Long term memory

• How does LTM encode?

  Semantically
• What is the duration of LTM?

  Unlimited
• What is the capacity of LTM?

  Unlimited
• Define the term episodic long term memory -

  -Stores information about events that you've actually experienced. Contains information about time, place, emotion you felt,details of what happened
• What 3 elements do episodic memories have?

  -Specific detail of event

  -The context

  -The emotion
• Define the term semantic memory -

  -Knowing the meaning of different events, feelings or function of objects

  -Start as episodic, but over time lose their association to a particular event so becomes more generalised
• Define the term procedural memory-

  -Physical/muscle memory or skills

  -We are less aware of them, because they have become automatic

  -Often made through repetition and practice
• Implicit memories-

  -Dont have to think

  -Procedural
• Explicit memories -

  -Have to think

  -Episodic and semantic
• Episodic memories-

  -Primarily associated with hippocampus and temporal lobe
• What brain structure is associated with procedural memory-

  -Cerebellum
• What happened to HM's ability to form new memories after his hippocampus was damaged?

  -He could form procedural but not declarative memories
• What did Spiers et al study of 147 amnesia patients reveal -

  -Procedural and PRS memories were preserved
• What did Hodges and Pattersons research on Alzheimers patients show?

  -Episodic memory was more affected than semantic
• What did Irish et al research on Alzheimer patients demonstrate ?

  -Poor semantic but intact episodic memories
• What is perceptual-representation system (PRS)?

  -A fourth kind of implicit memories
• What happens when you think to much about procedural memories -

  -They may interfere with performance
• What areas are associated with procedural memory -

  -The basal ganglia

  -Limbic system
• What role does priming play in memory?

  -It influences implicit memory
• Strength - Supporting evidence

  -Patient HM could still complete procedural tasks but could not remember learning them, had procedural memory but not episodic or semantic.

  -Shows how there is separate long term memory stores
• Strength - Brain scans

  • Brain scans indicate that each type of LTM may be stored in different areas of the brain
  • Episodic memory is associated with the hippocampus
  • Semantic memory is associated with the temporal lobe
  • Procedural memory is associated with the cerebellum
  • This clinical evidence is high in reliability as it is objective i.e. scientific
• Limitation- Generalisability

  • Case studies cannot be generalised beyond their immediate subject to the general population
  • This weakens their use as supporting evidence for separate LTM stores as a sample of one participant cannot come near to being representative of a wider population
• Limitation - Cross overs

  -There are some cross-overs between episodic and semantic memories e.g. learning French at school is both semantic (understanding the language) and episodic (time-stamped to school experience)

  • This suggests that LTM (three separate stores) is actually more complex