Memory

Full course description

In our everyday cognitive functions we rely heavily on multiple types of memory. This includes seemingly trivial actions, such as remembering your grocery shopping list, to navigate through Maastricht, and to have a sense of your own identity. How are memories formed and maintained in our mind and brain? Do we have multiple memory systems, or just one memory mechanism from which the richness of memory is derived? What happens if our memory fails us, when we forget or when we remember falsely? This course investigates the cognitive correlates (information processing) and neurobiological mechanisms of declarative, or explicit memory. We will discuss a number of cognitive models, including Baddeley’s Working Memory model, the Modal model, and interference theory in forgetting. In addition, we will discuss the role of long-term potentiation (LTP) in memory, research for which Prof. Eric Kandel received the Nobel prize in 2000, as well as how different brain areas contribute to memory. Throughout the course, we will discuss relevant methodological issues regarding memory research. Importantly, please be aware that brain anatomy and function are an important part of this course; an interest in and understanding of these fields at the level of Introduction to Psychology or higher is highly recommended. In addition to the tutorial meetings, students will complete a practical and paper assignment in which memory performance of real subjects is assessed.