Memory and the Human Lifespan

Using the metaphor of a party whose "guests" include the different components of the complex interactions that make up memory, Professor Joordens introduces you to several kinds of memory-including episodic, semantic, and procedural-to arrive at an initial understanding of the variety of processes at work in human "memory."

Techniques to embed and retrieve memories more easily-so-called mnemonic strategies-date back at least to classical Greece. See how one such technique-the Method of Loci-can help improve the episodic memory you depend on to recall a group of items such as grocery or to-do lists.

Is a mnemonic strategy always the most useful? Examine rote memorization and how it differs from mnemonics. Also, get an introduction to the work of Hermann Ebbinghaus, whose 19th-century experiments in remembering and forgetting marked the first scientific examination of memory.

Begin a deeper discussion of the different kinds of memory, beginning with sensory memory and how its brief retentive power lets you switch from one stimulus to another-and even gives you your sense of "the present moment." Here, the focus is on iconic (or visual) memory and its auditory counterpart, echoic memory.

Plunge into the mental processes that allow you to work with information, often with the goal of solving a problem. You learn that these processes can also be used to keep information briefly "in mind," though they require effort and are prone to interference.

How does information make its way from your temporary working memory into long-term memory so you can access it again when you need it? This introduction to encoding explains the process and offers useful tips for improving your own recall.

Strengthen your grasp of how these two key memory systems function. You explore the relationship between them with analogies that range from the job requirements of London taxi drivers to the famed "holo-deck" of the Star Trek television series.

Encounter still another category of memory-a way in which your experiences can enter long-term memory without the kind of "effortful encoding" discussed earlier. You learn why this sort of memory creation is vitally important, yet also unreliable as a substitute for conscious effort.

In this lecture, you see that your memory for procedures is useful not only in the "muscle memory" of physical skills, but also in cognitive processes. Also, learn about constructivist learning, in which the explicit structure of a procedure-which is usually taught verbally-instead is learned implicitly during exploratory practice.

What happens when implicit or procedural memories become so powerful they seize control? In this examination of the tenacity of habits, learn how and why habits are formed and what steps might be useful in changing them, or at least regaining control.

Does sleep play a role in strengthening memories of your experiences during the day? Gain a sense of the latest research about a subject that is difficult to study as you explore the relationship between sleep and memory, including the possible link between specific sleep stages and specific kinds of memory.

How does the maturation of memory fit into a child's overall brain development? Gain invaluable and surprising insights into the month-by-month and year-by-year development of a child's capacity for memory, beginning in the womb and continuing on with its dramatic development after entry into the world.

Does an elephant really never forget? Expand your study of memory to investigate the extent to which the mysterious abilities of humans may also exist in animals and, if so, how they might differ from our own.

Almost two decades since its revolutionary appearance, fMRI-functional magnetic resonance imaging-is allowing researchers to watch the living human brain at work, with no harm or discomfort to the subject. Explore what happens in several areas of the brain as memories are created or retrieved.

Can computer models mimic the operations of the human brain? Examine the use of neural network modeling, in which biologically inspired models posited by researchers in cognitive neuroscience are advancing our understanding of just how those operations take place.

Leave the world of computers for that of neuropsychology as you focus on the life situations of several patients who have suffered some form of brain injury. You learn how damage to different areas of the brain can have dramatically different impacts on memory and how these patients experience the world.

In a lecture that explores one of our most frightening diseases from both the caregiver's and sufferer's perspectives, learn how Alzheimer's progresses, how that progression may be forestalled, and ways in which technology may be able to help through the emerging field of "cognitive prosthetics."

Why does something familiar to us actually feel that way? Discover the sources of familiarity as you are introduced to the concepts of perceptual fluency and prototypes, and explore some surprising ways that those feelings of familiarity can trump other considerations.

Is déjà vu simply an illusion of memory? If so, can we learn more about memory by trying to understand how this common phenomenon comes about? Examine some of the theories that have been put forth to explain this uncanny experience.

Is episodic memory subject to the same pitfalls as misattributed feelings of familiarity? Can we "remember" things that never took place with the same intensity and certainty as those that did? Gain new insights into what is at stake when long-forgotten "memories" resurface.

Metaphors for memory usually reference information storehouses of some kind, such as library stacks or computer hard drives, from which episodic memories are "retrieved." Learn about the extent to which we actually construct our memories anew each time we summon them and how this explains common memory errors.

Does our brain always make decisions for us about which aspects of our experience to encode for later recall, or can we influence that process ourselves? Learn potentially powerful techniques for influencing the shape of future memories.

Apply a reality check to the popularly held belief that memory naturally declines as we age. Learn what happened when a researcher corrected for the age-related variables long-ignored by traditional testers-and what conclusions we can draw about what lies ahead for us as we grow older.

Contemplate the significance of what you've learned, with special attention to the common question of whether you can improve your episodic memory-remembering what you want to recall, forgetting what you'd rather not, and making choices about how to achieve a balance.