Contents
Neurons and Nerves
Neurotransmitter
The Brain
Spinal Cord
Peripheral Nervous System
Autonomic Nervous System
Senses: Sight,
Senses, Smell,
Taste,
Senses,
Senses
Memory
Higher Functions
Altered States
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As shown in Figure 03a,
the ability to modify our behaviour in response to life's
experiences is shared by all animals including the bacteria
E. coli. Such feat requires the brain's willingness to
learn. Learning results in the formation of memories and in
humans this process reaches its most sophisticated form,
allowing us creatively to associate different reflections on
the past, to generate new ideas, and most importantly to
acquire language as a medium of expression and
communication. Memory requires the brain to be physically
altered by experience and it is this remarkable property
that makes thought, consciousness, and language possible.
The basic mechanism of memory formation is highly
conservative over |
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billion years of biological evolution. The
difference in humans is that we have a lot more of the
stuffs. There are about 100 trillion synaptic connections in
our brain.
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There are many ways to classify the memory.
The concept of explicit and implicit memory refers to
whether or not the recollection is produced consciously and
intentionally. While the scheme of declarative and
nondeclarative memory depend on the retrieval that can be
declared verbally or not. Associative memory is triggered by
clues; nonassociative memory can be habitual or sensitive.
There are also short term and long term memory. One of the
classification schemes is shown in Figure 24a. Table 06 is
an attempt to put them all together. In the table, the
declarative, and the procedural memory are explicit with the
rest of nondeclarative memories being implicit. Only the
working memory belongs to the category of short term memory
fading away in hours, while the others are long term, and
available for retrieval in years. Figure 24b shows the
components,
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locations, and pathways for many types of
memory.
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| Type |
Location(s) |
Function |
Example(s) |
| Working Memory |
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| Phonological Loop |
Left hemisphere |
Rehearsing verbal information to keep it in the
short-term memory |
String of numerals and alphabets such as telephone
numbers |
| Visual-spatial Scratch Pad |
Visual Cortex |
Controlling visual imagery |
Scanning text |
| Central Executive |
Frontal lobe |
Controlling awareness of the information in working
memory |
Constructing sentence, comprehending
speech |
| Non-declarative Memory |
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| Procedural Memory |
Cerebellum, temporal lobes |
Managing "how to" |
Riding a bicycle,
kungfu
exercise |
| Classical Conditioning |
Cerebellum |
Forming habitual behaviour |
Coffee break,
afternoon
tea |
| Fear Memory |
Amygdala |
Emotional conditioning |
Phobias, flashbacks |
| Nonassociative Memory |
Spinal cord |
Habituation and Sensitization |
Decreased or increased responsiveness to stimulus |
| Remote Memory (Priming) |
Scattered around the cortex |
Foundation for new memories |
Childhood memory |
| Declarative Memory |
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| Episodic Memory |
Cortex |
Remembering past experience |
Some enchanted evening |
| Semantic Memory |
Frontal lobe, temporal lobe |
Registering facts |
Meanings of words and
symbols |
Table 06 Types of Memory
Go to the nervous system
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