Learning and Memory - Essay Example

Learning and Memory Learning and Memory Introduction The learning and memory are very fascinating. They are virtually used in many varied fashions in the wide variety of the places. Though the professionals have carefully studied them, they are also well known and used by most people on the daily basis. Fortunately, I am one of those common people, a student that is commonly learning and then making use of most of my memory. Since I enrolled in school, I have come to the realization that I do encounter different situations in my life that exemplify the concepts of learning and memory that have learned. Learning is the process that modifies the subsequent behavior while the memory is the ability to be able to remember the past experiences. Memory is the essential part of all the learning because it enables one to store and retrieve all the information that she or he has learned. The positive reinforcement, serial recall, and learned helplessness are some of the learning and memory models that I have put into action in my life. Firstly, I had a special interest in the concept and the various factors that make up the positive reinforcement. In my premise, I could do some experimental work on the three children that I used to babysit especially during the week after coming from school. After the three children have left school full of the energy, I could put them to complete a series of the tasks before evening. I had the expectation that through the positive reinforcement it could help them to handle their responsibilities promptly. In order to achieve this, I first came up with the specific instrumental response to effectively produce the reinforcement. Next I spoke to each of the three children and asked them what they would choose as an after school activity. The children named the television, video games and playing with the other neighborhood children. I then explained to the children that if they behaved well and finished their homework earlier, then they can spend an hour doing the activities of their choice. However, I was very clear that if they didn’t complete their homework, they couldn’t get any playtime-there be no any positive reinforcement if the instrumental response is not there. Afterward, there was positive reinforcement because the children completed their homework more quickly and with little whining. In the article by Okano, Hirano, and Balaban (2010), “Learning and Memory”, the authors argue that memory is the most fundamental component of the mental process. The neuroscientists study the mental process by the use of the extremely diverse strategies. The article discusses the two different approaches that were introduced in the symposium with an aim of understanding the learning and memory. The first one focuses on the various roles that are played by the synaptic plasticity especially in the long-term depression more so in the cerebellum in the motor learning, and the regulatory mechanism. The second approach uses the elegant chick-quail transplantation system in the defined brain regions to studying how the neural populations interact in the development to forming the behaviorally vital neural circuits and to further elucidate neurobiological correlates of the motor and perceptual predispositions. The methods used by the article in arriving at its conclusion are; the focus on the roles that are played by the synaptic plasticity and the elegant chick-quail transplantation system. All the two methods are valid as they seek to explain the relationship between learning and memory in a precise manner. The authors’ finding that the memory is the most fundamental part of the mental process is true. In an article by the University of California-Irvine (2008, March 13), the article explains how the severe stress can have an effect on the brain’s learning and memory. The article further asserts that learning and memory take place at the synapses that are the junctions that the brain cells communicates. Additionally, the authors discovered that the blocking of the CRH interaction of the molecules with their receptor molecules eliminates stress damage to the dendritic spines in the hippocampal cells that are involved in the learning and memory. Another issue that has been extensively discussed in the article is the relationship between learned helplessness and its relationship to the depression. The author has chosen to use terms like synapses, CRH, and among others which in my opinion I think it’s the correct method that can be used to exploit the relationship between learning and memory because they are closely related. The author’s conclusion can be termed conclusive because it has tried to give a clear and precise conclusion about the effect of the brain on learning and memory that is backed with the scientific findings. In an article by Mary Kennedy (2013), titled “Synaptic Signaling in Learning and Memory” the author asserts that learning and memory require the information on the new neural networks in the brain. The key mechanism that underlines this process is the synaptic plasticity at the excitatory synapses that connects the neurons into the networks. The excitatory transmission usually when the glutamate (excitatory neurotransmitter) activates the receptors on the postsynaptic neuron. The article further discusses the four issues that are very fundamental to the learning and memory. First, what are the different types of the memory? Secondly, where is the location of the memory in the brain? Thirdly, how does the memory works? And then lastly, how can the memory be retained and what makes the memory last for long? In arriving at the conclusion, it’s true that the methods used by the author are valid. The author has used the neural networks in the brain to not only answer the aforementioned questions but also arrive at the conclusion about the synaptic signaling in learning and memory. The article uses the scientific process in explaining the relationship between learning and memory. Almost in all of the aforementioned articles, the issue of learned helplessness and its relationship to depression is an area that has been extensively touched on. The concept of the learned helplessness represents the lack of the contingency between the uncontrollable aversive outcome and attempted responses. For instance, Irvine’s (2008) article that explains the relationship between stress/depression and learning and memory directly touches on the issue of the learned helplessness and its relationship with depression. Few years ago I experienced a bout of the depression and during this time I was very inescapable and could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. My encounter with the difficulties and the stress/depression I overcame appears to parallel to the theory of the learned helplessness. The cognitive behavioral strategy that has been discussed in the articles is effective in the changing the learned helplessness. Any organism can be trained in assertiveness through being forced into the action. Additionally, from the above articles in have put the good deal of the thought into the serial recall. I usually tell my family or my friends to name a series numbers and then I recall the numbers minutes later in a sequence to practice the memory skills. My memory trick is that I usually keep the last and the first numbers in the list clearest in my mind. This is what I call the serial position effect whereby the first and the last numbers are forgotten more slowly, and they are learned more quickly as compared to those on the middle. In order to improve the recall of the numbers that are located in the middle, I use the paired associations trick. I couple the numbers that are not located at the end of the list. I only envision one of the numbers in the middle of the list as the stimulus that can enable me in responding with the paired number that is next to it in the midst of the list. This means that I only have to remember half of the numbers on the list. Although the aforementioned articles have exclusively touched on various subjects of learning and memory, they have not taken a detailed analysis on serial recall. As part of my learning and memory performance, serial recall has not been exclusively touched by the articles. However, in an article by the University of California-Irvine (2008, March 13), I have been able to find out that it’s not only the chronic or the long term stress that affects the learning and memory but also the short-term stress can impair the brain cells thus affecting the learning and memory. The article has also touched on the role of the brain in the learning and memory. The ability of the brain to store information in large number enables human beings to boost their learning and memory. The article Okano, Hirano, and Balaban (2010), titled “Learning and Memory” has also touched on the strategies that can boost learning and memory. These are facts that I have never put into practice and therefore I regard this as a big boost to my learning and memory. Some of the strategies that the article has touched include; use of the visual images to boost memory, being an active reader, provision of the retrieval practice, reviewing of the materials before sleeping and among others. In my learning and memory practice I rarely practice these strategies and therefore I see this new insight will promote my learning and memory. Generally, both articles have incorporated my core learning and memory practice (learned helplessness, serial recall and positive reinforcement). Summary Based on the above article summaries and from my own experience its true learning and memory are priceless. Being aware of the powers that are held by learning and memory is truly advantageous and beneficial. Whether am positively reinforcing the children to be able to do their homework, frequent remembering or battling the depression I now appreciate the learning and memory more than ever before. Learning and memory are only a fantastic thing, but they are also unavoidable. References Kennedy, M. B. (2013). Synaptic signaling in learning and memory. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology. Retrieved from http://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/content/early/2013/12/28/cshperspect.a016824.abstract Okano, H., Hirano, T., & Balaban, E. (2000). Learning and memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97(23), 12403-12404. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/97/23/12403.full University of California - Irvine. (2008, March 13). Short-term Stress Can Affect Learning And Memory. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080311182434.htm Read More