Learning and memory : neurosciences perspectives

Abstract

Learning is the process of acquiring new or modifyingexisting knowledge, skills, behaviors or preferences (Schachter et al., 2010)   Memory is the faculty of encoding, storing and retreiving information (Squire, 2009)   Basic forms of learning were demonstrated at earlier and earlier stages of development, including in utero (Blumberg et al., 2010, Kail and Spear, 1984)   There are multiple brain learning/memory systems, age-specific ecological adaptions, and acquisition-vs.-expression of learning  (Krasnegor et al., 1986, Shair et al., 1991, Spear and Campbell, 1979).    Rats show “infantile amnesia” (Campbell and Campbell, 1962, Campbell and Spear, 1972). The discovery that rodents show poor long-term memory for experiences occurring in infancy suggested that the human phenomenon has a biological basis.    The neurobiology of learning and memory during adolescence showed specific sex/gender effects (Spear, 2009, Raznahan 2019).   There is a strong relationship between neurobiological and behavioral changes specifically during the adolescent period: alterations in fronto-striatal systems during adolescence impact risky decision making and vulnerability to social pressures, which may ultimately provide a framework for the development of reward-related learning abilities (DePasque & Galvan 2017).   Involvement of NMDA glutamate receptors in impairments in fearextinction during adolescence, and how the role of NMDA receptorsmay differ during this stage of development compared to adults and juveniles (Baker and Richardson 2017).    The maturation of cortical noradrenergic systems contributes to executive function (Mokler and colleagues 2017).