Chapter 10: Neural basis of learning Learning activity suggested answers

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1 Lerning ctivity suggested nswers Lerning Activity 10.1 (p. 376) Explin whether ech of the following humn ehviours is est descried s lerned ehviour (L), reflexive ehviour (R), fixed- ction pttern (FAP), ehviour due to mturtion (M), or more thn one of these (for exmple, L nd M). emotionl ttchment y n infnt to cregiver: widely regrded s lerned ehviour (L). Consider deprivtion studies (e.g. infnts rised in orphnges) nd Hrlow s reserch on erly experiences of infnt rhesus monkeys. speking in high- pitched y tlk to n infnt: widely regrded s lerned ehviour (L). Possily fixed- ction pttern (FAP). Some psychologists nd reserchers hve proposed tht this type of y tlk (clled motherese or prentese ) occurs universlly cross ll cultures nd is species- specific dpttion, e.g. GA Brynt nd HC Brrett (2007), 'Recognizing intentions in infnt- directed speech: Evidence for universls.', in Psychologicl Science, 18(8), eing scred of snkes: widely regrded s lerned ehviour (L). Typiclly cquired through clssicl conditioning, opernt conditioning nd oservtionl/socil lerning processes. Some psychologists hve proposed tht we my hve iologicl predisposition to develop fers of certin ojects, such s snkes, which represent nturl thret to our survivl (e.g. see Box p. 652). However, there is scnt empiricl evidence to support fixed- ction pttern (FAP). scrtching n itch: reflexive ehviour (R). Usully n utomtic, involuntry response to ctivtion of sensory neurons on the skin s surfce. Note tht the scrtch reflex hs een widely descried. nodding in greement: widely regrded s lerned ehviour (L). Although oserved cross- culturlly, cnnot e considered to e fixed- ction pttern (FAP). smoking cigrettes: lerned ehviour (L). Consider role of oservtionl/socil lerning processes in cquisition nd mintennce. perceiving n illusion: widely regrded s lerned ehviour (L). Some visul illusions/mistkes in visul perception my involve physiologicl nd/or cognitive processes, so mturtion of the nervous system my ply role. whistling: mturtion (M). Although influenced y lerning, primrily depends on developmentl processes underlying coordintion of physicl ctions involved in whistling, e.g. young infnts cnnot whistle no mtter how much they prctice. wlking: mturtion (M). Depends on development of the ody nd nervous system structures underlying this type of moility. plying: mturtion (M) or lerned ehviour (L). Which of the two is dependent on how ply is defined nd the type of ply ehviour oserved, e.g. neworn is not cple of socil ply like tht of n older child ecuse of neurologicl nd physicl limittions. Consider significnt influences of experience on dolescent nd dult ply. Mcmilln Eduction Austrli

2 curiosity: widely regrded s lerned ehviour (L) or n spect of lerning. Sometimes descried s n innte/inorn drive influencing motivtion tht is first oserved soon fter irth, ut cnnot e descried s reflexive, dependent on mturtion or fixed- ction pttern. sleeping: fixed- ction pttern (FAP). All people sleep nd typicl night s sleep hs common chrcteristics. My e influenced y mturtion nd lerning, ut cnnot e descried s either. loving: widely regrded s lerned ehviour (L). Consider opertionl definitions nd vritions in the expression of loving ehviour mong people within nd cross different cultures. roller- skting: mturtion (M). Primrily depends on development of the ody nd nervous system structures underlying this type of coordinted physicl ctivity (e.g. cn pre- moile infnt roller- skte?) Influenced y lerning s it involves unnturl movements nd specilised equipment, e.g. lerning how to mnipulte sktes to stop, move forwrd/ckwrd nd turn without flling. Lerning Activity 10.2 (p. 377) 1 Define the mening of the term lerning. Lerning is reltively permnent chnge in ehviour tht occurs s result of experience. Briefly descrie three key chrcteristics of ehviour tht is lerned. Key chrcteristics my refer to: results from experience involves reltively permnent chnge in ehviour (ut modifile) chnge my occur immeditely or grdully over time chnge my e ltent or delyed cn occur intentionlly or unintentionlly cn e n ctive or pssive process ongoing throughout the lifespn oserved in performnce/wht the orgnism does (ut lerning my e ltent/remin hidden ). 2 Differentite etween lerned response, reflex ction, fixed- ction pttern nd ehviour dependent on mturtion. Give n exmple of ech, ut use exmples not referred to in the text. Lerned response: ehviour chnge tht occurs s result of experience nd is reltively permnent, e.g. phoic response to fer stimulus, text messging. Reflex ction: utomtic, involuntry ehviour tht does not require prior experience nd occurs in the sme wy ech time, e.g. pupillry light reflex, slivtion in response to conditioned nd unconditioned stimuli or when food enters mouth, ptell (knee jerk) reflex. Mcmilln Eduction Austrli

3 Fixed- ction pttern: n innte/inherited response to n environmentl stimulus tht occurs in the sme wy nd is oservle within prticulr species or sugroup of species, e.g. fighting for socil or sexul supremcy mongst primtes, wolves turning in circles efore lying down to sleep. Behviour dependent on mturtion: ehviourl response dependent on developmentl process or developmentl processes involving the orderly sequence of chnges tht occur in the nervous system nd other odily structures controlled y genetic inheritnce, e.g. strnger nxiety in infncy, development of depth perception (opertionlised s height wreness or fer of heights). 3 Smiling, lughing nd crying re ll oserved in def lind children who cnnot hve lerned these responses y seeing or hering them in others. Normlly, ech of these ehviours is seen within severl months fter irth. Some psychologists view this s evidence of fixed- ction ptterns in humns nd suggest tht these ehviours re progrmmed y our genetic inheritnce. Do you gree or disgree with this view? Why? Discuss student responses to clrify conceptul understnding of FAP. Note tht smiling, lughing nd crying: re expressed in vriety of wys within the humn species (ut with universlly recognised chrcteristics) cn e triggered y different stimuli for individul memers of the humn species my initilly e reflex responses in def lind children nd susequently ecome conditioned responses following prentl/cregiver detection. Cn someone lern to control reflex response? If so, give n exmple. Explin your nswer. Yes. e.g. iofeedck trining for control/self- regultion of certin ANS responses Lerning Activity 10.4 (p. 380) Review questions 1 Descrie the most prominent chnges tht occur t the neuronl level when lerning occurs. Chnges my include: modifiction of existing connections etween neurons t synpses within the relevnt neurl pthwy/s e.g. reorgnistion to connect to nother/new pthwy/s strengthening of existing connections etween neurons t synpses within the relevnt neurl pthwys formtion of new synpses nd synptic connections postsynptic neurons ecome more nd more responsive to the presynptic neurons s consequence of repeted stimultion. 2 Outline the roles glutmte nd dopmine hve in lerning. glutmte Mcmilln Eduction Austrli

4 initites ctivity in postsynptic neurons tht receive informtion in forming or estlished neurl pthwy for the relevnt lerning (nd memory of the experience) repeted relese during lerning contriutes to synptic formtion strengthens connections t the synpse dopmine contriutes to the strengthening of synptic connections plesurle experience ssocited with its secretion t the dopmine rewrd centre influences rewrd- sed lerning i.e. positively reinforce nd motivte performnce of certin ctivities tht trigger its relese 3 Why is LTP elieved to e crucil iologicl process for lerning to occur? 4 Explntion should refer to role of LTP in: strengthening synptic connections within etween djcent neurons tht form the relevnt neurl pthwy mking postsynptic neurons in forming or estlished neurl pthwy of the lerning more responsive to stimultion y presynptic neurons, therey enhncing communiction within the pthwy, which mkes synptic connections even more effective nd enduring Explin the mening of neurl pthwy of lerning. Explntion should refer to network/group of interconnected neurons/nerve cell ssemlies tht is ctive during lerning/forms nd/or is modified when lerning tkes plce (nd which proly lso stores the memory of the relevnt experience) connects one prt of the rin to nother Lerning hs een descried s process of modifying existing neurl pthwys or uilding new neurl pthwys. Comment on the ccurcy of this description. Commentry should refer to: the generlly ccurte nture of the description, especilly from iologicl perspective nd with reference neuronl/synptic chnges oserved to occur resulting in the estlishment nd/or modifiction of neurl pthwys; nd rin plsticity, prticulrly developmentl nd dptive plsticity with reference to experience 5 View the following YouTue video: How We Lern Synpses nd Neurl Pthwys (3:15 min) t Comment on the ccurcy of the informtion presented. This You Tue is recommended for student viewing s it provides reltively simple nd ccurte nlogy of importnt neurl processes elieved to occur during humn lerning. 6 Suggest reson to explin why neurl mechnisms of lerning nd memory re so like tht it cn e difficult to isolte nd differentite etween them. Explntion should refer to the intertwined nd inter- dependent reltionship of lerning nd memory e.g. memory results from lerning nd involves neurl storge of lernt prior Mcmilln Eduction Austrli

5 experiences for retrieved when needed without lerning, there is no formtion or modifiction of neurl pthwys nd nothing to encode nd store within neurl pthwys Lerning Activity 10.5 (p. 384) Evlute the series of experiments y Rosenzweig nd others conducted in the 1960s. You re required to: suggest n im for the experiments construct reserch hypothesis tht could hve een tested y the procedures used in the experiment identify the opertionlised vriles identify the different conditions of typicl experiment identify the type of experimentl design used identify n pproprite procedure for llocting the reserch nimls to different conditions riefly stte the results otined riefly stte conclusion(s) sed on the results otined. Exmple: Rosenzweig et l (1960s) Mcmilln Eduction Austrli

6 Aim: to investigte whether experience in different environments cn structurlly lter the rins of rts Opertionl hypothesis: lortory red rt pups rised in n enriched environment with informl opportunities for lerning will show distinctive structurl chnges in the rin t the corticl tissue nd neuronl levels when compred with rts of the sme sex nd from sme litter rised in n impoverished or solitry environment with no opportunities for informl lerning. IV: environmentl condition ( stndrd, impoverished or enriched ) DV: ntomicl chnges in the rin t the corticl tissue nd neuronl levels Experimentl design: mtched-prticipnts Group 1: stndrd environmentl condition 3 rts kept in stndrd lortory cge, with no opportunity for complex stimultion nd informl lerning Group 2: impoverished environmentl condition single rt kept in stndrd lortory cge Group 3: enriched environmentl condition group of rts kept in lrge cge, with wide vriety of stimulus ojects, chnged dily nd provided opportunities for complex stimultion nd informl lerning Rndom ssignment: lortory red rt pups from the sme litter nd of the sme sex were rndomly ssigned to different experimentl conditions shortly fter wening. After 80 dys, ll rts were utopsied nd their rins dissected for exmintion. Results: Group 3 rts (enriched environmentl condition) showed distinctive rin structurl chnges t corticl nd neuronl levels when compred with Group 1 nd 2 rts: corticl tissue: thicker nd hevier neuronl level: lrger corticl neurons, longer nd ushier dendrites, igger synpses nd new synptic formtion, more ACTH neurotrnsmitter present Conclusions: The hypothesis ws supported s rts rised in n enriched environment with informl opportunities for lerning showed distinctive structurl chnges in the rin when compred with rts rised in the other environments. These results show tht the rin cn e ltered y lerning nd experience. Mcmilln Eduction Austrli

7 Lerning Activity 10.6 (p. 393) 1 Explin the mening of plsticity in reltion to the rin. rin plsticity: the ility of the rin s neurl structure or function to e chnged y experience throughout the lifespn 2 Explin why the rin is considered to hve plsticity with reference to two key points. Explntion of the rin s plsticity should refer to: structurl chnge in response to experience, e.g. synptic formtion induced y lerning, modifiction or cretion of neurl pthwys induced y lerning (or relerning) functionl chnge in response to experience, e.g. ressignment of function following dmge. 3 Explin the mening of developmentl plsticity with reference to lerning. Explntion should refer to chnges in the rin s neurl structure in response to experience involving lerning during the rin s growth nd development. 4 In wht wy do synptogenesis nd synptic pruning demonstrte the plsticity of the rin? 5 Both re dynmic processes resulting in physicl chnge, specificlly: synptogenesis results in physicl chnge in the rin in response to experience through formtion of new synpses, synptic pruning results in physicl chnge in the rin in response to experience through elimintion of synptic connections following period of disuse. c Wht is dptive plsticity? dptive plsticity: chnges in the rin s neurl structure to enle djustment to experience, to compenste for lost function nd/or to mximise remining functions in the event of rin dmge In wht wy is dptive plsticity similr to nd different from developmentl plsticity? Similrities include: oth involve chnge in neurl structure due to experience oth involve synptogenesis, e.g. sprouting for dptive plsticity enles new synptic connections oth cn occur t ny time throughout the lifespn. Differences include: developmentl plsticity is geneticlly predetermined, wheres dptive plsticity my e environmentlly determined, e.g. due to cquired rin injury dptive plsticity results in chnge in function, e.g. reloction/ressignment not necessrily sensitive period for dptive plsticity Descrie three neurl processes tht indicte nd enle dptive plsticity. Neurl processes my include: Mcmilln Eduction Austrli

8 rerouting: n undmged neuron tht hs lost connection with n ctive neuron my seek new ctive neuron nd connect with it insted sprouting: the growth of new ushier nerve fires with more rnches to mke new connections ressignment of function to compenste for dmge greter corticl representtion in response to certin experience, e.g. professionl musicins, London c drivers. 6 Give n exmple of reserch findings tht support the occurrence of dptive plsticity in response to: everydy experience: should refer to reserch findings on chnge through extensive use in everydy life, e.g. concert pinists with lrger thn usul somtosensory corticl res for finger control, professionl quilters with highly developed res for the thum nd forefinger, London c drivers with lrger hippocmpl res; recovery from rin dmge: should refer to reserch findings on ressignment of somtosensory corticl res of monkeys following intentionl prietl loe dmge, ptient recovery from lim prlysis following rin dmge due to stroke. 7 Explin how dptive plsticity enles compenstion for lost rin function nd/or mximises remining functions in the event of rin dmge. 8 Explntion should refer to: reorgnistion of structure t the neuronl level (e.g. rerouting nd sprouting) or tissue level (e.g. corticl) ressignment of function from dmged to undmged res (usully from nd to djcent or nery res nd involving reorgnistion processes such rerouting). In wht wy is the timing of experiences relevnt to rin plsticity for lerning? Generlly, certin time periods in development re prticulrly well- suited to certin lerning e.g. sensitive periods in development when there is greter neurologicl responsiveness to specific experiences nd re therefore optiml times for tht lerning to occur. Distinguish etween sensitive periods nd criticl periods for lerning with reference to two key points nd relevnt exmple of ech concept. Distinctions include: sensitive periods tend to strt nd end grdully (if in fct they end), wheres criticl periods usully hve identifile strt nd end times nd tend to egin nd end suddenly sensitive periods re optiml times for exposure to specific experiences nd optiml times for lerning due to those experiences, wheres criticl periods involve vulnerility to deprivtion/sence of specific experiences lerning ssocited with sensitive period cn still occur outside tht period, wheres lerning does not occur during criticl period,my not occur t ll e.g. imprinting Mcmilln Eduction Austrli

9 c Distinguish etween experience- expectnt lerning nd experience- dependent lerning with reference to n exmple. experience- expectnt lerning: occurs when the rin encounters the experience tht is expected nd the lerning my not occur s well or t ll if not encountered when expectede.g. orl lnguge cquisition, visul stimultion, hering, coordintion of vision nd movement experience- dependent lerning: lerning tht occurs through exposure to specific experience t ny time during n individul s development e.g. ll our lerning is experience- dependent ut certin types of lerning hve optiml times, especilly lerning tht is experience- expectnt Mcmilln Eduction Austrli