Handout 7 Learning/Memory and Language

COGS 17 Handout 7 pg. 3

Handout 7 Learning/Memory and Language

Nature of learning (synaptic plasticity)

Definition:

a. Perceptual:

b. Motor:

c. Stimulus-response:

Examples:

Classical/Pavlovian conditioning
a.
b. present ______(unconditioned stimulus), dog ______(unconditioned response)
c. turn on light (______stimulus) before presenting food
d. dog salivates to light (______response) / Instrumental/Operant learning
a. you study
b. you get an A
c. reward will increase/decrease probability of studying again

d. Relational: the relationships among individual stimuli (______, ______, ______)

Nature of memory

Definition:

Common Model of Memory processes

Squire’s taxonomy of memory

Hippocampus

What is it?

Functions:

- ______of memory (STM à LTM)

- acts as the “pointer” and as “links” sensory info together

- ______and ______memory (taxi driver studies showed that hippocampal volume correlated with

the experience)

- detection of ______stimuli

- ______(even as adult): growth of new neurons

Malfunctions:

- Severe anterograde amnesia:

- Mild retrograde amnesia:

- Problems navigating space

- Seizures

- most common origin is in the ______

- why? Because it is a ______circuit

- Susceptible to ______disease (first symptom of disease is the loss of STM)

- Hippocampus and depression

- smaller hippocampus in clinically depressed individuals due increased levels of ______(stress hormone)

Neuroanatomy

- ______circuit

Place cells

- Definition:

Activity Dependent Synaptic Plasticity

- increased/decreased strengthening is how associations are made

- neuroanatomical changes

-

-

-

- longer lasting change =

Language

Methods of communications:

What is the importance of communication?

a.  Allows for ______

b.  Allows for ______

Language acquisition

a.  Is language genetic or is it learned?

a.  Chomsky:

b.  Is it unique to humans?

c.  Are language and thought interrelated?

d.  Universal language?

Birdsong

-  The anatomy of birdsong (bird “language”) is similar to that in human systems. They have a ______.

-  Acquisition of birdsong suggests that there is a ______for developing language. Birds that aren’t exposed to their species’ birdsong will not be able to detect it in the future.

-  ______occurs every Spring when they learn different versions of songs

Non-human primates (our close relative)

-  There have been many efforts to teach speech/symbols/language to apes

-  Their system is highly dynamic or static?

-  Vocalizations are ______meaning “AH”= snake and will always mean snake (AH is a made up vocalization)

-  Slight lateralization

-  There is a limit to what they can learn!! Adult monkeys know the same amount of words as a ______.

-  There is debate whether or not they have the ability to learn language

o  Savage-Rumbaugh believes:

o  Pinker believes:

What is language?

a.  Includes ______(phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics)

b.  ______(letters)

c.  Ability to represent ______situations

d.  Ability to articulate something new

e.  Intention to communicate

f.  Infinite system of communication

Why is language important?

a.  Humans are the only species to use language with ______(rules governing word order) and ______properties

a.  The dog bit the man vs. The man bit the dog

i.  Different order of words changes meaning completely

b.  Language comprehension is ______and______(something we take for granted)

a.  ______task: shows it takes a lot longer to state the color of the words rather than the word itself

c.  Language production is ______and involves ______systems

a.  Alex the parrot could learn new sounds and manipulate words into a distinct order

Lateralization

Left hemisphere responsibilities / Right hemisphere responsibilities

Language Disorders

-  General knowledge

o  Language disorders can be caused by many things

o  Language disorders most commonly result from damage to the______hemisphere

o  To test language dominance: use ______test

§  You inject ______into one hemisphere of the brain. It puts that one hemisphere to sleep and if language is affected you’ll know that that side of the brain is responsible for language

-  Types

o  Paraphasia:

o  Neologism:

o  Non-fluent speech:

o  Agraphia:

o  Alexia:

Aphasias

Broca’s
Where:
Symptoms: / Wernicke’s
Where:
Symptoms:

-  Global aphasia:

-  Damage to ______(fibers that connect Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas) causes inability to repeat spoken words

Language pathways

1.  Repeating a spoken word

a.  A1 à ______à ______à______à ______

2.  Repeating a written word

a.  V1 à ______à______à ______

Sign languages

Do they work the same way?

Other languages

-  Evidence suggests all languages rely on same or different? circuits

-  Kids learn languages way easier than adults

Dyslexia

-  Problem ______, more common in ______who are ______

-  Switch ______around (telephone becomes enohpelet)

-  Acquired dyslexia = ______

-  Deep dyslexia =

William’s Syndrome

-  Genetic disorder (chromosome______)

-  Extremely good at ______but can’t do ______, tend to be highly ______

-  Almost a mirror image of an ______child

-  This suggests that you can dissociate ______from ______; they are independent processes