Types of LTM Flashcards
What are episodic memories?
Personal experiences, can include place, time, context, emotions.
What is an example of an episodic memory?
What you did on a certain birthday, what time you shaved the cat.
Where are episodic memories stored?
Frontal lobe and Hippocampus.
Is information in the episodic memory available for conscious inspection?
Yes.
They are declarative.
What is semantic memory?
Knowledge of facts and other abstract concepts (without association to the self).
Non-personal, general knowledge.
Where are semantic memories stored?
Cerebrum (surface - brain dictionary) and various.
What is an example of a semantic memory?
What a table is, people have birthday’s.
What are procedural memories?
Skills and muscle memory acquired through repetition and practice that have become automatic and unconscious.
Where are procedural memories stored?
Cerebellum - very back of brain linked to the spine.
Is information in the procedural part of the LTM available for conscious inspection?
No.
Non declarative.
Unconscious, unavailable to think about.
What is an example of a procedural memory?
How to play a certain thing on an instrument, handwriting, how to walk, tying shoelace.
What is the key research study that demonstrates the separation of the declarative and procedural memories?
HM case study by Milner in 1958.
What did HM have done that effected his memory?
Parts of his medial temporal lobe, hippocampus and amygdala removes in an attempt to cure his intractable epilepsy.
After the surgery, what memories could HM form and no longer form?
He could form new procedural memories and short term memories but long lasting declarative memories could no longer be formed.
What does HM’s ability to recall memories from well before his surgery but inability to create new long-term memories suggest?
That encoding and retrieval of long term memory information is mediated by distinct systems within the medial temporal lobe, particularly the hippocampus.
The fact that HM was able to learn hand-eye coordination kills such as mirror drawing, despite having no memory of having learned or practice the skills before, suggests what?
The existence of different types of long-term memory, which are now known as declarative and procedural memories.
Evidence from what supports the existence of 3 different types of LTM?
Brain scans evidence, in particular PET scans, which show that different areas of the brain are active when different types of LTM are in use.
What is a smaller relevance case study that shows the episodic memories are located in the hippocampus separate to the semantic and procedural memories?
Case study of Clive Wearing, damaged only one type, has no idea of anything from 30 seconds ago.
