Literature Review Question Summary: Semantic & Working Memory with Perceptual Processes

The theories of semantic memory and working memory with perceptual processes: visual and auditory all intertwine. When semantic memory is activated the knowledge of the world as you have learned it comes into play. As this knowledge is activated the working memory also comes into play because you are thinking about it at the present time, it gets your attention. The object you are viewing or the sound you are listening to activate your perceptual processes. When you presently think about a topic you are using your working memory. Your perceptual processes: visual and auditory are stimuli that activate the working memory. When you see or hear something, you are going to think about what you have just seen or heard. The processes of identifying what you have seen or heard involve your semantic memory. You perceive objects differently depending on your semantic memory. Multi-modal brain processes are triggered linking the new information to stored information in memory. New learning is created when the perceptual information processed links with the episodic memory and the semantic system. The visual stimuli trigger the visuo-spatial part of the working memory. The phonological loop in the working memory is triggered by the auditory stimuli which produce our perception.

When an object is presented, different parts of the brain process the information. The right hemisphere is involved in processing specific visual form about the object, it deciphers between perceptually identical or perceptually different. The left hemisphere processes more abstract and/or semantic information about the object. After an object has been presented repetitively the neurons in the fusiform and lateral occipital cortices where visual perception and semantic processing are located, reduce activity because the object has been previously presented. The prefrontal cortex which retrieves semantic information also has reduced brain activity (Simons, Koutstaal, Prince, 2003).

Recognition is a process that occurs in thinking when something recurs or happens again. The re- means to do something again and cognition is the process of knowing. Recognition means you know something because you have seen it or done it in the past. In order for something to be recognized, it must be familiar. When a person processes information meaningfully they will remember it better, this process is known as deep processing.

Yonelinas (2001) studied the outcome of semantic vs. perceptual encoding on the approximation of recollection and familiarity processes. Three theories were used for the study: Jacoby’s process dissociation procedure, Tulving’s remember-know procedure, and Yonelinas dual-process signal-detection model. It is not clear if the three theories rely on the same memory retrieval.

Participants were instructed to auditorily listen to a list of 80 words using both deep processing where they related the pleasantness of the word, and shallow processing where they counted the syllables in the word. Each theory was tested as an individual experiment with different members. Recollection was measured as the capability to verify if a word was offered in an incidentally prearranged heard list or in a deliberately prearranged seen list. Anything the participants remembered about the study could provide as recollection in the remember-know test.

Deep processing resulted in greater recollection and familiarity of the words in the three theories. The results show that semantic in contrast to perceptual processing at the training stage led to a raise in recollection and familiarity. Much research shows that the two processes, recollection and familiarity, depend on assistance from semantic processing (Yonelinas, 2001).

Sometimes you do not want to remember something. People, who are distracted by unwanted memories, try to refocus their attention to control what they want to remember. When a memory is overridden it requires the use of the central executive control system (Levy, Anderson, 2002). If a memory is suppressed several times it may cause memory failure. When the person wants to remember the memory they have suppressed, it may be impaired.

I am currently working in a special education classroom with Kindergarten through grade three students. I use many assignments in the class which relate pictures and written word in order to build semantic memory. These tie in the visual processes. Auditory processes are stimulated when I say the word and the student finds the related picture. Attention is easier to keep in small groups and I usually work with 4-5 kids at a time. These activities encourage the students to process the information meaningfully so that they will remember it better. Time schedules do not allow for extended activities, I normally have 20-30 minutes at a time. Before the children are allowed to leave my classroom they are asked to tell me at least one thing they have learned today. This is a memory strategy which helps them remember the information that they see as important. More research needs to be done on practical applications in the classroom dealing with the complex processes of the brain and the activities which result in true learning.

References:

Levy, B.J., & Anderson, M.C. (2002). Inhibitory processes and the control of memory retrieval. TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences, 6 No.7, Retrieved January 27, 2007, from http://www.psych.nwu.edu/~ej/IntroCogSci/LevyAnderson2002.pdf.

Simons, J.S., Koutstaal, W., Prince, S., Wagner, A.D., & Schacter, D.L. (2003). Neural mechanisms of visual object priming: evidence for perceptual and semantic distinction in fusiform cortex. NeuroImage, 19, Retrieved January 27, 2007,from http://www.sciencedirect.com/.

Yonelinas, A.P. (2001). Consciousness, control, and confidence: the 3 c's of recognition memory . Journal of Experimental Psychology, 130 No.3, Retrieved January 27, 2007, from http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/Yonelinas/pdf/29_01CCC.pdf