Types of long term memory Flashcards
what is semantic memory?
shared facts or knowledge
this can either be concrete for example knowing that ice is made of water or abstract, knowing that a maths equation or answer/question
what is episodic memory?
personal memories of events such as what happened yesterday or a teacher you liked. This is linked to context and emotional tone/specific details
what is procedural memory?
Memory of how you do something for example knowing how to ride a bike or learning how to read. Such memories are an automatic response to repeated practice
Concerned with skills
what are the two types of memory?
Declarative (explicit) or implicit (procedural)
This is knowing the difference between this and that
Name one evaluation point
Brain scans
Episodic memory is associated with the hippocampus and other areas in the temporal lobe where the hippocampus is located. It is also associated with the frontal lobe
Semantic memory is associated with the temporal lobe
Procedural memory is associated with the cerebellum where fine motor skills are as well as the motor cortex
Name a second evaluation point
Distinguish between procedural memories and declarative memories
the case study of HM showed that he could not form new long term memories although he did have knowledge of his memories before surgery
However, he could form new procedural memories for example, he learnt how to draw a stick figure based off the reflection in the mirror (this is called mirror drawing Corkin 2002) however, he could not remember that he learnt this - semantic and procedural memories
This shows that there are different types of memory
Name an evaluation point
problems with using case studies
It is hard to determine where the certain part of the brain has been damaged
Case studies with patients with brain damages are done with living patients
The only way we can know exactly what damage is done to the brain is if the patient has died
One could argue that the area of the brain that is damaged is not the cause of specific behaviour but it could be that it is acting as a relay station
this means that if this relay station is damaged it could impair performance
Name a final evaluation point
Research conducted on patients with Alzheimer’s shows the link between episodic and semantic memory
Hodges and Peterson in 2007 found that some patients had difficulty retaining episodic memory but not semantic memory which is a dissociation - the separation of ability
The second dissociation was found by Irish et al in 2011 which found the opposite some patients had poor semantic memories whilst others had good episodic memories
This provided evidence of the different types of memory as well as showing that episodic memory is the pathway to semantic memory
