Types of long-term memory

• Identify the 3 types of LTM.

  Episodic, semantic and procedural.
• Outline/compare types of long-term memory.

  Episodic memories refer to memories of personal events, meaning they are stored with reference to time and place (we remember when and where they happened).
• Outline/compare types of long-term memory.

  Semantic memories refer to factual memories, so they are not stored with reference to time and place (we do not typically remember when and where we learned a fact). 
• Outline/compare types of long-term memory.


  Both episodic and semantic memories are stored in the hippocampus and retrieved using the prefrontal cortex. However, episodic memories are recalled using the right prefrontal cortex whereas semantic memories are recalled using the left prefrontal cortex.
• Outline/compare types of long-term memory.

  Procedural memories refer to muscle-based memories (e.g. how to ride a bike) and are less likely to be forgotten than episodic and semantic memories.
• Outline/compare types of long-term memory.

  Procedural memories are also a type of non-declarative memory (do not require conscious recall but are harder to verbally explain) whereas episodic and semantic memories are types of declarative memory (require conscious recall and are easy to verbally explain). 
• Outline/compare types of long-term memory.

  Procedural memories are stored and recalled using the cerebellum and motor cortex.
• Evaluate research into types of long-term memory: supporting evidence.

  For example, Clive Wearing was a patient who had an impaired episodic memory (e,g. could not remember what he had done the day before) but had an intact semantic memory (e.g. could remember day-to-day facts such as what a chair is for) and procedural memory (e.g. could remember how to play the piano). This is a strength because it shows that if you can damage only one type of LTM, there must be different types.
• Evaluate research into types of long-term memory: supporting evidence.


  Research instructed participants to perform various memory tasks while their brains were scanned. They found that the left prefrontal cortex was involved in recalling semantic memories while the right prefrontal cortex was involved in recalling episodic memories. Meanwhile, the location of procedural memories were more associated with the cerebellum and motor cortex. This is a strength because it shows that there are different types of LTM and that these are localised to different areas of the brain.
• Evaluate research into types of long-term memory: methodological flaws. 


  For example, although the research into Clive Wearing provided a highly detailed case study of long-term memories, it only involved looking at one individual's case. This is a limitation because it could be argued that the findings may not represent how everyone forms, stores and recalls memories. This means that while informative and may provide a good base for further research, on its own it may lack generalisability.