Lesson 3 - Types of LTM

Question 1

Episodic Memory

Answer 1

• Memories involving events
• Uses the prefrontal cortex, neocortex and hippocampus
• Traumatic events or events with high emotional content are recalled more easily.

Question 2

Semantic Memory

Answer 2

• Memories involving facts and concepts (conscious)

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Question 3

Procedural memory

Answer 3

Memories involving skills (unconscious)

Question 4

Clive Wearing

Answer 4

Supports the types of long term memory

• Severely impaired episodic memory
• Could learn new skills (procedural memory was intact)
• Clive suffered a viral brain infection
• He was a brilliant musician, and could still read music and play piano
• You can damage one store and leave others unaffected and they are in different areas of the brain

Question 5

Vicari et al (2007)

Answer 5

Supports the types of Long Term Memory

• Case of an 8-year-old girl, CL
• Suffered brain damage due to the removal of a tumour.
• Could not form new episodic memories
• Could create new semantic memories
• Shows that they are in different areas and are independent stores

Question 6

Finke (2012)

Answer 6

Supports the types of long term memory

• Case of 68 year old professional cellist, PM
• Suffered brain damage
• Episodic and semantic difficulties
• Could not recall musical facts, but could still play and read music and learn new ones
• Procedural memory was unaffected

Question 7

Problem with case studies

Answer 7

They have methodological issues, like location of brain damage and other variables. Cannot be generalised to all cases of the LTM

Question 8

Strengths of the types of the long term memory

Answer 8

• Case studies like Clive Wearing, Finke (2012) with PM, and Vicari et al (2007) with CL
• Supported by evidence from brain scans like PET scans and fMRI scans. They show when different parts of the brain are active, supported by Tulving (1989). It involved using PET scans to show that episodic and semantic memory are distinct, with episodic memory activating the right prefrontal cortex and semantic memory activating the left, providing neurological evidence for separate memory systems.
• It as real life applications. People with difficulties with a specific memory stores can have specific treatments developed for that store. For example, Belleville (2006) shows that it is possible to treat episodic memory difficulties in the elderly.

Question 9

Tulving (1989)

Answer 9

Supports the types of long term memory (conscious)

• Used PET scans and found that there are separate regions for the types of LTM.
• Episodic memory activates the right prefrontal cortex
• Semantic memory activates the left prefrontal cortex