Semantic memory

• Semantic memory - A long-term memory store for our knowledge of the world. This includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean. These memories usually also need to be recalled deliberately
• Semantic LTM:

  • Semantic memory store contains knowledge of the world
  • Eg: The taste of an orange, meaning of words
• Semantic LTM:

  • Semantic memories generally begin as episodic memories because we acquire knowledge based on personal experiences
  • There is a gradual transition from episodic to semantic memory where the memory slowly loses its association to particular events, therefore these memories are NOT 'time-stamped'
  • Eg: we don't remember when we learned that 2+2=4
• Semantic LTM:

  • Semantic memory is less personal than episodic memories and more about facts we all share
• Semantic LTM: Brain areas

  • Some evidence suggests involvement of the hippocampus
  • Tulving (1989) suggested that there is greater activation in the posterior region of the cortex when retrieving semantic information