Types Of Long Term Memory

Question 1

What is episodic memory and where is it stored

Answer 1

Memory for events, for example your recollection of your first day of school, a holiday or a birthday. Episodic memories have 3 elements: specific details of the events, the context of the events, the emotions felt at the time of the event. Episodic memories are stored in the hippocampus

Question 2

What is semantic memory and where is it stored

Answer 2

Is memory for facts and general knowledge about the world: for example London is the capital of England and that 2+2= 4. Semantic memories also relate to the function of objects, what behaviour is appropriate in certain situations and abstract concepts such as mathematics and language. Semantic memories begin as episodic memories as we gain knowledge from personal experiences. The memory then transitions into semantic memory as it loses its association with its particular event and gets generalised. However some people have a strong recollection of when and where they learned a particular fact. Semantic memories are stored in temporal lobe.

Question 3

What is oroceedukaral memory and where is it stored?

Answer 3

This memory is associated with your motor skills and actions such as knowing how to tie your shoelace or knowing how to play an instrument. These procedural memories are normally acquired through repetition and are more resistant to forgetting or amnesia than other types of LTM. Procedural memories are normally automatic and are unavailable for conscious inspection. This makes it difficult to explain them verbally. If you think too much about procedural memories then you will not do it correctly, for example if riding a bike and you think about what you are actually doing then you will lose your balance. Because they are automatic, we can use our attention on other tasks whilst performing these everyday skills. It is stored in the cerebellum.

Question 4

Evaluation long term memory?

Answer 4

+Evidence for the distinction between episodic/semantic and procedural memory has come from amnesia patients. Amnesia patients are unable to store new episodic or semantic memories but their procedural memory remains largely intact
+scientific evidence from brain scans support that there are different types of LTM. When participants were asked to recall different pieces of information, different areas of the brain are shown to be active on the fMRI. Episodic is aossicated with hippocampus. Semantic is temporal lobe and procedural is cerebellum
+Case studies of brain damage patients offer support for th different types of LTM. For example, Clive wearing is a man who suffered from a viral infection that damaged his hippocampus. He has no episodic memory and he cannot form new semantic. However his procedural was intact
- Research into different types of LTM have typically been conducted on individual patients. Despite case studies being highly detailed, they are isolated cases of individuals. It would be inappropriate to assume that everyone’s LTM is formed in the same way. Findings can’t be generalised to wider population