity of the lateral hypothalamus. D) drugs such as haloperidol. E) increased activity of prefrontal glutamate neurons that innervate the ventral tegmental area. Answer: E Rationale: Increased release of dopamine within the nucleus accumbens can be induced by increased activity of prefrontal glutamate neurons that innervate the ventral tegmental area. 64) People with anterograde amnesia A) show impairment of perceptual memory. B) show impairments in motor memory. C) show impairment of complex relational learning. D) are unable to recall childhood experiences. E) show facilitated stimulus-response learning. Answer: C Rationale: People with anterograde amnesia show impairment of complex relational learning. 65) Dopamine acts to facilitate instrumental conditioning by A) increasing the accuracy of signal detection. B) inhibiting long-lasting LTP. C) increasing adjunctive behaviors. D) facilitating long-lasting LTP. E) blocking glutamate release in the hippocampus. Answer: D 66) People with retrograde amnesia are unable to A) learn new information. B) recall childhood experiences. C) remember stressful or traumatic events. D) transform their short-term memories into long-term memories. E) recall events that occurred prior to the brain injury. Answer: E Rationale: People with retrograde amnesia are unable to recall events that occurred prior to the brain injury. 67) The most profound symptom of Korsakoff's syndrome is A) anterograde amnesia. B) total amnesia. C) combative behavior. D) delirium tremens. E) auditory and visual hallucinations. Answer: A 68) A common cause of Korsakoff's syndrome is A) excessive levels of dietary lead. B) chronic alcohol abuse. C) a series of mini-strokes. D) anoxia. E) incidental brain damage produced during neurosurgery. Answer: B 69) Amnesia for events that occur after some disturbance to the brain is called A) retrograde amnesia. B) declarative amnesia. C) Korsakoff's psychosis. D) procedural amnesia. E) anterograde amnesia. Answer: E 70) Patient H.M. was treated for severe epilepsy by bilateral removal of his A) temporal lobes. B) occipital lobes. C) frontal lobes. D) hypothalamus. E) thalamic nuclei. Answer: A Rationale: Patient H.M. was treated for severe epilepsy by bilateral removal of his temporal lobes. 71) Patients with anterograde amnesia are NOT capable of which type of learning? A) motor B) complex relational C) perceptual D) sensory-response E) classical conditioning. Answer: B Rationale: Patients with anterograde amnesia cannot learn complex relational information. 72) Memories for a stimulus or an event can be retained in ________, which lasts for ________. A) perceptual memory; milliseconds B) short-term memory; a few seconds C) the dorsal stream; days D) the ventral stream; weeks E) long-term memory; days Answer: B 73) Based on the study of Patient H.M., it has been concluded that A) short-term memories are stored within the hippocampus. B) the hippocampus is required for retrieval of long-term memories. C) long-term memories are stored within the hippocampus. D) the hippocampus converts short-term memories into long-term memories. E) damage to the hippocampus results in severe retrograde amnesia. Answer: D Rationale: Based on the study of Patient H.M., it has been concluded that the hippocampus converts short-term memories into long-term memories. 74) Which of the following is an example of an implicit memory task? A) mirror tracing B) reading C) recall of pair associate words D) recall of autobiographical details of early childhood E) recognition that a person had been tested in this situation in the past Answer: A 75) ________ is the process by which immediate memories are transformed into long-term memories. A) Potentiation B) Confabulation C) Consolidation D) Synaptogenesis E) Hebbian reverberation Answer: C Rationale: Consolidation is the process by which immediate memories are transformed into long-term memories. 76) Which of the following is an example of perceptual learning task? A) making a classically conditioned eyeblink response B) recognizing broken drawings C) recalling childhood events that occurred prior to age 9 D) recognizing songs learned in childhood prior to brain damage E) tracing a figure Answer: B 77) Patient H.M. is able to perform all of the following tasks quite well EXCEPT A) making a classically conditioned eyeblink response. B) recognizing broken drawings. C) recalling childhood events that occurred prior to age 9. D) consolidating information from short-term memory to long-term memory using rehearsal. E) mirror drawing. Answer: D Rationale: Patient H.M. is able to perform all of the following tasks quite well EXCEPT consolidating information from short-term memory to long-term memory using rehearsal. 78) Which of the following is an example of a motor learning task? A) pressing buttons in a fixed sequence B) recognizing songs learned in childhood prior to brain damage C) recalling childhood events that occurred prior to age 9 D) recognizing broken drawings E) making a classically conditioned eyeblink response Answer: A Rationale: Pressing buttons in a fixed sequence is an example of motor learning task. 79) Which of the following is true of anterograde amnesia? A) Amnesiacs cannot learn to trace a drawing through a mirror. B) Amnesiacs can show certain forms of learning, but do not recall the learning experience. C) Amnesiacs are unable to show perceptual learning. D) Motor learning is impaired in anterograde amnesia. E) Amnesiacs show an impairment of immediate verbal memory. Answer: B 80) Which of the following is an example of stimulus-response learning task? A) tracing a figure viewed via a mirror B) recognizing broken drawings C) recalling childhood events that occurred prior to age 9 D) recognizing songs learned in childhood prior to brain damage E) making a classically conditioned eyeblink response Answer: E Rationale: Making a classically conditioned eyeblink response is an example of stimulus-response learning task. 81) One striking aspect of H.M.'s memory deficit is that he A) can learn some new tasks, but is unaware of having learned them. B) only remembers recent facts. C) reverses word order in repeated sentences D) indicates he remembers things he has never seen. E) shows signs of confabulation. Answer: A Rationale: One striking aspect of H.M.'s memory deficit is that he can learn some new tasks, but is unaware of having learned them. 82) Which of the following terms are synonymous? A) Hebbian memory; consolidation B) declarative memory; explicit memory C) immediate memory; long-term memory D) declarative memory; implicit memory E) nondeclarative memory; explicit memory Answer: B Rationale: Declarative memory is synonymous with explicit memory. 83) Memory for events and facts that we can think and talk about is referred to as A) Hebbian memory. B) motor memory. C) procedural memory. D) declarative memory. E) nondeclarative memories. Answer: D 84) People with anterograde amnesia are deficient in A) declarative memory. B) procedural memory. C) motor memory. D) nondeclarative memory. E) short-term memory. Answer: A Rationale: People with anterograde amnesia are deficient in declarative memory. 85) Declarative long-term memories A) are unavailable to the consciousness. B) are implicit memories. C) are usually caused by classical or instrumental conditioning. D) can be expressed verbally. E) do not involve the hippocampus. Answer: D 86) The distinction between implicit and explicit memories is that A) implicit memories are rapidly forgotten. B) explicit memories are unavailable to consciousness. C) we are unable to talk about implicit memories. D) hippocampal damage impairs implicit, but not explicit memory. E) we are unable to talk about explicit memories. Answer: C Rationale: The distinction between implicit and explicit memories is that we are unable to talk about implicit memories. 87) Which of the following is a current explanation of the role of the hippocampus in memory? A) The efferent connections of the hippocampus tie together the memories that are consolidated in other brain regions. B) The hippocampus processes and stores the immediate contents of memory. C) Memories are translated in the hippocampus and transmitted to other regions to be stored in immediate memory. D) The hippocampus directs attention to environmental stimuli. E) The hippocampus relays information to the amygdala for storage. Answer: A 88) Performing a spatial task would be expected to activate the A) amygdala, but not the hippocampus. B) hippocampal formation on the right side of the brain. C) temporal lobe on the left side of the brain. D) frontal cortex on the right side of the brain. E) hippocampal formation on the left side of the brain. Answer: B Rationale: Performing a spatial task would be expected to activate the hippocampal formation on the right side of the brain. 89) Subjects with right medial temporal lobe damage would be expected to A) be adept at recreating battle scenes from old wars. B) show good recall of a chess game. C) show poor ability to navigate through a maze. D) be good at the tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons. E) be good at describing their recent vacations. Answer: C Rationale: Subjects with right medial temporal lobe damage would be expected to show poor ability to navigate through a maze. 90) During a PET scan, a London cabby is asked to describe the route she would take a fare from the West End theatre district to Harrod's department store. Her description would be associated with A) reduced activity of the left hippocampal formation. B) increased activity of the right hippocampal formation. C) reduced activity of the right hippocampal formation. D) increased activity of the left hippocampal formation. E) an increase in the activity of the amygdala, but not the hippocampus. Answer: B Rationale: During a PET scan, a London cabby is asked to describe the route she would take a fare from the West End theatre district to Harrod's department store. Her description would be associated with increased activity of the right hippocampal formation. 91) In which test condition below would you expect a memory deficit in a rat with hippocampal damage? A) passive avoidance: tested while hungry B) Skinner box: pressing for a food pellet on an FR-5 schedule of reinforcement C) Morris water maze: released from a different starting point on each trial D) 8-arm maze: trained and tested while food satiated E) Morris water maze: released from the same starting point on each trial Answer: C 92) In which of the following would you expect to observe an enlarged hippocampal formation? A) a London cabby who has 30 years of experience B) a pigeon that wanders from roost to roost C) a bird that only eats from your backyard feeder D) a person who has just started training as a London cabby E) a chickadee tested in the early summer Answer: A Rationale: An enlarged hippocampal formation would be expected in a London cabby who has 30 years of experience. 93) Damage to which of the following brain areas disrupts spatial learning? A) the hippocampus B) the neocortex C) the anterior commissure D) the frontal cortex E) the amygdala Answer: A 94) Recordings from individual cells in the hippocampus indicate they respond to which of the following? A) the strength of a stimulus B) individual faces C) specific locations in space D) whether a stimulus predicts that a reward is coming E) sequences of events Answer: C 12.2 True-False 1) Perceptual learning refers to the ability to recognize familiar stimuli. Answer: True 2) Two forms of perceptual learning are classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning. Answer: False 3) According to the Hebb rule, learning is associated with changes in synaptic strength caused by repeated postsynaptic activity. Answer: True 4) CA1 pyramidal neurons form the primary output of the hippocampus. Answer: True 5) The NMDA receptor controls the activity of a sodium channel. Answer: False 6) Only axons are capable of producing action potentials. Answer: False 7) AP5 blocks NMDA receptors. Answer: True 8) Long-term potentiation requires activation of synapses and depolarization of the postsynaptic neuron. Answer: True 9) Long-term potentiation involves the insertion of AMPA receptors into the dendritic membrane. Answer: True 10) The "ventral stream" is concerned with the perception of object location. Answer: False 11) Damage to the caudate nucleus/putamen impairs the learning of an instrumental task. Answer: True 12) Behavior is reinforced by treatments that release dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. Answer: True 13) Anterograde amnesia refers to the inability to form new memories. Answer: True 14) People with Korsakoff's syndrome can form new memories, but are unable to remember events that occurred prior to their brain damage. Answer: False 15) People with anterograde amnesia are better able to learn new motor skills than new facts or words. Answer: True 16) Patient H.M. shows deficits in motor learning, perceptual learning, and stimulus-response learning. Answer: False 17) Motor learning is an example of a declarative memory. Answer: False 18) Implicit memory is another name for nondeclarative memory. Answer: True 19) Experienced London cab drivers show enhanced activity of the right hippocampal formation while verbally describing a trip through London. Answer: True 20) Patient H.M. had difficulty in navigating around a new environment. Answer: True 12.3 Short-Answer Essay 1) Provide a definition of learning and memory. Answer: Learning allows an organism to adapt to new environments, to modify the behaviors that currently exist in its repertoire, and to develop new behaviors that will promote survival in that environment. The physical changes in the brain that occur during learning are our memories. 2) Differentiate between the two forms of stimulus-response learning. In what ways are they similar? Answer: In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with a stimulus that produces a reflexive response. Eventually, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditional stimulus, able to elicit that reflexive response. Operant conditioning involves the delivery of a stimulus that modifies the behavior it follows. Each can be extinguished, and each involves the gradual acquisition of learning. 3) Give an example of classical conditioning that has occurred in your experience. Define which element is the conditional stimulus, which is the unconditional stimulus, and what the response is. Answer: Student examples will vary, but some common elements are expected in this answer: The UCS should produce a UCR. The CS should be a mostly neutral stimulus. There should be mention of repeated pairings. The CR should resemble the UCR. For example, if the smell of food (the unconditioned stimulus) had been paired with the sound of a whistle (the conditioned stimulus), the sound of the whistle would eventually come to evoke the conditioned response of hunger. 4) Explain what is meant by the "Hebb rule." Answer: The Hebb rule states that a synapse that repeatedly becomes active at about the same time that a postsynaptic neuron fires will strengthen that synapse. The rule is used to provide a conceptual account of the physiological basis of learning, and suggests that experiences will produce physical changes in brain synapses that will be expressed in behavior (i.e., memory). 5) Describe the typical experimental setup and procedure that would be used to produce long-term potentiation (LTP) and explain how this would be assessed using this procedure. Answer: A stimulating electrode would be inserted into the axons of the perforant path and a recording electrode inserted into the dentate gyrus. A population EPSP is recorded from the dentate cells to a single electrical pulse of the path. A burst of high-frequency stimulation is given and followed periodically by a single pulse. LTP is indicated by an increase in the size of the subsequent EPSPs following the burst treatment. 6) Discuss the role of the NMDA receptor in LTP. Answer: NMDA receptors are found in the hippocampus, are activated by glutamate and depolarization, and control a calcium channel in the postsynaptic dendrite. Blockade of NMDA receptors, using AP5, blocks the formation of LTP. 7) Compare the memory problems that occur in anterograde amnesia with those of retrograde amnesia. Answer: Anterograde amnesia refers to the inability to recall events or information experienced after a trauma to the brain. The person is conscious after the trauma, but is unable to store memories for events after the trauma. In contrast, retrograde amnesia refers to the inability to recall events that occurred PRIOR to the trauma. Typically, events near the trauma are more likely to be lost than are remote events. 8) Describe learning tasks that assess the capacity for perceptual learning, motor learning, and stimulus-response learning. Answer: Perceptual learning can be examined by having a subject examine a set of broken drawings that are successively more complete. The task is to learn to recognize a figure using the least amount of information (most incomplete figure). Motor learning can be assessed by having a subject trace a figure. Stimulus-response learning can be assessed using a classically conditioned eyeblink response. 9) Explain the distinction between declarative and nondeclarative memory. Answer: Declarative memories are those that are available for conscious recollection, whereas nondeclarative memories are automatic and cannot be described using words. The latter include perceptual learning, motor learning, and stimulus-response learning. Hippocampal damage impairs declarative memory but not nondeclarative memory. 12.4 Essay 1) Describe the four basic forms of learning: a) perceptual learning, b) stimulus-response learning, c) motor learning, and d) relational learning. Give a brief example of each in your answer. Answer: Perceptual learning allows us to recognize stimuli. An example would be knowing that a photo is that of your aunt. Stimulus-response learning involves connections between perceptual and motor systems; classical conditioning would be an example of a form of this type of learning (which involves a neutral stimulus taking on the capacity to elicit a reflexive response). Motor learning involves changes in neural circuits that control the muscles—an example would be the changes that occur when a person first learns to drive a car. Relational learning is the most complex form, and can include the ability to recognize a stimulus using different sensory modalities or to recognize the relative location of an object among other objects in an environment. 2) Describe the physical changes that occur in the synapses of the hippocampus that may provide a physiological basis for long-term potentiation (LTP). Answer: LTP is an increased EPSP recorded from dentate cells to a single electrical pulse when that pulse was preceded by high-frequency electrical stimulation of axons that connect with the dentate gyrus cells. There is evidence that more glutamate may be released from the presynaptic terminal button (perhaps due to the influence of nitric oxide from the postsynaptic cell). On the postsynaptic side, LTP is accompanied by physical reorganization of the dendrite, which includes the insertion of AMPA receptors into the dendrite (more sensitivity to glutamate) and the formation of new dendritic spines, which would serve to increase the postsynaptic response to glutamate. Longer term potentiation involves changes in protein synthesis, in particular that of PKM-zeta. 3) Describe the role of dopamine in reinforcing brain stimulation. Answer: The ventral tegmental area (VTA) projects to the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) via the mesolimbic dopamine pathway. Increases of dopamine within the NAcc are reinforcing. Natural reinforcers (food for a hungry rat) will elicit this increase in DA, as will drugs of abuse such as amphetamine that are also reinforcing (i.e., rats will make a response that delivers the drug into their blood stream or directly into the NAcc). 4) Describe the major memory deficits suffered by patient H.M. following bilateral temporal lobectomy. Describe two specific abilities that were spared in Patient H.M. Answer: Surgeons removed portions of the medial temporal lobe in Patient H.M. in 1953 in order to treat his epilepsy. H.M. shows a severe case of anterograde amnesia—he is unable to learn new information, but can recall information he learned prior to the surgery. Subsequent research suggests that the anterograde amnesia reflects bilateral damage to the hippocampus. No impairments are noted in him for perceptual memory, motor memory, or sensory-motor memory. 5) Explain what is meant by a place cell, and discuss the role of these cells in spatial memory. Answer: The ability to navigate requires an intact hippocampus. H.M. has difficulties in spatial navigation. The firing rate of individual hippocampal cells was a function of the spatial location of the rat as it wandered around a maze. The external cues of the environment can control the firing rate of hippocampal cells, particularly of cells in the dorsal hippocampus (a key region for spatial navigation). The entorhinal cortex, which is an important input zone for the hippocampus, is also important for spatial navigation. Test Bank for Foundations of Behavioral Neuroscience Neil R. Carlson 9780205968091, 9780134639796, 9780205947997
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