Deck 13: Learning and Memory

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Receptors for ________ are involved in long-term potentiation.

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

Answer 2

B

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

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 5

Compared to operant conditioning, classical conditioning

A) involves brand new behaviors that have been learned.
B) involves an association between a stimulus and response.
C) involves an association between two stimuli.
D) was discovered later than operant conditioning.
E) involves operating on the environment.

Question 6

________ 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 7

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 8

The nurse says "This won't hurt a bit!" before jabbing Joey with a needle for his vaccinations. Now, whenever someone says "This won't hurt a bit!" Joey cringes in fear. The initial jab with the needle would be the

A) unconditioned response.
B) unconditioned stimulus.
C) conditioned response.
D) conditioned stimulus.
E) neutral stimulus.

Question 9

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.

Question 10

Echoic memory, the ability to "hear" what was just said for a second after it was actually said, is part of

A) iconic memory.
B) sensory memory.
C) short-term memory.
D) long-term memory.
E) semantic memory.

Question 11

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 12

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.

Question 13

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 14

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 15

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 16

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 17

New drivers learn to stop at red lights. This form of learning is ___________ learning.

A) stimulus-response
B) motor
C) perceptual
D) relational
E) conditioned

Question 18

Jules experiences a stroke that affects his ability to remember his family and friends. However, he still remembers how to play the piano although he has no memory of ever learning how to play. It appears that Jules' ___________ memory is still intact.

A) serial
B) declarative
C) episodic
D) semantic
E) implicit

Question 19

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 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

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 22

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 23

The __________________ controls the behaviors of walking, writing, and dancing. This area is also organized such that areas of the body that require greater innervation are more represented cortically.

A) primary motor cortex
B) primary visual cortex
C) primary somatosensory cortex
D) cerebellum
E) orbitofrontal cortex

Question 24

You have been driving a manual transmission vehicle for 5 years and no longer need to think about what you are doing in order to drive. Which pathway is involved?

A) retinogeniculostriatal pathway
B) transcortical pathway
C) spinothalamic pathway
D) basal ganglia pathway
E) spinoreticular pathway

Question 25

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 26

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 27

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

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

Question 28

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 29

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 30

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 31

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 32

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 33

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 34

An example of a natural reinforcer is

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

Question 35

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 36

When an individual ________________ to receive reinforcement, such as money, neurons in the VTA are _____________.

A) expects; inactive
B) expects; active
C) does not expect; inactive
D) does not expect; active
E) does not expect; depressed

Question 37

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 38

A rat learns to press a lever when it receives a reinforcing item, such as a food pellet, upon each press. To learn the connection between the lever press and the receipt of the food pellet, the neurotransmitter ___________ is involved.

A) serotonin
B) norepinephrine
C) dopamine
D) acetylcholine
E) epinephrine

Question 39

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 40

When first learning how to drive a manual transmission vehicle, you are likely to use which pathway?

A) retinogeniculostriatal pathway
B) transcortical pathway
C) spinothalamic pathway
D) basal ganglia pathway
E) spinoreticular pathway

Question 41

When looking at an automobile, the ability to label it as a car is the responsibility of the __________ stream, which is made up of the inferior temporal cortex.

A) dorsal
B) ventral
C) rostral
D) caudal
E) anterior

Question 42

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 43

In a delayed matching-to-sample task, participants were shown a face and then were asked to identify which face had been seen previously. In this case, the _______________ was activated in order to choose the correct face.

A) parahippocampal place area
B) fusiform face area
C) inferior temporal cortex
D) posterior parietal cortex
E) anterior cingulate cortex

Question 44

The ________________ deficits in Parkinson's disease result in impairment of learning a visually cued operant conditioning task.

A) substantia nigra
B) globus pallidus
C) basal ganglia
D) hypothalamus
E) cerebellum

Question 45

You have been playing the piano since you were five years old. When asked to play a relatively easy piece, like Chopsticks, you do so with very little effort. During this performance, your _____________ is active.

A) supplementary motor area
B) premotor cortex
C) ventral premotor cortex
D) dorsal premotor cortex
E) orbitofrontal cortex

Question 46

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 47

Activation of the fusiform face area is involved in

A) learning a new person's face and then recognizing it later when you see her again.
B) recognizing a friend's face and remembering that she is still in the room when not directly in the visual field.
C) recognizing a friend's face.
D) recognizing a friend's face and recognizing it later.
E) learning a new person's face, recognizing it later, and remembering that she is still in the room when not directly in the visual field.

Question 48

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 49

Video gamers often find that they are able to beat difficult stages that require accurate timing of button pushes after taking a break from the game. This phenomenon supports the fact that

A) motor learning is instantaneous.
B) memory of motor behavior is formed during the first three motoric attempts.
C) memory of motor behavior is improved through consolidation.
D) REM and slow wave sleep are not associated with enhanced motor learning.
E) memory of motor behavior is formed during the first seven motoric attempts.

Question 50

Peter was in a car accident and suffered from damage to his posterior parietal cortex. In numerous trials, he is able to identify objects but it unable to locate them in space. Peter probably suffered damage to his _________ stream of perceptual learning.

A) dorsal
B) ventral
C) rostral
D) caudal
E) anterior

Question 51

When looking at pictures of her daughter playing soccer, Martha's ___________ is active, indicating that Martha has memory of the motions that went along with the photographs.

A) fusiform gyrus
B) MT/MST
C) posterior parietal cortex
D) inferior temporal cortex
E) anterior cingulate cortex

Question 52

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 53

Stroke patients with damage to the _____________ had difficulty filtering out irrelevant information, and patients with damage to the _______________ had difficulty retaining more than a few pieces of information in short-term memory.

A) left basal ganglia; right prefrontal cortex
B) right basal ganglia; right prefrontal cortex
C) left basal ganglia; left prefrontal cortex
D) right basal ganglia; left prefrontal cortex
E) right basal ganglia; anterior cingulate cortex

Question 54

In a delayed matching-to-sample task, participants were shown an image of a famous landmark and were then asked to choose from various landmarks which one had been seen previously. In this case, the _______________ was activated in order to choose the correct landmark.

A) parahippocampal place area
B) fusiform face area
C) inferior temporal cortex
D) posterior parietal cortex
E) anterior cingulate cortex

Question 55

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 56

The _____________ of the neocortex appears to be where semantic memories are stored.

A) anterolateral temporal lobe
B) posterolateral temporal lobe
C) ventromedial temporal lobe
D) hippocampus
E) thalamus

Question 57

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 58

The notion that episodic memories are distinct from semantic memories is supported by studies in which

A) damage to the amygdala impairs semantic but not episodic memory.
B) anoxia facilitates episodic memory but not semantic memory.
C) anoxia facilitates semantic memory but not episodic memory.
D) persons with semantic dementia show loss of the lateral temporal lobe but not the hippocampal formation.
E) hippocampal subjects had poor vocabulary skills but good recall of their daily conversations.

Question 59

A person with semantic dementia would be expected to show

A) damage of the medial parietal lobe.
B) a difficulty in recalling episodic information.
C) damage of the hippocampus.
D) a difficulty in recalling factual information.
E) deficits in episodic emotional memory.

Question 60

Which is an example of perceptual learning?

A) realizing that your friend colored her hair blue
B) remembering how to play the piano
C) knowing how to calculate a math problem in your head
D) understanding your relationship to your parents
E) recalling the lyrics to your favorite song

Question 61

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 62

In which of the following would you expect to observe an enlarged hippocampal formation?

A) a London cabby who has 30 years of experience
B) a pigeon that wanders from roost to roost
C) a bird that only eats from your backyard feeder
D) a person who has just started training as a London cabby
E) a chickadee tested in the early summer

Question 63

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 64

During a PET scan, a London cabby is asked to describe the route she would take a fare from the West End theater district to Harrod's department store. Her description would be associated with

A) reduced activity of the left hippocampal formation.
B) increased activity of the right hippocampal formation.
C) reduced activity of the right hippocampal formation.
D) increased activity of the left hippocampal formation.
E) an increase in the activity of the amygdala, but not the hippocampus.

Question 65

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 66

The Morris water maze can be viewed as a test of ________ when the rats are _______.

A) semantic learning; released from the same point in the maze on each trial
B) relational learning; released from the same point in the maze on each trial
C) relational learning; released from a different point of the maze on each trial
D) nonrelational learning; released from a different point of the maze on each trial
E) perceptual memory; placed directly onto the platform

Question 67

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 68

Damage to the ________ disrupts ________ in pigeons.

A) amygdala; stimulus-response learning
B) hippocampus; implicit memory
C) amygdala; explicit memory
D) hippocampus; spatial navigation
E) frontal cortex; spatial navigation

Question 69

Patient R.B., who sustained brain damage while in cardiac arrest, exhibited profound anterograde amnesia. Which region of his brain was injured?

A) field CA1 of the hippocampal formation
B) the perirhinal cortex
C) the parahippocampal cortex
D) the amygdala
E) the central nucleus of the amygdala

Question 70

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 71

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 72

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 73

________ 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 74

Which of the following is an explanation of hippocampal damage produced by anoxia?

A) Anoxia reduces the release of glutamate.
B) Glycine terminals are found in the hippocampus.
C) Field CA3 of the hippocampus is rich in NMDA receptors.
D) Activation of NMDA receptors produces an accumulation of calcium ions, which is toxic to the neuron.
E) Anoxia releases glycine, a toxic neurotransmitter.

Question 75

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.

Question 76

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 77

Neurogenesis is stimulated within the ______ for tasks that involve relational learning.

A) amygdala
B) medial forebrain bundle
C) hypothalamus
D) nucleus accumbens
E) hippocampus

Question 78

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 79

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 80

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