READING TWO: The Brain and Human Memory

0 Warm-Up
Discuss the question in a small group. Share your answers with the class.

Which of these are easier to remember? Why?

□ how to ride a bike
□ how to do algebra
□ how to play an instrument
□ how to dance
□ how to remember vocabulary words

6) Reading Strategy

Scanning a Chart
Many textbooks use a chart to summarize the important information presented in
each chapter. The chart is therefore a valuable reading and study tool. Knowing how
to read a chart - by first scanning (examining) its general layout (structure) and
. then studying its contents - is a skill that all students need to master.

Scan the layout of the chart in the reading. Then answer the questions. Write your
answers on the lines.
1. To which column of the chart (1, 2, or 3) would you go to read about how the
amygdala functions?

2. Identify five different kinds of memory referred to in the chart. Where did you
find this information?

3. Which region of the brain is responsible for processing spatial memory?

4. What kind of memory is processed by the amygdala?

Now, as you read the text, you will be able to learn more about how the brain helps
humans remember things.

120 CHAPTER 5
 THE BRAIN AND HUMAN MEMORY
The human brain has about
100 billion cells. Most of these
cells are neurons or nerve cells.
A neuron is either in a resting
state or shooting an electrical
impulse down an axon. A
neuron has a cell body and a
long little thread or fiber called
an axon; at the very end it
shoots out a chemical called a
transmitter. This chemical goes
across a gap (synapse) where it
triggers another neuron to send a message. This is the biological basis of the
functioning of the brain in all its activities, including memory.

Thalamus Frontal
lobe

Occipital
lobe Tanporal
Hippocarnpus lobe

The brain is responsible for human memory. This phenomenon of remembering is

a complex one that calls upon the work of several regions of the brain.

REGIONS OF THE BRAIN MAJOR OPERATING KINDS OF MEMORY

FUNCTIONS PROCESSED

The pre-frontal lobe: 1 It allows humans to SHORT-TERM MEMORY

It is located at the very hold on to a piece of (WORKING MEMORY) -
front of the brain. information temporarily related to what a person
while they complete a task. is currently aware of or
2 Its intense activity in thinking about - is made
matters related to thinking possible by the pre-
and decision-making frontal lobe.
explains why human
foreheads are so much
higher than those of their
primate relatives, the apes,
whose pre-frontal lobes
are much less developed.

(continued on next page)

Neuroscience: The Brain and Memory 121

 REGIONS OF THE BRAIN MAJOR OPERATING KINDS OF MEMORY
FUNCTIONS PROCESSED
I
The hippocampus: 1 It helps humans DECLARATIVE MEMORY -
It is located in the inner transfer information from the memory of facts and
fold of the temporal lobe their short-term memory events - is made
and has been given its to their long-term possible by the
name because it memory (memory put hippocampus, the cortical
resembles the curved tail into'storage). structures surrounding it,
of a seahorse (hippokampos 2 Because data and the neural pathways
in Greek). communicated in the connected to the cortex.
various sensory areas of For instance, all the
the cortex1 converge in elements of an "episode"
the hippocampus, it can such as a friend's
be thought of as a sorting birthday party - the
center that compares new people's faces, the
sensations with conversations, the gifts,
previously recorded ones. the cake, the music
3 Humans sometimes try played - are all stored in
to remember new facts by the hippocampus. Each
creating mnemonic element can act alone as I

devices, associations in an index entry that will

the form of poems or retrieve to one's
riddles or letters or consciousness the
numbers that assist the memory of all the other
learning process. This elements related to the
kind of repetitive activity experience. In other
takes place in the words, one ~ference -
hippocampus. the music played - will
automatically "cross-
4 The hippocampus
refer" and trigger a
creates associations of
memory of the other
objects' various
elements of the episode.
properties.2 When such
associations have finally
been recorded in the
hippocampus, the cortex
is able to reconstitute the
associations into what we
call memory.
The right hippocampus Its "place cells" help SPATIAL MEMORY - the
create_space maps in the memory that records
mind. information about one's
environment - is
restricted to the right
hippocampus alone.
1
cortex: the outer layer of the brain
2
properties: qualities or powers that belong naturally to something

122 CHAPTER 5
 REGIONS OF THE BRAIN MAJOR OPERATING KINDS OF MEMORY
FUNCTIONS PROCESSED
I I
The amygdala: 1 It brings emotional EMOTIONAL MEMORY -
It is part of the limbic memory into play. the memory of events
3
system. 2 It also helps humans evoking particularly
manage fear. strong emotions - is
made possible by the
amygdala.
The cerebellum, basal These regions are all . PROCEDURAL MEMORY -
ganglia, and motor involved with motor motor memory of skills
cortex: The cerebellum is control. that require practice such
located in the back of the as knowing how to ride a
brain stem and is bicycle - is established
attached to the midbrain; in these regions.
the basal ganglia is (Amnesia caused by
located in the forebrain; lesions4 to the
the motor cortex is hippocampus does not
located in the back region affect a person's
of the frontal lobe. procedural memory.)
3
limbic system: includes brain structures concerned with emotion, behavior, motivation, and memory,
including the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior thalamic nuclei, septum, limbic cortex, and fornix
'lesion: an abnormal change or scar in a part of someone's body su<;h as their lungs or brain, caused by
injury or illness

COMPREHENSION

0 Main Ideas
Match the different types of memory with their functions and the parts of the brain
directly involved. Compare answers with a partner.

TYPE OF MEMORY FUNCTION PART OF THE BRAIN

~ 1. short-term a. encoding information i. amygdala and limbic

memory to remember at a later system
time
2. long-term ii. right hippocampus
memory b. a mental map
iii. hippocampus
3. declarative c. remembering motor
iv. cerebellum
memory skills
v. pre-frontal lobe
4. spatialmemory d. intense personal
' experiences
5. emotional
memory e. remembering episodes
6. procedural £. holding information
memory temporarily

Neuroscience: The Brain and Memory 123

 0 Close Reading
Read the quotes from the reading. Circle the statement that best explains each
quote. Share your answers with a partner.
1. "[The pre-frontal lobe's] intense activity in matters related to thinking and
decision-making explains why human foreheads are so much higher than
those of their primate relatives, the apes, whose pre-frontal lobes are much less
developed." (Major Operating Functions, pre-frontal lobe, 2)
a. The physical development of the pre-frontal lobe in both humans and apes is
directly related to higher-level thinking abilities.
b. The physical development of the pre-frontal lobe is more advanced in apes
than in humans.
c. The physical development of the pre-frontal lobe is the same in humans
and apes.

2. "Declarative memory- the memory of facts and events - is made possible by

the hippocampus, the cortical structures surrounding it, and the neural pathways
connected to the cortex." (Kinds of Memory Processed, hippocampus)
a. For declarative memory to be activated, the hippocampus works all by itself.
b. For declarative memory to be activated, the hippocampus receives help from
the surrounding cortex and nerves.
c. For declarative memory to be activated, the cortex plays a more prominent role
than the hippocampus.

3. "Amnesia caused by lesions to the hippocampus does not affect a person's

procedural memory." (Kinds of Memory Processed, the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and
motor cortex)
a. Damage to one part of memory implies damage to all other parts of memory.
b. Damage to one part of the brain doesn't mean all types of memory are
impossible.
c. Damage to motor skills implies damage to higher-level thinking skills.

VOCABULARY

0 Synonyms
Read the sentences about brain science. Match each word or phrase in bold with its
synonym in the box below. Compare answers with a partner.
_a_ 1. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (£MRI) is a relatively new
procedure that brings into play the magnetic properties of blood flow in
the brain.
2. With the fMRI, scientists can reconstitute on a computer the brain
processes related to perception and motor activity.
3. The use of this machine is not restricted to research; it is also used to
diagnose the effects of strokes and Alzheimer's disease.

124 CHAPTER 5
 4. To improve long-term memory, mnemonic devices are used to make
memorization easier.
5. Memory aids can be poems or easy-to-remember visual or auditory clues
that allow people to retrieve the information they need.
6. An example of a mnemonic device can be found in musical notation: the
lines in the treble clef represent the notes EGBDF - Every Good Boy
Deserves Fun - which resembles a little poem.
7. These memory aids work over long periods of time because it is easier to
hold on to meaningful information as opposed to arbitrary sequences.
8. The brain sorts information and stores it in different places.
9. Many memory functions converge in the hippocampus.
10. The phenomenon of neuroplasticity means that the brain can adapt and
change even into old age.

a. makes use of f. reassemble

b. come together g. is similar to
c. retain h. limited
d. memory aids i. recall
e. existence j. classifies

Cl) Singular and Plural of Words of Greek or Latin Origin

WORDS OF GREEK OR LATIN ORIGIN SINGULAR PLURAL

Human memory is a complex phenomenon. phenomenon phenomena

This part of the brain has a single stratum of stratum strata
cells.
Each of these elements alone could act as an index indices
index entry.
This is the biological basis of the functioning of basis bases
the brain.

Look at the list of words of Greek or Latin origin. What are their plural forms? Write
them on the lines.
SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL

1. criterion criteria 6. parenthesis

2. datum 7. synthesis

3. analysis 8. medium

4. bacterium 9. appendix

5. matrix 10. addendum

Neuroscience: The Brain and Memory 125