MEMORY AND

LEARNING

BIG ROCK MEANS BIG POTENTIAL....

REDUCING OF EXTRA MATERIAL CREATES

MASTERPIECE....

August Rodin THINKER

INTELLIGENCE AND IQ

Einstein died in 1955.

In the left hemisphere, in area 39there were more glial cells for everyneuron in his brain.

The team of investigators concludedthat the greater number of glial cellsper neuron might indicate the neuronsin Einstein’s brain had an increased"metabolic need" – they needed andused more energy. In this way,perhaps Einstein had better thinkingabilities and conceptual skills.

Further research using modern brainimaging techniques (MRI, PET) that look at the anatomy and function of the brain in living geniuses may reveal what makes these people such giants.

ALBERT EINSTEIN – NOBEL PRIZE WINNER

WHAT MAKES THE BRAIN OF A GENIUS DIFFERENT ?

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

2-5% of children are truly gifted. They:

1. Are precocious in reading and writing

2. Find intuitive solutions without defining

logical linear steps

3. Have incredible interest in an area they focus

on and may lose sense of the outside world

Neurophysiological studies of giftedness

Revealed that gifted brain has:1) more numerous, more complex and more active

neural connections

2) superior alpha wave power, superior frontal activity, larger unfolded areas in parietal lobes (mathematically precocious)

3) enhanced right-hemisphere involvement during information processing (mathematically gifted)

BUT

We must not reduce human intelligence to scientific measurements of the brain !

DEVELOPMENT

OF

HUMAN BRAIN

Coincidence of

GENES and

ENVORONMENTAL FACTORS

GENIUS IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE AN

ATYPICAL ORGANIZATION OF

NERVOUS SYSTEM

1) Intrahemispheral synaptic

connectivity

2) Interhemispheric connectivity

Atypical cerebral dominance

development of right hemisphere

Under the influence of sex hormones

TESTOSTERONE

a) Speech organization -atypical

b) Music and spatial abilities

c) Allergies

d) Handedness

3) More efficient brain functioning

DEVELOPMENT

OF

HUMAN BRAIN

NATURE VERSUS NURTURE

GENES EXERT THEIR EFFECT ON IQ INDIRECTLY THROUGH ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT IS THE FAMILY, THE SCHOOL...

EfFECT OF EDUCATION IS DISPLAYED MORE IN VERBAL THAN IN NONVERBAL INTELLIGENCE (Stelzl a spol., 1995., Cahan a Cohen, 1989).

WE HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ACTIVE ROLE OF CHILDREN IN THE SELECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE (Scarr, 1992)

THE INFLUENCE OF AGE AND EDUCATION ON SCORE INCREASE IN VERBAL AND NONVERBAL IQ TESTS

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4-6 rokov 6-12 rokov 12-16 rokov 16-20 rokov stredný vek starší vek

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NATURE VERSUS NURTUREINFLUENCE OF HEREDITY ON IQ

DURING LIFE-SPAN

Brody, 1992; Lynn, 1996; Bouchard, 1997; Jensen, 1997

THERE IS NO SINGLE GENEFOR BECOMING A GENIUS

MULTIPLE GENES ARE INVOLVED

Amount of gray matter in the frontal parts of the brain is determined by genetic make-up and strongly correlates with that individual´s cognitive ability as measured by intelligence test scoresData proved heritability of verbal and spatial intelligence, personality qualities, emotional reactions....

Grey matter amount in frontal brain regions is strongly inherrited and predicts individual´s IQ scores

(Paul Thompson, Nature Neuroscience, 2001)

MRI of 20 identical twins and 20 same sex fraternal twins

...“Single „intelligence center“ such as the frontal lobe, is unlikely...“ dr. Richard Heier, 2004

Researchers used voxel-based* morphometry in 47 normal adults to determine gray matter volume throughout the brain which they correlated to IQ scores

The study is the first to demonstrate that

1) gray matter in specific regions in the brain is more related to IQ than overall size

2) only about 6% of all gray matter in the brain appears to be related to IQ

3) the distribution of gray matter in humans is highly herritable

(Heier et al., 2004)*Short for volume pixel, the smallest distinguishable box-shaped part of a

three-dimensional image.

Researchers used voxel-based morphometry in normal adults to determine gray matter volume throughout the brain and white matter volume throughout the brain which they correlated to IQ scores

Comparison between men and women (Heier et al., 2004)

HOW DO WE LEARN ?

LEARNING – the aquisition of new information or knowledge

MEMORY– the retention of learned information

IMPRINTING

PROCEDURAL LEARNING – „HOW“ (cerebellum,

hippocampus, neocortex) -FOR SKILLS OR BEHAVIOUR

-MORE LIKE A HABBIT

-REQUIRE REPETITION AND PRACTICE OVER A LONG TIME

-LESS LIKELY TO BE FORGOTTEN

DECLARATIVE LEARNING – „WHAT“ (association areas, temporal lobes,

hippocampus, diencephalon)FOR FACTS AND EVENTS (SEMANTIC, EPISODIC)

CAN BE ACCESSED FOR CONSCIOUS RECOLLECTION

EASY TO FORM MEMORY TRACES

EASY TO BE FORGOTTEN

FROM BEHAVIORAL POINT OF VIEW:

Explicit memory – deliberate recall of information that one recognizes as a memory

(HIPPOCAMPUS).

Implicit memory – the influence of recent experience on behavior without realizing one is

using memory (AMYGDALA, CEREBELLUM).

EFFECTIVE MEMORY

DEPENDS ON• Degree of vigilance, alertness, attentiveness, and

concentration

• Interest, strength of motivation, and need or

necessity

• Affective values associated with the material to be

memorized, and the individual’s mood and

intensity of emotion

• Location, light, sounds, smell...in short, the entire

context in which the memorizing takes place is

recorded along with the information being

memorizes.

DECLARATIVE MEMORY -

FROM TIME PERSPECTIVE

Memory loss – amnesia

Retrograde

For memories before the accident

Anterograde

For memories after accident

sensory

forgetting

Long term

Short term

recalling

working

consolidation

reproduction

encoding

Information input

intermediate

SEARCHING FOR

ANATOMIC STRUCTURES

AND MOLECULAR BASIS

OF MEMORY

ANATOMIC SUBSTRATE

FOR MEMORYMEDIAL TEMPORAL LOBES

HIPPOCAMPUS A PARAHIPPOCAMPAL STRUCTURES,

RHINAL, PARARHINAL AND ENTHORINAL CORTEX

First proof, that these structures

are key structures for declarative

memory traces (patient H.M., 1953)

1. The hippocampus is critical for declarative

(especially episodic) memory functioning.

2. The hippocampus is especially important

for spatial memory.

3. The hippocampus is especially important

for configural learning and binding.

The legendary amnesiac HM -- Henry Molaison

died December 5, 2008 at 82 years of age.

APLYSIA CALIFORNICA –

HAS ONLY 20 000 NEURONS

MEMORY AND LEARNING ARE

VERY EASY TO STUDY

PROCEDURAL LEARNING IN ANIMAL STUDIES - LEARNED MOTOR

RESPONSE TO SENSORY STIMULI

1. NONASSOCIATIVE LEARNING - Studied in Aplysia

A.HABITUATION – learning to ignore the stimulus that lacks meaning

repeated electric stimulation of neuron leads to progressive decrease of EPSP

Is caused by presynaptic modification – less mediator released by

every consequent AP because of less effective Ca channels

B. SENSITIZATION - Learning to intensify the response to important

stimulation

Sensitization caused by electric shock:

1) Modifies release of neurotransmitter

from presynaptic neuron

2) Decreses the conductance for K ions

Causes prolongation of action potential

B. SENSITIZATIONLearning to intensify the response to important

stimulation

SENSITIZATIONLearning to intensify the response to

important stimulation

Occurs in hippocampus with

longlasting excitation of

hippocampal neurons

Then the synapses are formed to let

the information reach the

association areas of brain cortex.

There the information splits

into sensory modalities association

areas

2. ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING

Is based on association between events

A)CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

(PAVLOV)

Involves associating stimulus that evokes a measurable response

with a second stimulus that normally does not evoke this response

The first type of stimulus – unconditioned

The second tzpe of stimulus – conditioned

B) INSTRUMENTAL (OPERANT) LEARNING

(SKINNER, THORNDIKE)

Discovered by Edward Thorndike (Columbia University)

Involves association of a response (motor act) with a meaningful

Stimulus (tzpically a reward;such as food)

According to classical conditioning, learning occurs when a new stimulus begins to elicit

behavior similar to the behavior produced by an old stimulus.

Pavlov trained dogs to salivate in response to noise (light, sour solution). The dogs' salivation

is automatically elicited by the food, so these were called the unconditional stimulus. However,

when the noise or light (conditional stimulus) was repeatedly paired with the food over an

extended period of time, the dogs would eventually salivate at the noise or light alone. This is

a prime example of a conditioned response.

Unconditional stimuli allow the learning to occur, while also serving to reinforce the learning.

Without an unconditional stimulus in his experiment, Pavlov could not have taught the dogs to

salivate at the presence of the noise or light.

ASSOCIATIVE

LEARNING

CLASSICAL

CONDITIONING

I.P.Pavlov – Russian physiologist

– Nobel Prize winner In 1903

ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING

Salivation –

unconditioned

reflex – feeding

reflex

Orienting –

unconditioned

Reflex as a reaction

to ringing

conditioning =

pairing

Pairing – the dog

has learned

that after the sound

meal

aqppears

ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING

INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING Association of meaningful stimulus (reward, food) with motor response (pressing the lever),

Association of meaningful stimulus (elektric shock) with motor response (pressing the lever)

- The animal learns, which action leads to desirable response – and uses it

SKINNER BOX

Professor B.F.Skinner

Operant conditioning

There are four main types of operant learning:

• Positive Reinforcement: The more often the subject performs the action, the more the stimulus is reinforced (for example, pressing a lever for food)

• Negative Reinforcement: Performing an action removes an undesirable stimulus (for example, studying for an exam removes anxiety)

• Punishment: Performing an action elicits an undesirable stimulus (for example, receiving a shock by pressing a lever)

• Omission Training: Performing an action prevents the delivery of a pleasant stimulus (for example, disciplining a child by sending him to his room)

Molecular basis for classical conditioning (Aplysia model)

a) Unconditioned stimulus leads to activation of motoneuron and to sensitization of sensory input b) Pairing of unconditioned with conditioned stimuli causes greater activation of AC and Ca admission to presynaptic terminal, which leads to increased response of AC to G-protein

Long term potentiation (LTP) and

depression (LTD) in CA1 area of hippocampus

1) Glutamate release to synaptic cleft2) Depolariztion of postsynaptic membrane3) Entering of Ca ions and activation of proteinkinase4) Phosphorylation of synaptic proteinu (K channels) causes LTP (high concentrations of Ca ions)Synaptic protein in not phosphorylated, caused by LTD (low Ca ions concentration) Proteinkinase acts as retrograde messenger and causes increased release of presynaptic neurotransmiter

PROTEIN KINASE REGULATION

PROTEIN PHOSPHORYLATION IS NOT LONG LASTING (lifespan of proteins is approximately 2 weeks)

Memory is connected with „on” state of kinases

a) Catalytic region is covered by regulatory region

b) Second messenger activates kinase – freeing of catalytic region to phosphorylate other proteins

c) For the independence of kinase from second messenger large lelevation of Ca can aczivate the protease CALPAIN, which braks the hinge of the proteinkinase and enables to staz on permanently

By modification of synaptic protein the structural change on synapse occurs that leads to memorz traces

KEY STRUCTURE FOR ASSOCIATIVE

LEARNING

• Modern day research by Richard F. Thompson and colleagues has suggested that the engram for classical conditioning is located in the cerebellum, not the cortex.

• During conditioning, changes occur in cells of one nucleus of the cerebellum called the lateral interpositus nucleus (LIP).

However, a change in a brain area

does not necessarily mean that

learning necessarily took place in that area.

LONG TERM MEMORY

– STRUCTURAL

CHANGES OF

SYNAPSES IN

ASSOCIATION AREAS

ENGRAM – PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION

OF A MEMORY

Lashley (1920-ties) severity of memory deficits

Correlated with the siye of lesion not with location of

Lesions = distribution of memory among meny neurons

Hebb (1940-ties)

Engram is distributed among the cell assembly

Engram involves the same neurons that aree involved

in sensation and perception

Memory is based on long term potentiation

• PRINCIPLES of NEURAL STORAGE:

SPECIFICITY – only synapses onto a cell that have

been highly active become strengthened.

COOPERATIVITY– simultaneous stimulation by two

or more axons produces LTP much more strongly

than does repeated stimulation by a single axon.

ASSOCIATIVITY – pairing a weak input with a strong

input enhances later responses to a weak input.

The key structure for working memory are frontal lobes– keep my attention to be focused on the partiocular activity - Important for retrieval of the particular memory- Inhibitory fibers makes the subcortical areas „more silent“ – emotional behavior does not interfere.

WORKING MEMORY

WORKING

MEMORY

frontal lobes

Three major components of

working memory include:• Phonological loop – Stores

auditory input

• Visuospatial sketchpad – Stores

visual input.

• Central Executive – Directs

attention and determines which

items to store.

http://mynextbrain.com/blog/?p=1758

INCREASED Ca RELEASE

INTERNEURONAL MODULATION

MODIFICATION OF POSTSYNAPTIC

MEMBRANE

ENLARGEMENT OF CONTACT AREA

SPROUTING- FORMATION OF NEW

CONNECTIONS

ELIMINATION OF UNUSED

CONNECTIONS

MEMORY FORMATION

• Arvid Carlsson,born 1923, works at the Department of Pharmacology,Göteborg University, Gothenburg, Sweden.

• Paul Greengard,born 1925, works at the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Rockefeller University, New York.

• Eric Kandel,born 1929, works at the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior,Columbia University, New York.

NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS FOR INVENTIONS

RELATED TO MEMORY AND LEARNING

SEARCHING FOR

EMPATHY RELATED TO

MEMORY AND LEARNING

EMPHATIZING – IS ABOUT SPONTANEUOUSLY AND NATURALLY

TUNING INTO THE OTHER PERSON´S THOUGHT AND FEELINGS, WHATEVER THESE MIGHT BE(constantly scanning people's faces to see what they might be thinking)

FEMA LES EMPHATIZE TO A GREATER DEGREE

THAN DO MALES ON STATISTICAL AVERAGE

SYSTEMIZING – IS THE DRIVE TO ANALYZE TO EXPLORE AND

CONSTRUCT A SYSTEM. THIS IS DONE IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND AND PREDICT THE SYSTEM, OR TO INVENT A NEW ONE

(sorting things or people into categories including ranking

in social hierarchy)

MALES SYSTEMIZE TO A GREATER DEGREE

THAN DO FEMALES ON STATISTICAL AVERAGE

(Baron-Cohen, 2005)

PSYCHOLOGICAL SEX

DIFFERENCES

E Q vs . T S T

R= -0,323p= 0,05

20

25

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50

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60

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TS T [nmol/l]

EQ

[1

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S Q vs . T S T

R= 0,322p= 0,05

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TS T [nmol/l]

SQ

[1

]

Folk psychology scores in prepubertal

boys with Asperger syndrome and

peer controls (p=0.010).

a) contemplative b) happy

c) friendly d) angry

Folk psychology scores in pubertal

boys with Asperger syndrome and

peer controls (p<0.001).

HUMAN „SOCIAL BRAIN“ (Pelphrey a Carter, 2008)

1. Gyrus fusiformis - FUSIFORM AREA – recognition of

faces - rozoznávanie ľudských tvárí

2. gyrus temporalis superior a medius a gyrus angularis

– interpretation of activity and intentions of others

showing up your own emotions

3. amygdala and frontal limbic area – determination of

emotional states of other people

4. Asociation visual areas – perception of human body

5. lobus parietalis superior and inferior a gyrus frontalis

inferior –

6. Area including gyrus frontalis inferior up to gyri

orbitales – orbitofrontal cortex – reward and

punishment

7. Medial parts of prefrontal cortex – deduction of

intentions and mental states of other people.

MIRROR NEURONS

MIRROR NEURONS SYSTEMIacoboni M, Dapretto M.Nat Rev Neurosci. 2006,7(12):942-51.)

THE BASIS FOR IMITATION AND EMPATHY

SOCIAL BRAIN which consists of the superior temporal sulcus (1), insula (2), medial prefrontal cortex (3), posterior cingulate (4), amygdala (5), and lateral fusiform gyrus (6), each of which is associated with specific social cognitive functions (e.g., the insula and amygdala are associated with "affective processing"). Mirror neurons are cells, first discovered in monkeys, that fire both when performing a movement and when observing a similar movement performed by another individual. There is now a fair amount of evidence that humans, like monkeys, have a mirror system.

Mirror Neurons, Animacy and Gesture

MIRROR NEURONS SYSTEM

Operant conditioning is the process of shaping behavior by means of reinforcement and

punishment.

The above illustration shows how a mouse can learn to maneuver through a maze. The

mouse is rewarded with food when it reaches the first turn in the maze (A). Once the first

behavior becomes ingrained, the mouse is not rewarded until it makes the second turn (B).

After many times through the maze, the mouse must reach the end of the maze to receive

its reward (C).

ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING - OPERANT CONDITIONING