Brain Lets Us Learn and Remember

Association

We remember by associating one thing with another.  In classic experiments by the Russian scientist, Ian Pavlov, we see the simplest kind of learning (called "classical conditioning"). Pavlov used dogs, but the principles have been demonstrated also in very simple species, such as flatworms. Here is how it works:

• show food to a dog. It salivates in anticipation. This is unlearned; it just happens automatically, because the nervous system is wired to make this happen. 
  

• Next present another stimulus, such as sound or light, with the food presentation. As above, the dog has the unlearned salivation response.
  

• Now, present only the sound or light cue. The dog salivates, because it has learned an association between sound/light 

 

Another kind of learning is called "operant conditioning."  This is how animal trainers teach circus animals and show animals to do tricks. They "shape" a new behavior for an animal in a series of small steps, giving a reward when the animal accidentally performs the desired behavior. At each step, the animal learns an association between the behavior and the reward.

You can perform this experiment on a "cyber bird." Click here. In this simulation, the bird occasionally pecks at a spot on the wall of its cage.  If you give him a food pellet each time he pecks, he will start pecking much more. If you stop rewarding, he will slow down or stop pecking. See also Activity #3 for an experiment on conditioning.

Memory "Consolidation"

Memories are stored widely in the brain. A major problem for school children is in getting the memories stored so that school lessons are not forgotten. Remember what you were supposed to have learned yesterday? One part of the brain, the medial temporal lobe and nearby structures, is responsible for converting temporary memories into more permanent form.

Ventral view of the adult human brain with the temporal lobe outlined in white. The temporal lobe connects by way of the parahippocampal gyrus (Black asterisk) with the hippocampus, which is folded underneath the temporal lobe.

This conversion of short term memory (some people call it working memory) into more lasting form has certain requirements:

• The brain needs to pay attention so that the information actually registers in the first place
• Motivation to remember helps (see comments about emotions below)
• Time must elapse (seconds to minutes)
• Distractions and conflicting stimuli should be kept to a minimum, because they will otherwise interfere with the conversion process

Does this give you any ideas for how you can be a better student? See Activity #4 for a memory experiment.