Throughout the course, I struggled to understand the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing as it relates to perception. Bottom-up processing is any processing that originates with the incitement of the sensory receptors. Top-down processing always begins with a person’s previous knowledge, and forecasts due to this already acquired knowledge. While I was driving home one day, I had quite the realization while stopped at a stop sign. The interplay between bottom-up and top-down processing had actually caused me to stop at the stop sign. It became quite obvious how the two processes work in harmony in order to make this world negotiable for a human being. It seems that the two operate together more often than not, which, at times, makes them difficult to distinguish between.

It seems that driving an automobile is a great example of the teamwork between bottom-up and top-down processing. Some of our seemingly automatic reactions when we are driving a car are due to bottom-up processing. If a deer runs out in front of our car, we will most likely attempt to avoid a collision reflexively. We have perceived the deer through our visual receptors, and come to a stop. This has occurred without much conscious consideration and prior knowledge needed. The processing of this event appears to have happened by dominantly bottom-up means.

What about the stop sign? Is this bottom-up or top-down? I believe the correct answer is: both. In order for me to consider this stop sign, I must first visually perceive the octagonal red sign we all know so well. This initial perception comes from the environment and appears to be bottom-up. But, how do I even know what a stop sign is? I know the action I must take when this stop sign is perceived due to top-down processing. This is rooted in our knowledge and information about previous experiences. Previously, in my life, I learned about the concept of a stop sign, and what to do when encountering one while driving. I cannot perceive the stop sign in the environment without bottom-up processing, and would also have no idea what to do with this visual information without my previous experience with the theory of top-down processing. I know what side of the road to drive on, green means go, and essentially all of the rules of the road, seem to rely on both bottom-up and top-down processes in discussing perception.

There is enough information in our environment to make sense of the world in a direct way.  Information provided to our senses by the environment is all that is needed in order for us to interact with our surroundings. The idea of a stop sign seems to contradict this assessment. If I were to simply perceive the shape, color, etc. of a stop sign without any top-down processes occurring, I would not know the meaning of the sign. This lack of knowledge would result in accidents.

Instead of struggling between both processes separately, my stop sign revelation has made these concepts clearer. This duality seems to occur quite regularly in our everyday lives, and is essential to our negotiation through this world.

Language is the basis for verbal communication. It is a system of communication using sounds or symbols that enables us to express our feelings, thoughts, ideas, and experiences. This allows people to talk to each other and understand one another so it is easier to get things accomplished. Without language we would not be able to communicate verbally so it was created for this reason. The components of words like phonemes and morphemes are the two smallest units of language. They change the meanings of words and have definable meaning or grammatical function

Language begins with words that can become sentences and then to create paragraphs and so on. Both humans and animals communicate, and this includes movements of our bodies, sign language, brail, along with verbal communication. There are thousands of languages around the world and there are also accents in the same language. In the United States you can tell if some people are from New York, Boston, the South, and this includes Pittsburgh. I never knew Pittsburgh had its own accent, but we say words and group words together so some people can tell if you live near the city of Pittsburgh.

I found out about “Pittsburghese” when vacationing in Myrtle Beach. My friends and I were walking on the boardwalk and met some kids are age and started talking. After talking for a while my friend asked where they were from and they told us, but when we thought they would ask us where we were from they said, “You guys are from Pittsburgh, huh?” I was stunned. They did not say, “You are from Pennsylvania,” they knew we were from the outskirts of Pittsburgh. Later on as I got older I saw t-shirts that said, “Pittsburghese,” on the back and there were about thirty sentences that people from Pittsburgh use when they talk that makes us unique. Such words and phrases include, ” Around ere,” meaning “Around there”.  “Diju,” Is supposed to mean “Did you?” We also use “Yinz,” to replace the problem with plural you. A lot of people from the United States use other words for you, because it just does not sounds right just saying the word, “you,” words like “Yal and yinz ” are used. Other examples are Mundy” “Worsh,” and “N nat.”

While reading I came across an experiment by Pollack and Pickett that did using unaware participants. It explains how people sound unintelligent when certain words are taken out of the sentence and the word is therefor used alone. Before to experiment was to begin the participants were being recorded while having conversations among themselves. They spoke like they normally would. Later the words that had been picked out alone from the sentences were played back for the participants to hear. They could not figure out at least half of the words they used that came from their own mouth. So this means people need the context of words, sentences, and paragraphs in order to  perceive words that make up the conversation. Just how it makes a difference if a word is stood out alone or said wrong, we also have to use pauses in speech to make a sentence understood. This involves speech segmentation. This is the process of perceiving individual words in a continuous flow of the speech signal.

There are many rules n language and it is known that people have a difficult time understanding rules in grammar but can talk fluently and know how to speak correctly. I have always found grammar very easy and understood rules and was always great in reading, language, and speech and writing classes. When I talk now I try to pay attention to what I say. It is very easy to use Pittsburghese words and phrases. If you are aware of language and the rules starting at the basic ones to the more complex rules, you will not only speak better but sound more intelligent. .

Memory is one of the most important uses of the brain. Without memory, we would not be able to store things in the brain for later to recall important ideas, thoughts, and reminiscences. It is important to have memory strong because without having a strong memory all would be forgotten. Your mind chooses what to remember, what is not that important and what can be forgotten, and what can be saved for later use,. Some information is lost over time. Some things that we remember become are so prevalent that we use them every day and cannot forget them as easily as other information from memories that we do not use every day.

For example, when I was younger and also through high school I had an excellent memory. I could remember day to day thoughts, feelings, ideas, and things that happen, even some that were not as important as other ones. However, through the years my brain does not remember memories as well as I used to. I know one reason is because I had a long period in my life where I used and abused drugs. I found myself forgetting my day to day activities, even things I did the day before. I would have to think very hard and for at least five to ten minutes to receive the information that was stored in my memory. I would get frustrated and be on the spot when someone would ask what I did yesterday or last week.

Memory is built a certain way for it to be ultimately remembered for later use. Broadbent’s filter model of attention goes as follows; it starts with input, which is the messages we hear, and what we see or feel. Then it goes through a filter. This is when your brain chooses what is most important to what a person wants to know. The important information goes to the detector, which records that information. Then it goes into a person’s memory. This is where it is stored for later use. With my problems of remembering I can input information normally, and I believe the filter process is normal as well. The problem starts at the detector. Sometimes, especially with school work I do not always know what is most important to remember. When the information that I put in my memory is stored, some I remember easily, others I do not remember at all, and some others will tell me that they told me something that I am convinced that they never told me in the first place.

After quitting drugs, this still affects my memory. Although it has gotten better, my memory is still not up to par with where it should and could be. This affects test taking, studying and trying to remember what I read and recall it for later use, and affects my day to day life.  I always got good grades through school and most of my college years; however after years of high school and a few years of college it got bad. I have had a lot of education with required credits from other schools not getting transferred and other problems, such as failing classes at Penn State when having a hard time in life or just from the drug abuse hurting my memory recall. People do not take time to appreciate the ability to recall things stored in their memory. I never stopped and said, “Wow I have a good memory,” I just had good recall for information. People think it is just something that happens and that should happen. For me this is difficult, frustrating, and affects my life.

Although my memory has had better recall than in the past, it can be difficult daily. Peoples’ brains are wired to store memory, and the brain throws out information that we do not think they would need to recall and this happens all day long. When someone like me does not have their brain and their memory in total working order, the things I need to remember are not always stored for recall or just are not remembered. With time I know my memory will get better, I just need to practice and take a longer period of time to think about what information I need to remember, as well as use my recall more often to make sure to remember what I will need. It just takes more time and energy to remember things for tests, daily life, and what I did the day before. I know with practice it will get better with time. By paying attention to the filtering process, putting more energy into what I need to recall for later, and practicing memorization with games and in life, my memory can get to where it needs to be.

Memory consolidation is “the process in which experiences or information that has entered the memory system becomes strengthened and resistant to interference caused by other events or trauma” (Goldstein, 2011). I also wondered about what effects memory consolidation and retention, as well as how to improve it. A new study suggests that caffeine can “sharpen” our memory, increase our awareness, as well as boost our long-term memory (Gatlin, 2014). This study is one of the first of its kind to determine the effects of caffeine on memory.

John Hopkins University researchers conducted a double-blind trial that had participants take either a 200mg caffeine pill (equivalent to a cup of coffee) or received a placebo pill. When consumed shortly after a learning session, it was found it enhanced image recognition and recall. At the learning session participants were shown several images. The following day participants were showed the images from the previous day, as well as new images. John Hopkins researchers wanted to test pattern separation, which if the brain’s ability to differentiate similar images. Pattern separation is also an indicator of long-term memory retention.

The participants who took the caffeine dosage during the “learning session” were able to recognize the images more successfully, than those who were given the placebo. Dr. Michael Yassa, University of California, Irvine, said, “Caffeine enhanced consolidation of long-term memories” (Gatlin, 2014). On the other hand, high doses of caffeine can have negative effects: such as headaches, nausea, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and you don’t get the benefits of memory enhancement! The ideal dosage of caffeine to experience memory benefits is about 200 mg of caffeine (Gatlin, 2014).

Memory consolidation begins on the synaptic level, which is where the brain creates new pathways for information (Goldstein, 2011). The “neural map” can take days, weeks, months or years to be made, and also allows for memories to be retrieved when needed. The entire process of memory recognition helps to strengthen information in the long-term memory” (Goldstein, 2011). Coffee helps to enhance and speed up this process.

While reading this article a few days ago I enjoyed a cup of coffee. I think that I retained the information much better because I was alert and focused, which in turn improved my memory consolidation. According to the FDA, about 80% of Americans consume 200mg, or one cup of coffee, per day, which is the same amount as this study (Borota, Murray, Keceli, Chang, Watabe, Ly, Toscano & Yassa, 2014). Now we have an excuse to drink more coffee.

Sources:

Borota, D., Murray, E., Keceli, G., Chang, A., Watabe, J., Ly, M., Toscano, J., & Yassa, M. (2014). Post-study caffeine administration enhances memory consolidation in humans. Nature Publishing Group, 17(2), 201-203. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn.3623

Gatlin, L. (2014, January 12). Caffeine has positive effect on memory, johns hopkins researchers say. Retrieved from http://hub.jhu.edu/2014/01/12/caffeine-enhances-memory

Goldstein, E. B., (2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, And Everyday Experience   (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. (Original work published 2005)