Types of Long Term Memory

• Episodic-

  • LTMs of events/experiences in our lives, likened to a diary.
  • Time-stamped, have to be consciously recalled.
• Semantic-

  • LTMs of our knowledge of the world, likened to a combination of a dictionary and an encyclopaedia.
  • Not time stamped, more complex than just 'facts'.
• Procedural-

  • LTMs of skilled behaviours such as driving a car.
  • Trying to explain them may make task more difficult.
• One strength is the case study of Clive Wearing. He had poor memory for episodic and semantic memories, but his procedural memory still worked as he remembered how to play piano. However people with brain injuries their case lacks control of variables
• One limitation is their is conflicting neuroimaging evidence. some say episodic is right prefrontal cortex and semantic is left prefrontal cortex. However others say encoding episodic is left prefrontal cortex and retreiving semantic is right prefrontal cortex
• another strength is real life applications. Older people with memory loss tend to lose episodic memories which when trained can recall them better. The split memories means different treatments.