Glossary
Acetylcholine
A neurotransmitter important for muscle contraction, learning, memory, and overall cognitive function.
Example:
Medications for certain memory disorders sometimes aim to increase levels of acetylcholine in the brain to improve cognitive abilities.
Amygdala
An almond-shaped structure in the limbic system that processes emotions, particularly fear and aggression, and enhances the consolidation of emotionally significant memories.
Example:
The vivid memory of a surprising event, like a sudden loud noise, is often amplified by your amygdala due to its emotional impact.
Basal Ganglia
A group of subcortical nuclei involved in the control of voluntary motor movements, habit formation, and the formation of procedural memories.
Example:
The unconscious movements involved in typing quickly on a keyboard are managed by your basal ganglia.
Cerebellum
A brain structure primarily involved in motor control, balance, and coordination, but also crucial for storing implicit memories, especially those acquired through classical conditioning.
Example:
Learning to ride a bicycle and maintaining your balance without conscious thought is largely due to your cerebellum storing that skill.
Classical Conditioning
A type of learning where an organism learns to associate two stimuli, such that one stimulus elicits a response originally elicited by the other.
Example:
A dog learning to salivate at the sound of a bell because it has been repeatedly paired with food is an example of classical conditioning.
Explicit Memories
Conscious, declarative memories of facts and events that can be intentionally retrieved and verbally expressed.
Example:
Recalling the date of your birthday or the details of your last vacation are examples of explicit memories.
Frontal Lobes
The brain region located at the front of the brain, primarily responsible for executive functions, including planning, decision-making, and working memory.
Example:
As you mentally rehearse a presentation, your frontal lobes are engaged in organizing and manipulating the information.
Glutamate
An excitatory neurotransmitter crucial for learning and memory, particularly involved in the process of long-term potentiation.
Example:
The release of glutamate at synapses helps strengthen the neural pathways when you are actively trying to remember new information.
Hippocampus
A brain structure located in the temporal lobe, crucial for the initial formation and processing of new explicit (declarative) memories.
Example:
When you try to remember the names of new people you meet at a party, your hippocampus is actively working to process that information.
Implicit Memories
Unconscious, non-declarative memories that influence behavior without conscious recall, such as skills, habits, or classically conditioned associations.
Example:
Knowing how to swim without consciously thinking about each stroke is an implicit memory.
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)
A persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity, leading to more efficient and long-lasting communication between neurons.
Example:
The more you practice a new skill, the stronger the neural connections become through long-term potentiation, making the skill easier to perform.
Memory Consolidation
The neural process by which short-term memories are transformed into stable, long-term memories, often significantly occurring during sleep.
Example:
After a long day of studying, getting a good night's sleep helps your brain undergo memory consolidation, solidifying what you learned.
NREM-3 (Deep Sleep)
The deepest stage of non-rapid eye movement sleep, characterized by slow brain waves, during which significant memory consolidation is thought to occur.
Example:
To maximize retention of newly learned material, it's beneficial to get sufficient NREM-3 sleep.
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers that transmit signals across a synapse from one neuron to another, playing a vital role in various brain functions, including memory.
Example:
When you learn something new, specific neurotransmitters are released to help facilitate the communication between your brain cells.
Procedural Memories
A type of implicit memory that stores information about how to perform certain motor skills or cognitive tasks.
Example:
The ability to play a musical instrument or tie your shoelaces without conscious effort relies on procedural memories.
Sensory Memories
Brief, fleeting recordings of sensory information from the environment, lasting only a few seconds or less, serving as the initial stage of memory processing.
Example:
The momentary visual trace you see after a camera flash goes off is a sensory memory.
Thalamus
A sensory relay station in the brain that directs incoming sensory information to the appropriate cortical areas for processing, playing a role in encoding sensory memories into short-term memory.
Example:
The sudden smell of freshly baked cookies is quickly routed by your thalamus to the olfactory cortex for recognition.
Working Memory
A short-term memory system that actively processes and manipulates incoming auditory and visual information, connecting it to long-term memory.
Example:
When you try to remember a new phone number just long enough to dial it, you are using your working memory.