Memory

How does Memory work:
Memory is the process in which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. these are the three steps in creating memory. First encoding is converting information from the outside world into mental representations. In order for the encoding process to be successful you must pay attention. The second process in memory is storing. The information that you have encoded can be stored in three different places the sensory, the working, and the long-term memory. Once the information is encoded and stored it must be retrieved in order to be used which brings us to the last step, retrieving. Retrieving is the reconstruction of the stored information by the firing of the same neurons used to encode it.

Memory related disorders/forgetting:

Memory loss can rage from sever to mild causes, but they all result from some kind of neurological damage to the structure of the brain. Memory loss can be progressive like some of the well known disorders like Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease or it can be instant such as if someone were to be in a car accident and take dramatic impact to the head. But most disorders are causes by ageing. one of the things mentioned in one of the videos that really made me think and got my attention was when it was mentioned that why don't we forget what we look like, that why when we look at the mirror we remember that it is ourselves. The answer to that is of course because of our memory. If we were to lose our memory every other minute than we would not recognize ourselves in that mirror.

Real world connections:
Memory loss is a part of our everyday life, from mild to very sever cases. One case that I can think about is our dreams. I can relate to this because it happens to me all the time! I have a really weird or sometimes scary dream and I try to remember it so I can tell it to my friends and family when I see them, but sure enough as the day goes on I start to forget it little by little until it completely vanishes  from my memory.

Sources:
http://www.human-memory.net/disorders.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_disorder
https://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/memory_disorders/
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/centers_clinics/memory_disorders/conditions/index.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvIlVy2J2bU&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMOtNCuwqfQ&feature=youtu.be

learning

How do people learn, and is it a simple process? Well considering that the brain is one of many complex subjects that is studied by many scientist I would have to say that the learning process is not a simple one.

Science behind learning:
When you learn a new skill it is very beneficial for you. It not only adds a new tool for you to use in your life but it improves many other areas such as better working memory, better verbal intelligence, and increased language skills. As you would assume at first when you are taking on learning a new skill it takes your brain a little more effort to process and learn that skill, But later on as you continue to learn a practice that skill it takes your brain less work to accomplish it. The reason for this is because as your brain gets better at the skill you are learning, your brain is actually strengthening itself. The science behind how the brain learns is this; the more that connections between neurons in the brain are formed the more we learn and the more information we retain. We are still learning about how the brain functions and we will be for many years to come because of its complexity, but this is just some of the knowledge that scientists have accumulated by studying how the brain learns.

What stood out to me:
What really stood out to me was the video that Dr.Pris showed us during the lecture on Tuesday about the baby little Albert and the experiments conducted on him. I know it's pretty obvious to assume that a baby can be frighten and begin to cry with the slightest of noises so I wasn't surprised that every time the scientist would bang the steel bar when the rat was presented little Albert would cry. What did stand out to me is the effect that the noise of the steel bar left on little Albert. Since the steel bar was banged only when the rat was presented to little Albert, little Albert connected the rat to the noise. So now when the rat was presented he would become scared even though the steel bar was not being banged.

Real world Applications:
After learning about this subject there are many real world situations that are connected to the way we learn and the science of it. For example lets just go back to the little Albert experiment. Even though he was a a baby and didn't really have a lot of logical thinking at that point in his life to understand why noises and animals were being presented, he made the assumption and connection that every time he saw the rat there was going to be a noise. Why? because that is what he learned. We do the same thing with many other situations. For example lets say you let your buddy borrow five dollars and he never pays you back. If you have some type of logical thinking you are going to assume that he isn't going to pay you back again if you let him borrow another five dollars. We learn by expeirences and how they affect us.

Sources:
http://www.clomedia.com/2016/12/23/cognitive-science-behind-learning/
https://lifehacker.com/the-science-behind-how-we-learn-new-skills-908488422
https://numberworksnwords.com/global/blog/the-science-behind-learning-and-having-fun/#.Wp4iLrbMwaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBfnXACsOI