Lack of Consolidation Theory of Forgetting

Question	Answer
Parkin	Defined a memory trace as some permanent alteration of the brain substrata in order to represent some past experience
Drachman and Sahakian	One group given a neurotransmitter blocking drug, then learned a list of words and recalled after one minute of doing a distractor task. The control group (didnt receive the drug) recalled twice as many words as the other group Shows that consolidation requires neurotransmitters and the process can be disrupted
Yarnell and Lynch	The effect of blows to the head and concussion on memory loss American footballers that received concussions during games were asked about the incident as soon as the came round, 3 minutes later and then 20 minutes later When asked immediately they could give a full description but they had little or no recollection 3 and 20 minutes after Blows to the head disrupt the consolidation process
Parkin	Argues that consolidation is a lengthily process with two stages 1. Initial Fixation 2. Integration with other memories
Study of HM	Epileptic patient and had some of his brain removed. Now cannot create new long-term memories, but he lost memories from 2 years previous, suggests a much longer consolidation process. Corkin, he can learn Procedural Knowledge
Evaluation	Emphasis on biological processes Consistent with ideas of the nervous system Unclear how long consolidation takes Most instances of forgetting are not due to drug or blows to the head

Resource summary

	Created by Adam O'Rourke over 11 years ago