M

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

An imaging technique that applies radio-wave pulses to protons in the body that have been aligned by means of a magnetic field and that emit detectable radio signals

Materialism

A school of thought holding that the world of matter, including human beings, is composed of tiny indivisible parts, and that the form of each material objects depends on the attributes of these parts-their size,shape,location and so forth-and on their lawful behavior

Mental imagery

Images not currently visible to the eye but present to the mind’s eye

Mental rotation

A process of imagining the rotation of imagined objects (objects in the mind’s eye) as if one were physically rotating actual objects

Metacomponents

The executive processes used to plan, monitor and evaluate problem solving

Metaphysics 

Originally a branch of philosophy seeking to explain the nature of reality, of knowledge, of the universe; more recently, speculative philosophy in general

Mnemonic device  

A device to aid in remembering facts, such as the word “HOMES” to remind one of the names of the Great Lakes

Modal memory model

A model of the memory system in which the permanent, structural features of the system are distinguished from the modifiable control processes, and in which a number of different structural components are hypothesized

Monolingual

 A person who speaks only one language

Morphology

The study of the rules governing word structure

Multishore model

A model of the memory system in which several components are hypothesized, for example, the sensory store, the short-term store and the long-term store