types of long term memory

• implicit: non-declarative, knowing how
• explicit: declarative, knowing 'that'
• three types of long term memory

  • episodic
  • semantic
  • procedural
• episodic

  • declarative
  • occurs as part of a sequence
  • personal experiences --> time, place, who, context, associated emotions
  • hippocampus
• semantic

  • declarative
  • knowledge about the world --> things, functions of objects, appropriate behaviour, maths, language
  • temporal lobe
• procedural memory

  • implicit, non-declarative
  • knowing how to do things
  • automatic --> bike riding
  • acquired through repetition and practice
  • prefrontal cortex
• (+) case study support

  • HM could form new procedural memories but not new episodic / semantic memories
  • suggests long term memory both intact and not intact
  • contradiction suggests different components to the long term memory
  • C/A: case study - one person (can't be generalised), don't know what he was like before brain injury (no comparison)
• (-) evidence from brain damaged patients

  • cant be generalised to neurotypical people / people without those specific brain injuries
  • lack of causal relationship - could be factors that caused brain injury that is causing memory differences, not the actual change in brain structure
• (+) research support for separation of episodic and semantic long-term memory

  • study found that patients with alzheimers disease have poor episodic memory but retain ability to from semantic memories
  • suggests distinct separation of two memory stores