Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory

Learning is the acquisition of new knowledge or skills through experience or education.

Associative learning occurs when the link between two stimuli produces a particular response.

For instance, in Pavlov's experiment, dogs were conditioned to associate food with the sound of a bell, causing them to salivate when they heard it ring, even in the absence of food.

Non-associative learning occurs due to repeated exposure to a single stimulus. Habituation, a type of non-associative learning, reduces responsiveness to stimuli like routine traffic noise, while sensitization increases response to stimuli such as the siren of an ambulance.

Memory is the ability to store and recall information acquired through learning.

It can be of two types. Procedural, or skill-based memories such as riding a bike are stored in the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and premotor cortex.

In contrast, declarative, fact-based memories like the recollection of musical compositions reside in specific regions of the cerebral cortex, such as the auditory association area.

Declarative memories can be long-term, held for days to years, or short-term, stored temporarily.

Short-term memories can be converted to long-term memories through memory consolidation.