Psychology Week 6: Consolidation/reconsolidation: How Are Memories Encoded Into Long-Term Memory

Psychology week 6
 Consolidation/reconsolidation: how are memories encoded into long-

term memory
Working (short-term) memory; Baddeley,2000: Limited capacity system.
All controlled by central executive.
Phonological loop: Language
Visuospatial sketchpad: visual semantics
Episodic Buffer: stores episodes and integrates info from different
modalities and long-term memory
Long-term memory: could be declarative (Explicit) or non-declarative

(implicit)
Declarative: conscious memory; semantic and episodic
Non-Declarative: priming, procedural memory, associative learning, and
non-associative learning
Consolidation Hypothesis: how memory changes from short to long

term. Consolidation involves complex sequence of biological processes.
Early evidence that if given within a set time period after learning test
materials;
Amnesic agents: decreases retention
Other agents: such as amphetamine increase retention
Retroactive interference can occur
Memory prior to consolidation: new memories can be altered by;
behavioral influences, cognitive influences, bad trauma, pharma-logical
factors, seizures, and molecular interference.
Problems with consolidation theory: spontaneous recovery from

amnesia, and attenuation of remote (older) memories, already
consolidated in LTM.
Reconsolidation Hypothesis: Retrieval of a memory from LTM

temporarily enders it fragile and allowed to be altered. Memories can be
reactivated by thinking about the memory or direct exposure to learning
stimuli. Retrieval causes deconsolidation before being reconsolidated
back into LTM.
Reconsolidation found with implicit and explicit memories, observed in
many organisms, can occur many times over, allows organisms to adapt
to a changing environment, and generally relies on a similar biological
process as consolidation.
In reconsolidation uniform across memories? Depends on remoteness
on memory, strength of initial learning, and extent of reactivation.
Clinical Application of reconsolidation:

Drugs that disrupt reconsolidation may be useful to treat PTSD
Extinction Therapy: exposure to stimuli in absence of aversive
consequence. This is more effective if exposure timing allign with
reconsolidation processes in learned fear and drug addiction.
However, research has used relatively innocuous stimuli, when
compared to traumatic memories.
2
Integration Hypothesis: Alternative hypothesis; decreased retention
caused by amnesic treatment only occurs after a delay. This lead to
suggesting a diff hypothesis when consolidation effects are caused by
state-dependent learning. We learn better when internal state at testing
matches the internal state during encoding.
 Prospective Memory: memory for future events
Prospective Memory: Remembering something to do in the future
Retrospective memory: Remembering information from events in the
past.
Proscopic Chronesthesia: Tulving (2004): conscious and subjective ability

to imagine the future.
Laboratory Paradigm: whistle experiment

Participant starts with an ongoing task
Give prospective memory instructions (whistle)
Participant completes delay task
Participant continues ongoing task
Measure the proportion of times participant remembers task
Ask participant what they were asked to do
Ecological VALIDITY:
PROSPECTIVE MEMORY OCCURS AMONGST OTHER TASKS.
But
Omits planning, artificial, and prospective memory task is not part of a
well-practiced sequence
3
Types of prospective tasks:
Event-based: do x when y occurs
Time-based: do x after 30 minutes
Activity-based: do x when you finish y
Additional Monitoring Theory: Smith & Bayen, 2006

Monitor environment for the cue to initiate intended action.
Recognize it as the cue
Initiate action
Supported evidence shows that the better the prospective memory
performance, the worse performance in the ongoing task.
Spontaneous Retrieval Theory 1: Reflexive Associative Theory: McDaniel

& Einstein:
Associations between cue and intended actions
Cue automatically activates intended action
Supported by: participants report very little monitoring, subjective
reports show action ‘pops’ in head.
Spontaneous retrieval theory 2: Discrepancy Plus Attribution Theory

Able to track processing efficiency
Increase in efficiency detected for cues to intended action
Participant searches for source of processing efficiency change and
realizes cue is for intended action
Perform action
4
Supported by; enhancing processing discrepancy enhances prospective
memory performance, distinctive cues improve prospective memory
performance
Multiprocess Theory: we switch dynamically between monitoring and

automatic processes
Automatic: long-term tasks, high likelihood of cue, limited resources,
easy prospective memory task.
Monitoring: short-term tasks, important actions, sufficient resources,
demanding prospective memory task
Are prospective memories special? Intention Superiority Effect:

Participant faster to recognize words when they are associated with an
intended action.
Responses to words associated with an intended action becomes slower
after action has been performed. We pay special attention till action
done.
Encoding Prospective Memory: enhanced by;

Use of implementation intention instructions
Enhanced encoding via participant generation of the cue, task
appropriate processing. Strength of encoding of cue (ex test subject picks
their own cue
Impaired encoding via competing tasks (multiple cues)
Neuropsychology of prospective memory:

Impaired by damage to prefrontal cortex (implies role of working
memory capacity.
5
Impaired by damage to medical temporal cortex (implies role of episodic
memory)

Psychology Week 6: Consolidation/reconsolidation: How Are Memories Encoded Into Long-Term Memory

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Psychology week 6

 Consolidation/reconsolidation: how are memories encoded into long-

Long-term memory: could be declarative (Explicit) or non-declarative

Consolidation Hypothesis: how memory changes from short to long

Problems with consolidation theory: spontaneous recovery from

Reconsolidation Hypothesis: Retrieval of a memory from LTM

Clinical Application of reconsolidation:

Proscopic Chronesthesia: Tulving (2004): conscious and subjective ability

Laboratory Paradigm: whistle experiment

Additional Monitoring Theory: Smith & Bayen, 2006

Spontaneous Retrieval Theory 1: Reflexive Associative Theory: McDaniel

Spontaneous retrieval theory 2: Discrepancy Plus Attribution Theory

Multiprocess Theory: we switch dynamically between monitoring and

Are prospective memories special? Intention Superiority Effect:

Encoding Prospective Memory: enhanced by;

Neuropsychology of prospective memory:

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