Wikipedia:School and university projects/Psyc3330 w10/Group21

Introduction

Within the memory branch of psychology, there are many different aspects that have influenced the way in which we learn about memory. Psychologist and researchers alike have developed models and concepts that continue to change and evolve to provide us with insight to the process of memory. As technology advances and previous theories alter due to new found information, irrefutable findings and developments have changed the way in which memory is researched today.

Technology in memory Research

PET Scan

Positron Emission tomography- This technique involves injecting a dye into the blood stream, so that the areas that are being affected can be shown on the scan. This works by the dye being seen in areas with greater metabolic activity. Positron Emission Tomography is useful in detecting problems such as tumours, and seizures. The only negative effect of this scan is having to inject the dye, which sometime can be a safety issue, but overall a small even dose is used, and therefore causes no harm.

CT Scan

Computed Tomography- This scan is also referred to a CAT( computed Axial Tomography). This scan uses a combination X-Ray and a computer. It uses X -ray that takes shots of the body at different angles. The benefits of a CT scan are that is uses minimal radiation exposure and it gives a better view then and X-ray. The first CT scan was used in 1972 and it was used to study the brain. It was very revolutionary because it was more accurate then a X-ray. It allowed for brain issues to be discovered a lot faster and with more precision.

MRI Scan

Magnetic Resonance Imaging- Also known as Nuclear Magnetic Imaging. MRI’s are able to provide 3D imaging of the brain. This is possible by putting the person inside a cylindrical magnet and it uses hydrogen atoms and a magnetic field to see the 3D image. MRI’s are beneficial because they give more accurate information then a CT and PET and use no radiation or X-rays. The detail of an MRI is incomparable.

FMRI Scan

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging is used for finding out which parts of the brain are affected by a certain activity. This became available in the early 1990’s. Although it is able to map out the brain and where certain things are affected, it is extremely expensive and is not used as often as it should be. The benefits of FMRI are there is no radiation used, there is limited invasiveness on the patient and it is available in most places, however the cost is a big negative effect.

MEG Scan

Magneto-Encephalography- is one of our newest brain technologies. It allows scientists to use magnetic changes to study the activity in the brain. There are only just over 100 machines around the world. They cost about 2 million dollars each. The benefits of this machine is it allows to see the activity of each millisecond and which areas of the brain are active and which need oxygen from the blood. It is especially helpful in detecting brain tumours, pain and emotions

Famous Case Studies

Henry Gustav Molaison

Henry was a man that suffer from Epilepsy. He was sent to a surgeon at Hartford Hospital for treatment. They suggested a experimental surgery. During the surgery they took out 2/3rds of his hippocampus, amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus. The surgery did do its primary job and stop the seizures, but it caused him to have severe anterograde amnesia. He could not process new events that were happening. He also could not remember events from 1-2 years before the surgery. This case lead to many new theories being formed and helping scientists understand the brain better.

Clive Wearing

Clive to this day as the worst case of amnesia ever reported. He only remembers events for a few seconds and then his memory erases. His intelligence and motor skills are skill there, but he cannot remember anything, which was caused by a case of herpes encephalitis. One hobby that Clive loves is playing piano. He can play piano with no difficulty at all, however once he stops playing he does not remember playing the piano. Along with his short term memory, his long term memory has also been erased.

Memory in Pop Culture

Memory research and topics about memory have been used in many media sources including music, movies and television. This is a reoccurring event that has happened over the years.4 Even though in early days we did not know a lot about the brain, memory loss and other memory issues still came up in movies. In 1926 there was at least 10 silent films that had a memory relates issue occur in them.

Shutter island

Shutter island is a movie that came out the beginning of 2010. It examines the facilities of an insane asylum. It goes on to discuss the research on the brain that it being done in that facility. The institution is using patients for brain surgery to see which parts of the brain are linked together.

The Notebook

The Notebook is based on a novel written by Nicholas Sparks. It involves a love story between two teenagers that are separated by their parents. They later in life get back together, however once they grow old, the women has amnesia and can not remember her husband or kids. Her husband everyday reads their life story to her in hopes of getting her to remember someday.

Chumbawamba

Their hit smash was called Amnesia and was all about suffering from long term memory loss.

Samantha who?

This television show debuted in 2007. This show is about a women who is in an accident and forgets everything about her life up to that point. It become the goals of friends and family to help her pull her life back together as Samantha tries to remember who she was.

Influential People

Clark Hull (1884-1952)

Hull was an American psychologist that studied learning behaviour in white rats. He used Issac Newton’s research findings and equations to develop a grand general theory of learning and based learned behaviour on a stimulus – response relationship. This general theory acted as a base for many theories that came to be due to this broad idea.

Edward Tolman (1888-1959)

An American psychologist that rivalled Hull’s theory of stimulus – response and stated that internal representations or “cognitive maps” were of more importance. He believed that learned behaviour is a result of the environment around us and how we relate to it. There does not need to be a reward or response to the stimulus. He often drew on Gestalt psychology to support his ideas.

Herman Ebbinghaus (1850-1909)

A German psychologist who developed verbal learning. This is an approach to learning that strictly depends on learning, without other influences. He memorized a series of nonsense words, i.e. PED, KOJ, etc. in hopes to discover how new learning interacts with what is already known from previous learning. His results were based on his own findings with experiments conducted on himself.

Frederic Bartlett (1886-1969)

Bartlett was a British psychologist who disagreed with Ebbinghaus and his approach to understand memory. He believed that memory errors occur due to different schemas in different cultures. After reciting detailed and intricate stories to the subjects, recall was later performed. He found that if information from the stories does not apply to their specific culture, information can be lost because the “effort after meaning” is not of great importance to them.

Kenneth Craik (1914-1945)

A Scottish psychologist who carried out some of the first psychological experiments, based on the idea of theories being represented by models instead. By using his computer-based theoretical model, predictions were able to be made, followed by the testing of these predictions with the use of computers that were developed during this time period. Together with Lockhart, they developed the Levels of Processing theory, which states that the deeper the information is analyzed and connected with already learned knowledge, the chances of retrieval are much better. Even though he unfortunately died young, his contribution to memory research has been one of the most influential.

Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968)

These two psychologists developed the Modal Model which soon became a “representative” of all the different forms of information-processing models. Stimuli is passed through sensory memory, to short-term memory for a temporary period of time, then into long-term memory, if the information makes it that far. Since there are so many variations of this model that have been further developed, the Modal Model acts as a basis for this type of approach to memory.

George Sperling (1960)

At the US Bell Laboratories, Sperling coined the term "iconic memory" to the brief storage of visual information. He came to this discovery by showing individuals three rows of four letters for a short period of time, then the patients were tested for recall. He presented different pitched tones before and/or after the set of letters in one manipulation of the experiment, then flashing a bright light before and/or after in another manipulation. He came to the conclusion that the storage of new information is affected by external events, and dubbed this term "masking".

Crowder & Morton (1969)

Crowder and Morton performed a series of experiments that stressed the importance of echoic memory - auditory sensory memory. It became evident that a spoken suffix during encoding will interfere with recall performance, but non-speech such as a tone or buzzer will not have as great of an affect on memory. These two psychologist suggested that there is a "precategorical acoustic store" that aids in the retention of verbal short-term memory.

Endel Tulving (1972)

This Canadian psychologist distinguished the difference between semantic memory (knowledge of the world accumulated over time and experience) and episodic memory (single episodes and events to specific individuals). He also coined the idea of mental time travel which accentuated how it is possible for us to "relive" the past, feelings the same emotions at that given time and imagine future events.

Methods of Memory Research

Experimental

Placing individuals in experimental situations will allow for researchers to observe a larger sample of people (as opposed to case specific) and apply the conclusions obtained to all patients if the symptoms are the same. Using controlled groups and manipulated groups, a comparison can be made and final conclusions can be determined. There are several different ways of using experimental methods for researching memory. Most aspects of memory research use recognition tests and recall tests altering variables such as how deeply information is encode, time periods or external influences. After various conditions and analyzing the data of retrieval, psychologists will be able to draw conclusions about memory and the many systems involved.

Brain Imaging

With technological advances in memory research, it has become possible to view the human brain through neuroimaging. These non-invasive techniques have helped in diagnosing structural issues, like physical brain, or tissue damage and as well as functional issues by monitoring brain activity when subject is presented with stimuli. The many different methods of brain imaging have aided our understanding of what happens when information is passed through the "black box".

Case Studies

Within memory research, there are often specific cases that are of great interest to psychologists. These can be individuals or groups of people with the same symptoms. Observation is made while individuals/groups are within a certain context and what is observed, is recorded. Sometimes the subject(s) is required to keep diaries or journals to gain further insight. This information can help psychologists to understand rare cases as well as provide additional knowledge for more common occurrences.