Learning and Memory
Full course description
The goal of the present course is to offer a broad, basic introduction into human memory. In particular, this course will introduce the cognitive main stages in learning and memory, I.e., encoding, storage, and retrieval, and related processes of consolidation and forgetting. We will also learn discuss different kinds of memory, and about the different brain areas and structures that contribute to the different types of memory. In addition, we will study the different ways in which individual neurons and neural populations can maintain memory traces for shorter or longer durations. We will learn that memories are often not as robust as we think. Memories can be forgotten, altered or otherwise interfered with by many factors, and what we remember may not even be true!
While covering these various fundamental insights, the course will take a partly historical perspective, and discussing some of the original, corner-stone studies that transformed the field of learning and memory.
Insights into how memory works may help enhancing memory and learning in many daily activities, in educational contexts, and in clinical contexts that involve revalidation after physical or emotional trauma, or neurological disease, brain lesions or ageing. The course will stimulate students to make the link between theoretical insights and applications.
Overall, the course will have a neurobiological orientation and will use insights from behavioural and neurophysiological research in animals to better understand human learning and memory. In addition, we will also discuss relevant computational models that explain theoretical or biological mechanisms underlying learning and memory.
The course builds on concepts and skills offered in previous courses. For example, understanding neural plasticity underlying learning and memory requires information about the action potential that was discussed in “Brain Cells”, as well as cellular processes covered in “Genes, Proteins and Evolution” and “Cellular Interactions and Metabolism”. Discussion of cerebellar and basal ganglia pathways in the parallel course “The Motor System” will be relevant when discussing conditioning and procedural skill learning. In addition, computational models describing hippocampal memory (e.g., the Hopfield model), Hebbian plasticity and learning based on error reduction require matrix and vector algebra that was discussed in “Linear Algebra” and “Calculus”, as well as concepts of network dynamics covered in “Advanced Calculus and Dynamical Systems”. By the end of this course, the students will have a good basic understanding of the cognitive, neurobiological and computational mechanisms of learning and memory, which provides a solid basis for the two additional courses in Year 2 in the Learning & Memory learning line.
The final assessment for this course is a numerical grade between 0,0 and 10,0.
Course objectives
- identify and understand different forms of learning and memory, including working memory and various types of long-term memory (episodic memory, classical and operant conditioning, skill learning)
- understand cognitive theories of memory and explain these theories making use of the supporting behavioural experiments
- understand at a detailed conceptual level computational models of learning and memory, with an emphasis on neural networks of associative memory (e.g., Hopfield auto-associative networks) and error reduction algorithms for (non-) associative learning (e.g., Rescorla-Wagner model)
- understand neural plasticity at the level of cellular signalling
- use computational insights to link neurophysiological and cellular mechanisms with cognitive representations and behavioral outcomes
- Explore the socio-economic relevance of behavioural/cognitive theories as well as brain mechanisms of memory (e.g., in educational contexts, or for understanding and/or treatment of clinical conditions)
- understand basic principles of different methodological approaches to the study of neural plasticity and memory
- present scientific content related to the present course to your peers and use prepared materials to trigger discussion in the tutorial group
- Work together in your tutorial group to gain insight into challenging topics related to learning and memory