Deck 13: Learning and Memory

Question 1

Your ability to recognize a series of photos that you looked at a month ago is an example of

A) extinction.
B) stimulus-response learning.
C) classical conditioning.
D) intermodal learning.
E) perceptual learning.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which of the following is true of learning?

A) Learning and memory are synonymous.
B) Memories are related to the electrical activity of the brain.
C) Learning involves the modification of the nervous system by experiences.
D) Experiences are stored in the brain in separate folders, like that of a file cabinet.
E) Learning is possible in the absence of memory.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The primary function of perceptual learning is to

A) identify and categorize objects.
B) make an association between two stimuli.
C) learn to adjust behavior according to its consequences.
D) exhibit a specific behavior in the presence of a specific stimulus.
E) train a sensory system to detect accurately the location of a stimulus.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

An instrumental response that produces a favorable consequence

A) will be immediately suppressed.
B) will occur more frequently.
C) will produce a species-typical response.
D) weakens adjacent circuits in the brain.
E) is said to involve the process of punishment.

Question 5

The________ states that a weak synapse will be strengthened if its activation occurs at the same time that the postsynaptic neuron fires.

A) perforant path hypothesis
B) law of effect
C) all-or-none principle
D) Hebb rule
E) law of summation

Question 6

Your ability to recall a series of events you have witnessed is referred to as

A) serial memory.
B) spatial learning.
C) perceptual learning.
D) episodic learning.
E) observational learning.

Question 7

Which of the following is true of learning and memory?

A) Learning can occur in the absence of memory.
B) Memories involve the filing of experiences in the brain.
C) The capacity to learn is of no functional use for an organism.
D) The capacity to learn allows an organism to profit from experience.
E) Experiences alter the electrical activity of the brain but not its physical structure.

Question 8

Stimulus-response learning involves the ability to

A) learn to adjust behavior according to its consequences.
B) make an association between two stimuli.
C) identify and categorize objects.
D) exhibit a specific behavior in the presence of a specific stimulus.
E) train a sensory system to detect accurately the location of a stimulus.

Question 9

Intense electrical stimulation of axons within the hippocampal formation results in

A) long-term potentiation of postsynaptic neurons.
B) axoaxonic inhibition of presynaptic neurons.
C) recurrent inhibition of the stimulated axons.
D) long-term potentiation of presynaptic neurons.
E) conditioned taste aversion.

Question 10

Relational learning involves changes in

A) connections between different regions of sensory association cortex.
B) a single sensory system.
C) connections between a sensory system and a motor system.
D) a motor system.
E) contingencies between a response and a subsequent stimulus.

Question 11

Your dog bites your best friend Mark each time Mark tries to pet her. Mark stops petting your dog. This is an example of

A) perceptual learning.
B) classical conditioning.
C) relational learning.
D) instrumental conditioning.
E) positive reinforcement.

Question 12

In classical conditioning, an organism

A) learns the consequences of a specific behavior.
B) identifies and categorizes objects.
C) shows a species-typical behavior in response to a previously unimportant stimulus.
D) is able to recognize objects by the sounds they make.
E) forms an association between a response and a stimulus.

Question 13

________ is an example of motor learning.

A) Spatial learning
B) Learning to swing a golf club
C) Episodic learning
D) Observational learning
E) Perceptual learning

Question 14

You are listening to a song on the radio while doing your homework. The phone rings. Your mother has called to tell you that your favorite uncle has died after being hit by a car. Three months later, you again hear the same song and suddenly feel very sad. In this example, the unconditional response is

A) the voice of your mother as she relays the bad news.
B) listening to the song.
C) your feeling about the song prior to the phone call.
D) your feeling about your uncle before he died.
E) feeling sad when your mother calls with the bad news.

Question 15

Your ability to recognize a series of tones, such as the opening notes of "The Star Spangled Banner," is an instance of ________ that likely involves the ________.

A) intermodal learning; corpus callosum
B) perceptual learning; auditory association cortex
C) stimulus-response learning; frontal cortex
D) perceptual learning; visual association cortex
E) musical learning; left hemisphere

Question 16

An example of relational learning is

A) recognizing a familiar stimulus.
B) salivating in response to a favorite food.
C) forming a mental map of a room based on your experience in the room.
D) practicing a golf swing repeatedly results in more accurate strokes.
E) failing to respond to a loud sound given repeatedly.

Question 17

The key function of instrumental conditioning is to allow the organism to

A) adjust behavior according to its consequences.
B) learn new species-typical behaviors.
C) recognize familiar objects.
D) acquire new physical skills.
E) understand the relationship between stimuli.

Question 18

Which of the following is true of motor learning?

A) Motor learning can occur in the absence of sensory feedback.
B) Motor learning involves changes in the motor pathways.
C) Motor learning is a component of perceptual learning.
D) Motor learning is a component of instrumental learning.
E) Motor learning involves temporary changes in motor performance.

Question 19

Which of the following was a spared memory ability for Patient H.M. after his brain damage?

A) recall of memories for events prior to 1953
B) recall of events that occurred after 1953
C) ability to learn new information
D) the capacity to form new memories
E) the capacity to transform short-term memories into long-term memories

Question 20

Classical conditioning is considered to be a form of

A) perceptual learning.
B) instrumental learning.
C) stimulus-response learning.
D) intra-modal learning.
E) relational learning.

Question 21

The primary input to the hippocampus is from the

A) granule cells of field CA2.
B) nucleus accumbens.
C) pyramidal cells of field CA1.
D) granule cells of the dentate gyrus.
E) entorhinal cortex.

Question 22

Associative long-term potentiation requires ________ occur about the same time as ________.

A) activation of a strong input to a given synapse to; a weak input is activated
B) that a single electrical pulse; a recording is made of the presynaptic axon
C) that a conditional stimulus; a reinforcing stimulus
D) that a reinforcing stimulus; a response
E) that a low-frequency train of electrical pulse; the postsynaptic neuron is hyperpolarized

Question 23

Receptors for ________ are involved in long-term potentiation.

A) serotonin
B) glutamate
C) acetylcholine
D) dopamine
E) GABA

Question 24

The NMDA receptor is unusual in that it is ________-dependent and ________- dependent.

A) Ca2+; Cl-
B) neurotransmitter; hormone
C) voltage; neurotransmitter
D) Na+; Mg2+
E) ligand; ion

Question 25

The perforant pathway

A) interconnects the CA1 and CA3 fields of the hippocampus.
B) interconnects the entorhinal cortex with the granule cells of the dentate gyrus.
C) is the major output of the hippocampus.
D) is another name for the fornix.
E) interconnects the granule cells of the dentate gyrus with the amygdala.

Question 26

Long-term potentiation is associated with the movement of ________ to the _______.

A) NMDA receptors; tip of dendritic spines
B) AMPA receptors; base of dendritic spines
C) AMPA receptors; tip of dendritic spines
D) NMDA receptors; base of dendritic spines
E) Kappa receptors; base of dendritic spines

Question 27

Long-term potentiation may involve the formation of ________ within the postsynaptic dendrite, which then acts on the presynaptic element to increase the release of ________.

A) nitric oxide; glutamate
B) nitrous oxide synthase; GABA
C) nitric oxide; aspartate
D) nitrous oxide synthase; glycine
E) new NMDA receptors; AMPA receptors

Question 28

An action potential that occurs in a dendritic branch after an action potential in a pyramidal cell is termed

A) the perforant potential.
B) the dendritic spike.
C) a population postsynaptic potential.
D) an axon potential.
E) a presynaptic potential.

Question 29

Which factor below normally prevents the calcium channel of the NMDA receptor from opening in response to only glutamate?

A) The channel is blocked by Mg2+ ions.
B) Glutamate requires the presence of glycine in order to open the channel.
C) The channel is blocked by sodium ions.
D) Glutamate requires the presence of GABA in order to open the channel.
E) Glutamate inhibits glycine activity.

Question 30

Long-lasting, long-term potentiation

A) does not depend on protein synthesis.
B) involves synaptic changes that occur over a four-minute after stimulation.
C) requires protein synthesis.
D) involves changes in protein synthesis in the presynaptic terminal.
E) is not dependent on stimulation of the presynaptic element.

Question 31

Inactivation of type II calcium calmodulin kinase would be expected to

A) facilitate the production of long-term potentiation.
B) promote the formation of new memories.
C) block the entry of calcium into the postsynaptic cell.
D) block the formation of long-term potentiation.
E) promote the creation of new NMDA receptors.

Question 32

In a typical long-term potentiation (LTP) study, a stimulating electrode is inserted into the perforant path, while a recording electrode is inserted into the dentate gyrus. LTP is produced in this preparation by delivering a(n) ________ via the stimulating electrode.

A) single high-intensity electrical pulse
B) single low-intensity electrical pulse
C) electrical pulse every minute for 2-3 hours
D) long-duration but low-intensity pulse
E) burst of 100 electrical pulses in a few seconds

Question 33

A key structural change that accompanies long-term potentiation is the

A) decreased size of dendritic spines.
B) projection of a spinule into the presynaptic element
C) formation of two segments of axon
D) formation of new synaptic contacts.
E) loss of synaptic contacts.

Question 34

The NMDA receptor controls ________ and is normally blocked by ________.

A) a chloride channel; sodium ions
B) a potassium channel; magnesium ions
C) the presynaptic membrane potential; GABA
D) a calcium channel; magnesium ions
E) the inputs to the hippocampus; presynaptic inhibition

Question 35

Persistence of long-term potentiation for more than an hour requires

A) formation of new axonal spines.
B) presynaptic inhibition of glutamate release.
C) increased protein synthesis within the postsynaptic dendrite.
D) insertion of GABA receptors into the postsynaptic membrane.
E) destruction of AMPA receptors in the postsynaptic membrane.

Question 36

The induction of long-term potentiation in the hippocampus would be blocked by

A) a drug such as AP5 that blocks NMDA receptors.
B) using high-frequency electrical pulses.
C) a drug that activates NMDA receptors.
D) injection into the postsynaptic cell of a drug that activates calcium ions.
E) infusion of glutamate into the hippocampus.

Question 37

The pyramidal cells of hippocampal field CA1 are unique in that

A) axon firing results in action potentials along the dendrites.
B) dendrite depolarization results in action potentials in the axon.
C) the dendritic spikes are always hyperpolarizations.
D) the threshold of activation of the pyramidal cell is quite low.
E) these cells do not conduct action potentials.

Question 38

The increase in synaptic strength that occurs in long-term potentiation is due to a modification of the cell that includes

A) more postsynaptic GABA contacts.
B) more postsynaptic AMPA receptors.
C) fewer synaptic connections.
D) more postsynaptic NMDA receptors.
E) fewer presynaptic GABA contacts.

Question 39

________ is a strong candidate to act as a retrograde messenger from the dendrite to the terminal button.

A) Norepinephrine
B) Nitric oxide
C) Nitrous oxide
D) Glutamate
E) NMDA

Question 40

Associative long-term potentiation reflects increased ________ produced by changes in ________.

A) calcium entry; NMDA receptors
B) chloride efflux; AMPA receptors
C) calcium entry; D2 receptors.
D) calcium efflux; D1 receptors
E) calcium immobilization; NMDA receptors

Question 41

In a conditioned emotional response (CER) study, a tone is paired with a foot shock for a rat. After several trials, the tone alone is a CS that can elicit fear emotional responses. Which of the following is true of the anatomy of this fear response?

A) The central nucleus of the amygdala integrates the pairing of tone and shock information.
B) Tone information is relayed directly to the central nucleus of the amygdala.
C) The lateral nucleus of the amygdala integrates the pairing of tone and shock information.
D) Damage to the lateral nucleus of the amygdala impairs perceptual learning, but not CER learning.
E) Damage to the central nucleus of the amygdala impairs perceptual learning, but not CER learning.

Question 42

The MT/MST region of the visual association cortex is key for the

A) perception of color.
B) perception of movement.
C) activation of visual memory.
D) recognition of object identity.
E) recall of emotional memories.

Question 43

Which of the following is true of long-term depression (LTD)?

A) LTD can be produced by high-frequency stimulation of CA1 neurons.
B) LTD reflects a gradual strengthening of synaptic connections.
C) LTD is associated with a decrease in the number of AMPA receptors in the postsynaptic neuron.
D) LTD is associated with an increase in the number of AMPA receptors in the postsynaptic neurons.
E) LTD is not an associative phenomenon.

Question 44

Which of the following is important for the acquisition of complex behaviors that become routine?

A) As a person becomes proficient in the behavior, the control of the process is transferred to the basal ganglia.
B) As a person becomes proficient in the behavior, the control of the process is transferred to the transcortical pathways.
C) The behavior must result in long-term depression in the basal ganglia.
D) The behavior must result in long-term depression in the motor cortex.
E) As a person becomes proficient in the new behavior, the transcortical circuits become more active.

Question 45

Memories for a stimulus or an event can be retained in ________, which lasts for ________.

A) the ventral stream; weeks
B) short-term memory; a few seconds
C) the dorsal stream; days
D) perceptual memory; milliseconds
E) long-term memory; days

Question 46

The neostriatum is composed of the

A) nucleus accumbens and the caudate nucleus.
B) caudate nucleus and the putamen.
C) lateral hypothalamus and the cingulum.
D) globus pallidus and the cingulum.
E) amygdala and hippocampus.

Question 47

Long-term potentiation (LTP) can be produced in areas CAWhich of the following is strong evidence that non-NMDA mechanisms can mediate LTP?

A) NMDA receptors are sparse in area CA3.
B) AMPA blocks the LTP produced in area CA1.
C) NMDA receptors are sparse in area CA1.
D) AP5 blocks the LTP produced in area CA3.
E) AMPA agonists block the LTP produced in area CA3.

Question 48

In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus

A) is termed the unconditional stimulus.
B) reliably produces a response.
C) becomes inactive over repeated presentations.
D) must always be presented after the unconditional stimulus.
E) is paired repeatedly with a stimulus that evokes a reflexive response.

Question 49

The ventral stream of visual association cortex continues into the ________ and carries information relating to ________.

A) inferior temporal cortex; object location
B) posterior parietal cortex; object location
C) posterior parietal cortex; object recognition
D) inferior temporal cortex; object recognition
E) primary visual cortex; object shape and color

Question 50

In a conditioned emotional response (CER) study, a tone is paired with a foot shock for a rat. After several trials, the tone alone is a CS that can elicit fear emotional responses. Which of the following is true of the physiology of this fear response?

A) Damage to the lateral nucleus of the amygdala impairs CER learning.
B) Tone-shock pairings rapidly decrease the electrical activity of the lateral nucleus of the amygdala.
C) Damage to the central nucleus of the prefrontal cortex impairs CER learning.
D) Inactivation of the ventral nucleus of the amygdala during CER training blocked the formation of the CER.
E) Damage to the amygdala facilitates emotional responding.

Question 51

A genetic manipulation of the lateral amygdala that inactivates PKM-zeta protein would be expected to

A) facilitate the acquisition of a conditioned emotional response.
B) induce long-lasting long-term potentiation.
C) block the recall of an already learned conditioned emotional response.
D) block the acquisition of a conditioned emotional response.
E) impair recall of episodic emotional memories.

Question 52

Instrumental conditioning involves strengthening connections between

A) the dorsal and ventral streams.
B) the lateral and central nuclei of the amygdala.
C) two stimuli.
D) a neutral stimulus and a stimulus that produces a reflexive response.
E) circuits that detect a stimulus and motor control circuits that produce a response.

Question 53

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can disrupt neural circuits in awake humans. The notion that short-term memory (STM) for a visual stimulus involves continued activation of the appropriate visual association cortex is supported by studies in which

A) TMS applied to the ventral stream disrupted STM for a visual location.
B) TMS can be used to elicit perceptual memories.
C) TMS applied to the ventral stream disrupted STM for a visual pattern.
D) global amnesia is noted after chronic TMS in depressed humans.
E) TMS of the motor cortex disrupts visual STM.

Question 54

The ________ plays a key role in short-term memory for all sensory systems.

A) superior temporal cortex
B) cingulate cortex
C) dorsal parietal cortex
D) prefrontal cortex
E) inferior temporal cortex

Question 55

The notion that learning a conditioned emotional response to a tone involves long-term potentiation is supported by studies in which

A) activation of NMDA receptors impairs CER learning.
B) electrical stimulation of neurons that project to the amygdala produces less overall neural firing in the amygdala.
C) CER learning is blocked when a drug prevents the insertion of AMPA receptors into dendritic spines.
D) cells of the amygdala do not show evidence of long-term potentiation.
E) few NMDA receptors are found in the amygdala.

Question 56

The flow of information into and from the basal ganglia is:

A) sensory signals -> primary motor cortex -> premotor cortex -> basal ganglia
B) sensory signals -> globus pallidus -> caudate nucleus/putamen -> primary motor cortex
C) sensory signals -> caudate nucleus/putamen -> globus pallidus -> frontal cortex/primary motor cortex
D) sensory signals -> lateral amygdala -> primary motor cortex
E) sensory signals -> central amygdala -> caudate nucleus/putamen -> primary motor cortex

Question 57

Damage to human visual association cortex would be expected to impair the ability to

A) sense changes in the color of objects.
B) detect movement.
C) differentiate between two tones.
D) recognize familiar objects.
E) detect changes in binocular depth cues.

Question 58

Simple perceptual learning involves

A) changes in the outputs of the motor system.
B) the recognition of particular stimuli or categories of stimuli.
C) learning how to respond to a particular stimulus.
D) the capacity to associate sensory and motor stimuli.
E) the ability to associate a new stimulus with an old reflex.

Question 59

The major finding of the study by Standing (1973), in which subjects were shown 10,000 slides and then tested for recognition at various times thereafter, was that

A) object recognition was rapidly forgotten within minutes.
B) subjects showed good recognition of the slides for 72 hours, after which recognition went to chance levels.
C) people were able to recognize most of the slides for a time interval of weeks.
D) subjects showed better recall when stressed just prior to the recognition test.
E) the results of this study call into question the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.

Question 60

Damage to the ________ would be expected to impair instrumental learning in rats.

A) amygdala
B) hypothalamus
C) frontal cortex
D) basal ganglia
E) accumbens

Question 61

Reinforcing effects of electrical brain stimulation and of drugs such as amphetamine reflect an action on ________ projections of the ________.

A) leptin; mesocortical pathway
B) norepinephrine; nigrostriatal pathway
C) dopamine; nigrostriatal pathway
D) dopamine; mesolimbic pathway
E) GABA; mesocortical pathway

Question 62

Patient H.M. was able to perform all of the following tasks quite well EXCEPT

A) mirror drawing.
B) recognizing broken drawings.
C) recalling childhood events that occurred prior to the age of 9 years.
D) consolidating information from short-term memory to long-term memory using rehearsal.
E) making a classically-conditioned eyeblink response.

Question 63

An example of a natural reinforcer is

A) cocaine.
B) amphetamine.
C) dopamine.
D) GABA.
E) food for a hungry rat.

Question 64

Patient H.M. developed ________ following bilateral damage to his ________.

A) confabulation; amygdala
B) anterograde amnesia; medial temporal lobe
C) retrograde amnesia; amygdala
D) Korsakoff's syndrome; amygdala
E) retrograde amnesia; medial temporal lobe

Question 65

Based on the study of Patient H.M., it has been concluded that the hippocampus is

A) where immediate memories are stored.
B) not required for retrieval of long-term memories.
C) where long-term memories are stored.
D) the location of short-term memory.
E) the area of the brain that causes severe retrograde amnesia when damaged.

Question 66

The ________ pathway connects the ventral tegmental area with the nucleus accumbens.

A) mesocortical
B) mesolimbic
C) nigrostriatal
D) corticofugal
E) spinothalamic

Question 67

An example of a task that measures perceptual learning would be

A) tracing a figure viewed via a mirror.
B) recognizing broken drawings.
C) recalling childhood events that occurred prior to the age of 9 years.
D) recognizing songs learned in childhood prior to brain damage.
E) making a classically-conditioned eyeblink response.

Question 68

People with anterograde amnesia

A) show impairment of perceptual memory.
B) show impairments in motor memory.
C) show impairment of complex relational learning.
D) are unable to recall childhood experiences.
E) show facilitated stimulus-response learning.

Question 69

People with retrograde amnesia cannot

A) remember stressful or traumatic events.
B) recall childhood experiences.
C) learn new information.
D) transform their short-term memories into long-term memories.
E) recall events that occurred prior to the brain injury.

Question 70

________ is the process by which immediate memories are transformed into long-term memories.

A) Synaptogenesis
B) Confabulation
C) Consolidation
D) Potentiation
E) Hebbian reverberation

Question 71

Studies by Schultz and colleagues suggest that release of dopamine within the nucleus accumbens

A) does not occur for an expected reinforcing stimulus (fruit juice).
B) is automatically produced during stimulus delivery.
C) is greatest for drugs of abuse.
D) is greatest for natural reinforcers.
E) can occur when a stimulus is aversive.

Question 72

The most profound symptom of Korsakoff's syndrome is

A) impaired intelligence.
B) severe anterograde amnesia.
C) combative behavior.
D) delirium tremens.
E) auditory and visual hallucinations.

Question 73

Imaging studies indicate that neural activity within the ________ is increased ________.

A) nucleus accumbens; by presenting stimuli associated with shock
B) striatum; by presenting stimuli associated with pain
C) striatum; by food for a satiated rat
D) nucleus accumbens; when heterosexual men view pictures of beautiful women
E) ACC; by stimuli that predict shock.

Question 74

Amnesia for events that occur after some disturbance to the brain is called

A) retrograde amnesia.
B) declarative amnesia.
C) Korsakoff's psychosis.
D) procedural amnesia.
E) anterograde amnesia.

Question 75

One striking aspect of H.M.'s memory deficit is that he

A) reversed word order in repeated sentences.
B) only remembered recent facts.
C) could learn some new tasks, but is unaware of having learned them.
D) indicated he remembered things he had never seen.
E) showed signs of confabulation.

Question 76

The behavior of an animal is strongly reinforced by electrical stimulation of the

A) medial forebrain bundle.
B) substantia nigra.
C) central nucleus of the amygdala.
D) premotor cortex.
E) caudate nucleus.

Question 77

Damage to the caudate nucleus/putamen in rats would be expected to

A) impair the acquisition of a stimulus-response relationship.
B) promote the formation of new motor memories.
C) impair episodic memory.
D) impair instrumental conditioning.
E) impair spatial memory.

Question 78

Which of the following is an outcome related to the discovery by Olds and Milner of "pleasure centers" in the brain?

A) Their discovery was mostly ignored by other scientists.
B) Drugs of abuse appear to act via the same circuits discovered by Olds and Milner.
C) Federal authorities routinely use pleasurable stimulation to control the behavior of unruly citizens.
D) Male rats were found to prefer copulation over electrical brain stimulation.
E) The rewarding effects of electrical stimulation waned within minutes, resulting in extinction of bar pressing for such stimulation.

Question 79

James Olds and Peter Milner reported that electrical stimulation of rat brain

A) could have reinforcing effects.
B) acted as an aversive stimulus.
C) altered arousal.
D) delayed memory processing.
E) can induce eating and drinking.

Question 80

Based on the study of Patient H.M., it has been concluded that

A) immediate memories are stored within the hippocampus.
B) the hippocampus is required for retrieval of long-term memories.
C) long-term memories are stored within the hippocampus.
D) the hippocampus converts immediate memories into long-term memories.
E) damage to the hippocampus results in severe retrograde amnesia.