Theoretically, is working memory similar to and different from long term memory?
Working memory is different from long term memory because each has a distinct memory system localized in different brain locations. While the neural activities required to maintain working memory are the prerequisite for forming long term memory, long term memory formation occurs through different pathways. Long term memory also describes the ability to store large volumes of data permanently, whereas working memory describes the use of the data for manipulation (Jeneson & Squire, 2012). While the working memory works closely with long term memory, long term memory functions independently from working memory.
How are memories formed in the brain (using neural circuitry), and how are they maintained?
Memory is formed through synaptic plasticity that involves persistent changes in the strength of neuron connections. Formation entails the activation of neurons through spikes. Memory is maintained through frequent activation of synapses through regular spikes (Takeuchi, Duszkiewicz, & Morris, 2014). Active connections become stable and are maintained while inactive synapses become weak and disappear.
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When is it adaptive to remember, and in what ways may it be adaptive to forget?
It is adaptive to remember specific experiences that help us to live our daily lives. We may need to remember things such as our names, anniversaries, our friends, time to go to work, people with our debts, our siblings, and the location of our homes. It is, nevertheless, adaptive to forget painful experiences that hinder us from living comfortably. We may need to forget experiences such as loss of loved ones and traumatic experiences such as rape (Paterson, 2018).
Given what we know about brain mechanisms in memory, are our memories accurate? Explain your answer using the information on how memories are stored in the brain.
Our memories are accurate because the synapses that form and maintain them involve the interaction between neurons that act on the information they receive from different senses (Takeuchi, Duszkiewicz, & Morris, 2014). Feeding the neurons with inaccurate or distorted data, nevertheless, may lead to a distorted memory. The memory is accurate to the extent that the neurons receive correct data.
How can knowledge of the brain and memory systems be used to help people suffering from memory problems such as PTSD, amnesia, poor memory?
Since most memory disorders or problems emerge due to dysfunctional memories, the knowledge of the brain and memory systems can be used in the treatment of memory disorders. For example, memory reconsolidation through learning to create new memories is an effective way of dealing with memory issues (Alberini & LeDoux, 2013). Traumatic memories can also be disrupted through approaches such as exposure therapy that places those memories in unstable conditions, which compels them to reconsolidate (Alberini & LeDoux, 2013).
Compare the role age and environment play in how memories are formed and maintained.
Age and the environment significantly influence memory formation and maintenance. For instance, memory formation and maintenance become weak with age. Environmental factors such as interaction with other people, education or learning of new things, and engagement in physically, mentally, and socially stimulating activities, however, helps people of all ages to form and maintain memories (Nyberg et al., 2012).
References
Alberini, C. M., & LeDoux, J. E. (2013). Memory reconsolidation. Current Biology , 23 (17), R746-R750.
Nyberg, L., Lövdén, M., Riklund, K., Lindenberger, U., & Bäckman, L. (2012). Memory aging and brain maintenance. Trends in cognitive sciences , 16 (5), 292-305.
Paterson, A. (2018). Adventures in Memory: The Science and Secrets of Remembering and Forgetting. World Literature Today , 92 (6), 90-90.
Takeuchi, T., Duszkiewicz, A. J., & Morris, R. G. (2014). The synaptic plasticity and memory hypothesis: encoding, storage and persistence. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences , 369 (1633), 20130288.
Jeneson, A., & Squire, L. R. (2012). Working memory, long-term memory, and medial temporal lobe function. Learning & memory , 19 (1), 15-25.
