Learning and memory

Mr. Sailesh Chaudhary

Department of Physiology
 Learning Objectives

• Introduction

• Definition

• Classification of memory

– Explicit memory

– Implicit memory
 Introduction
 Learning & memory are closely associated higher functions in
human beings
 Pavlov’s dog “memorized” the sequence of bell and food but
had actually “learnt” bcz it was salivating, that is, its behavior
had changed
 Learning is the process by which we acquire knowledge about
the world, while memory is the process by which that
knowledge is encoded, stored, and later retrieved
 Common sites- association areas of the cerebral cortex & sub-
cortical structures in the temporal lobe, including the
hippocampus and amygdala
 Definition

• Learning is a sustained change in behavior that results from

sensory information

• Memory is the acquisition, storage and retrieval of sensory

information
Classification of memory on the Basis of How
Information Is Stored and recalled
Classification of memory and learning
 Memory

• Memory is the acquisition, storage and retrieval of sensory

information at any time in life whenever needed

• Two types of memory:

– Explicit memory

– Implicit memory
 Explicit (or declarative)
• Associated with consciousness, or at least awareness
• Dependent on the hippocampus & other a parts of the medial
lobes of the brain for its retention & not immediately
associated with behavioural changes
• Memory is about ‘what/where/when/why’ & Facts and events
that we are aware of
• Expressed in declared statement, such as ‘Democracy day of
Nepal on 7th Falgun’
• Two types:
– Semantic memory (memory of objects, facts, and
concepts as well as words and their meaning)
– Episodic memory (memory of events & personal
experience)
• Damage-

• posterior parietal cortex

(associative visual
agnosia)

• occipital lobes &

surrounding (apperceptive
visual agnosia)

• inferotemporal cortex
(prosopagnosia)- inability
to recognize familiar faces
or learn new faces
 Processing of explicit memory

• Storage of explicit memory proceeds through 4 stages:

– Encoding- process by which newly learned information is

attended to & processed when first encountered
– Consolidation-process that alters the newly stored & still labile
information so as to make it more stable for long-term storage
– Storage- Refers to the retention of memory at specific sites in
the brain & involves the expression of genes and synthesis of
new proteins
– Retrieval of memory- Refers to the recall & use of stored
information
 Encoding of memory
• Briefest form of memory, lasting less than a second, is the sensory
memory
• Things we see, hear or feel continuously in our environment register
only in our sensory memory, only to be forgotten in less than a
second
• Slightly longer form of memory is the short- term memory which lasts
several seconds
• A special type of short-term memory that is required for maintaining
behavioral continuity- working memory
• E.g- To speak fluently, it is important to remember what has just been
spoken and what remains to be spoken
 Both the initial encoding & Working memory
subsequent recall of memory are
routed through the working
memory, which has an attentional
control system (Prefrontal cortex,
<12 items) & two rehearsal
systems (language & vision)
 Rehearsal system for language
(articulatory loop) is a temporary
storage circuit where memory for
words & n.o can be held in mind
only through repeated mental
speech
 Rehearsal system for the visual
characteristics (Inferior temporal
cortex) & spatial location (posterior
parietal cortex) of objects is the
visual sketchpad
• Encoding-
• Processes by which new learned information is attended to &
processed when first encountered
• Determining how well the learned material will be remembered
at later times
• For memory to persist & be well remembered, incoming
information must be encoded thoroughly & deeply

• Consolidation-
• A critical amount of time, about 5-10 min is required for the
transfer of short term memory to long term through a process
• Involves the expression of genes & the synthesis of new
proteins, giving rise to structural changes that store memory that
store memory stably over time
• Area of brain responsible for the consolidation – medial temporal
lobe (parahippocampal gyrus, entorhinal cortex, hippocampus)
• Explicit memory storage in the hippocampus
 Processing of explicit memory contd..
• Storage-
• mechanism & sites by which memory is retained over time
• seems to have an almost unlimited capacity & short-term
memory is very limited
• Retrieval-
• processes that permit the recall & use of the stored
information
• bringing different kinds of information together that are
stored separately in different storage sites
• constructive process
• Retrieval, particularly of explicit memories is critically
dependent on short-term working memory
 Short-term memory
• Memory that lasts for seconds to hours, during which
processing in the hippocampus and elsewhere lays down long-
term changes in synaptic strength
• Generally confined to less than 12 items and lasts only a few
minutes
• Working memory is a form of short-term memory that makes
information available for a brief period
• As a result of repeated training, short-term memory can be
transferred into long-term memory, which depends on a
process called consolidation
 Long-term memory
• One that stores information for years together, and sometimes
for life
• Memory that lasts for minutes to years- secondary or
intermediate-term memory
• Memory that is permanent and lasts a lifetime is called tertiary
or long-term memory
• Our own name resides in our tertiary memory
• Traces are remarkably resistant to disruption
Anatomical orientation of the hippocampal
formation
Anatomical orientation of the hippocampal
formation
 Long-term potentiation
• Phenomenon observed in the hippocampus which may
provide the electro physiological basis for at least certain
types of memory
• 3 major excitatory pathways from the subiculum to CA1
region of hippocampus
• Stimulation of any of the 3 pathways leads to an increase in
the magnitude of EPSP in hippocampal neurons
• Increased release of glutamate leads to a higher EPSP,
which is called LTP
Mechanism of LTP
 Implicit or non-declarative memory

• Memories of skills that & we are never aware of and do not have to
make any conscious effort to memorize or recall

• Explicit memory often progresses to implicit memory

• Its retention does not usually involve processing in the

hippocampus

• Builds up slowly, through repetition over many trials, expressed in

performance, not in words & associated with change in behaviour
(Perceptual, motor & emotional circuits)

• Includes skills, habits, priming and conditioned reflexes etc

• For e.g- emotional component (fear condition)- amydala

 Implicit (Types)
• Priming (Neo-cortex)
• Procedural memory (Striatum)
– Skills and habits
• Associative learning
– Classical conditioning (Cerebellum)
– Operant conditioning (Striatum & cerebellum)
• Non-associative learning (Reflex pathways in spinal cord &
brain stem)
– Habituation
– Sensitization
 Priming

• Having a greater ability to identify an object or a word after a

recent exposure

• More often we see something, the easier it is for us to identify

it & more often we read a word, the better we recall its

meaning
 Procedural learning
• Refers to the learning of cognitive skills or motor skills

• Cognitive skill- learning to tell the time by looking at a clock

• Motor skills- learning to cycle, swim or even to handle a computer mouse

• Pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) is involved in the motor learning of

complex sequences
• Not to respond to repetitive, low
intensity stimuli & ignore them as Habituation
unimportant
• Gradual diminution of response to a
stimulus, following repeated
presentation of the same stimulus
• Not due to fatigue rather helps in
avoiding fatigue
• Helps in adaptation to the
environment & prevents
unnecessary defense responses
making it possible to devote more
attention to novel stimuli them to
familiar ones
• Associated with ↓NT at synapse
reduces EPSP & it is due to
inactivation of Ca2+ influx at the axon
endings
• Fxntional change & also reduction in
the n.o of synapses betwn sensory
neuron and motor neuron
• ↑in behavioural response as a
result of exposure to a noxious
Sensitization
stimulus
• Non-specific phenomenon as
compared to
• ↑es arousal & attention and
lowers the threshold of
defensive responses
• Due to the activity of
serotonergic interneurons act
presynaptically on the sensory
neurons via ↑cAMP (sensory
neuron) activates protein
kinases in turn reduce the K
current which prolongs A.P
allowing greater voltage gated
Ca++ influx
• Gene expression in the sensory
neuron via cAMP- responsive
element binding (CREB) protein
 Biological basis of learning

• Structural and functional changes in the brain

• Changes involve formation of new synapses in early period of

development of brain & changes in effectiveness of synapses

• Modulation of synaptic transmission through NT or ion

channels goes on throughout life

• A stimulus that is physiologically
unimportant becomes important & Classical conditioning
starts eliciting a specific behavior due (Reflex)
to its close association with a
physiologically important stimulus
• If a dog is presented with food
(UCS), its mouth starts watering as a
result of ↑sed secretion of saliva
• If the bell is immediately followed by
food 100x, the dog learns to expect
food after the bell & sound of the bell-
Conditioned stimulus (CS) for the
salivation reflex
• Learn about the relationship betwn
associated events which occur
together or in quick succession
predictably and reliably
• E.g- Repeatedly observing that dark
clouds are followed by rain leads us
to predict rain whenever we see dark
clouds (Learns to predict event in the
environment)
• A behavior that is feeble & Operant
inconsequential becomes intense when it
conditioning
starts producing an effect that is
physiologically important (Behaviour)
• In his experiments a box- Skinner box &
inside the box is a bar shaped lever on
one side & just outside the box is a
container full of food pellets
• Rat is placed in the box, it first explores its
surroundings out of curiosity & sooner or
later, it hits the bar and action turns to be
happy bcz it leads to a food pellet
• Rat is operating on the environment in a
manner which is rewarding (Operant
behaviour)
• Tells us how we learn to respond in a
particular way on the basis of past
experience
 Summary
• Long-term memory is represented in multiple regions
throughout the nervous system, and explicit and implicit
memories involve different neuronal circuits
• Explicit memory underlies the learning of facts and experiences
—knowledge that is flexible can be recalled by conscious effort
and can be reported verbally
• Implicit memory processes include forms of perceptual and
motor memory—knowledge that is stimulus-bound, is
expressed in the performance of tasks without conscious effort
 Summary contd….
• Implicit memory flows automatically in the doing of things,
while explicit memory must be retrieved deliberately
• Long-term storage of explicit memory requires the temporal
lobe system
• Implicit memory involves the cerebellum and amygdala and
the specific sensory and motor systems recruited for the task
being learned
• Memory involves both functional and structural changes at
synapses in the circuits participating in a learning task.
 References

 Berne and levy Physiology, 6th edition

 Ganong’s review of medical physiology , 22th edition

 Text book of medical physiology ; Guyton and hall ,13th

edition.

 Understanding medical physiology; RL Bijlani, 4th edition.

 Principles of Neural Sciences; Eric Kandel 4th edition.