Long term memory types

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Episodic

responsible for storing informtion about events (like episodes) that we've experienced - e.g. what we had for breakfast

  • they're time-stamped
  • They include several elements woven to create one memory - who, when, where, feelings and context
  • We have to make a concious effort to recall them
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Semantic

It's where we store information about the world e.g.

  • knowledge about the meanings of words
  • eneral knowledge
  • facts etc
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Procedural

Responsible for knowing how to do things / memory of motor skills, like how to ride a bike

  • unconscious / automatic
  • you can effortlessly complete a task that would be difficult to explain
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Evidence for different types of long term memory

  • Research using brain scans shows different parts of the brain are active using different kinds of memory:
    • Episodic = frontal lobe and temporal lobe
    • Semantic = temporal lobe
    • Procedural = cerebellum
  • Clive Wearing was a world class musician who suffered from a viral infection that damaged his hippocampus, so the procedural part of his memory still works so he can still play the music, just the same part is repeated as he doesn't remember playing is due to damage in his frontal lobe / episodic.
  • Belleville et al 2006 demonstrated that episodic memory could be improved in older people with a mild cognitive impairment e.g. slight dementia. Those who did training did better on an episodic memory test than those who hadn't - meaning we canimprove memory for dementia sufferers and improve QoL
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