Dysfunction of the human memory systems

In this paper the authors present the development of a scene-based episodic memory module for the cognitive architecture controlling an autonomous virtual creature, in a simulated 3D environment. The scene-based episodic memory has the role of improving the creature’s navigation system, by evoking the objects to be considered in planning, according to episodic remembrance of earlier scenes testified by the creature where these objects were present in the past. They introduce the main background on human memory systems and episodic memory study, and provide the main ideas behind the experiment.

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The intrinsic neonatal hippocampal network: rsfMRI findings

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00362.2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 124 (5) ◽

pp. 1458-1468

Author(s):

Athena L. Howell ◽

David E. Osher ◽

Jin Li ◽

Zeynep M. Saygin

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Human Memory ◽

Memory Systems ◽

Human Data ◽

Animal Data ◽

Hippocampal Network ◽

Insight Into

Although both animal data and human data suggest that the hippocampus is immature at birth, to date, there are no direct assessments of human hippocampal functional connectivity (FC) very early in life. Our study explores the FC of the hippocampus to the cortex at birth, allowing insight into the development of human memory systems. In particular, we find that adults and neonates exhibit vastly different hippocampal connectivity profiles—a finding that likely has large developmental implications.

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Implicit Memory and Cognitive Aging

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.378 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Emma V. Ward ◽

David R. Shanks

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Implicit Memory ◽

Cognitive Aging ◽

Explicit Memory ◽

Human Memory ◽

Memory Systems ◽

Normal Aging ◽

Future Research ◽

Theoretical Understanding ◽

Age Related

It is well documented that explicit (declarative, conscious) memory declines in normal aging. Studies have shown a progressive reduction in this form of memory with age, and healthy older adults (typically aged 65+ years) usually perform worse than younger adults (typically aged 18–30 years) on laboratory tests of explicit memory such as recall and recognition. In contrast, it is less clear whether implicit (procedural, unconscious) memory declines or remains stable in normal aging. Implicit memory is evident when previous experiences affect (e.g., facilitate) performance on tasks that do not require conscious recollection of those experiences. This can manifest in rehearsed motor skills, such as playing a musical instrument, but is typically indexed in the laboratory by the greater ease with which previously studied information is processed relative to non-studied information (e.g., repetition priming). While a vast amount of research has accumulated to suggest that implicit memory remains relatively stable over the adult lifespan, and is similar in samples of young and older adults, other studies have in contrast revealed that implicit memory is subject to age-related decline. Improving methods for determining whether implicit memory declines or remains stable with age is an important goal for future research, as the issue not only has significant implications for an aging society regarding interventions likely to ameliorate the effects of age-related explicit memory decline, but can also inform our theoretical understanding of human memory systems.

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The Role of Biological Significance in Human Learning and Memory

International Journal of Comparative Psychology ◽

10.46867/ijcp.2019.32.03.02 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 ◽

Author(s):

Benjamin M. Seitz ◽

Aaron P. Blaisdell ◽

Cody W. Polack ◽

Ralph R. Miller

Keyword(s):

Human Evolution ◽

Evolutionary History ◽

Prior Experience ◽

Biological Significance ◽

Human Memory ◽

Memory Systems ◽

Human Learning ◽

Memory Research ◽

History Of

Deeply rooted within the history of experimental psychology is the search for general laws of learning that hold across tasks and species. Central to this enterprise has been the notion of equipotentiality; that any two events have the same likelihood of being associated with one another as any other pair of events. Much work, generally summarized as ‘biological constraints on learning,’ has challenged this view, and demonstrates pre-existing relations between cues and outcomes, based on genes and prior experience, that influence potential associability. Learning theorists and comparative psychologists have thus recognized the need to consider how the evolutionary history as well as prior experience of the organism being studied influences its ability to learn about and navigate its environment. We suggest that current models of human memory, and human memory research in general, lack sufficient consideration of how human evolution has shaped human memory systems. We review several findings that suggest the human memory system preferentially processes information relevant to biological fitness, and highlight potential theoretical and applied benefits afforded by adopting this functionalist perspective.

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History of Memory

The Oxford Handbook of History of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199765683.013.31 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Hans Markowitsch ◽

Angelica Staniloiu

Keyword(s):

Medial Temporal Lobe ◽

Psychiatric Patients ◽

Human Memory ◽

Memory Systems ◽

Thalamic Nuclei ◽

Memory Research ◽

Mammillary Bodies ◽

History Of ◽

Dissociative States ◽

Brain Tissue Damage

The historical roots of memory research—mainly from the period between 1870 and 1920—are described with emphasis on human memory. First, data from experimental psychology are reviewed; thereafter principal contributions from the old traditions of psychiatry and psychoanalysis are given and then relations between brain tissue damage and memory deficits are outlined. Experimental as well as clinical studies of that time already provided evidence for theoretical ideas on memory systems, which resemble those en vogue today. Furthermore, significant and still valid findings were reported on the contribution of bottleneck structures of the limbic system for mempry encoding. Among these, the mammillary bodies, thalamic nuclei, and the medial temporal lobe were most consistently mentioned. Furthermore, early findings from psychiatric patients revealed similar forms of dissociative states as found presently and indicated that these disease conditions occur much more in young than in older adults.

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Remembering

Daedalus ◽

10.1162/daed_a_00317 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 144 (1) ◽

pp. 53-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Larry R. Squire ◽

John T. Wixted

Keyword(s):

Temporal Lobe ◽

Medial Temporal Lobe ◽

Human Memory ◽

Memory Systems ◽

Consolidation Process ◽

Multiple Memory Systems ◽

Memory Work ◽

Major Development ◽

The Brain

A major development in understanding the structure and organization of memory was the identification of the medial temporal lobe memory system as one of the brain systems that support memory. Work on this topic began in the 1950s with the study of the noted amnesic patient H.M. and culminated in studies of an animal model of human memory impairment in the nonhuman primate. These discoveries opened new frontiers of research concerned with the functional specialization of structures within the medial temporal lobe, the existence of multiple memory systems, the process of memory consolidation, and the role of neural replay and sleep in the consolidation process. This work also led to new insights about how and where memories are ultimately stored in the brain. All of this research has improved our understanding of how memory is affected by normal aging and why it is so profoundly impaired by the pathological processes associated with dementia.

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Learning and Memory in the Aging Brain: The Function of Declarative and Nondeclarative Memory Over the Life Span

10.31234/osf.io/eqym4 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Nichole Lighthall ◽

Lindsay Conner ◽

Kelly Sullivan Giovanello

Keyword(s):

Learning And Memory ◽

Age Differences ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Human Memory ◽

Memory Systems ◽

Aging Brain ◽

Aging Research ◽

Age Related ◽

Neural Underpinnings

Human memory consists of distinct learning and memory systems, each contributing in unique ways to the acquisition, retention, and subsequent retrieval of information. This chapter focuses on age-related changes to long-term declarative (episodic and semantic memory) and nondeclarative (priming, classical conditioning, procedural and reinforcement learning) systems. Although these systems exhibit considerable independence in processing characteristics and neural underpinnings, accumulating evidence points to interactions between systems, which may increase observable age differences in learning and memory performance. Thus, while this chapter largely highlights age effects within traditional memory-system boundaries, a frontier in aging research is emerging at their intersections.

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Stimulating Memory: Reviewing Interventions Using Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Enhance or Restore Memory Abilities

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11101283 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 1283

Author(s):

Connor J. Phipps ◽

Daniel L. Murman ◽

David E. Warren

Keyword(s):

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Memory Loss ◽

Human Memory ◽

Memory Systems ◽

Cognitive Complaint

Human memory systems are imperfect recording devices that are affected by age and disease, but recent findings suggest that the performance of these systems may be modifiable through interventions using non-invasive brain stimulation such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). The translational potential of these rTMS interventions is clear: memory problems are the most common cognitive complaint associated with healthy aging, while pathological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease are often associated with severe deficits in memory. Therapies to improve memory or treat memory loss could enhance independence while reducing costs for public health systems. Despite this promise, several important factors limit the generalizability and translational potential of rTMS interventions for memory. Heterogeneity of protocol design, rTMS parameters, and outcome measures present significant challenges to interpretation and reproducibility. However, recent advances in cognitive neuroscience, including rTMS approaches in addition to a new understanding of functional brain networks and related insights, may offer methodological tools necessary to design new interventional studies with enhanced experimental rigor, improved reproducibility, and greater likelihood of successful translation to clinical settings. In this review, we first discuss the current state of the literature on memory modulation with rTMS, then offer a commentary on developments in cognitive neuroscience that are relevant to rTMS interventions, and finally close by offering several recommendations for the design of future investigations using rTMS to modulate human memory performance.

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