Memory Types & Processes PDF

Types of Memory  Sensory Memory  Working Memory  Long-Term Memory  Explicit (Declarative) Memory  Semantic Memory  Episodic Memory  Implicit (Non-declarative)Memory  Procedural Memory Brain Regions involved in Memory  Frontal Lobes: Working Memory is an Executive Function and is connected...

Types of Memory  Sensory Memory  Working Memory  Long-Term Memory  Explicit (Declarative) Memory  Semantic Memory  Episodic Memory  Implicit (Non-declarative)Memory  Procedural Memory Brain Regions involved in Memory  Frontal Lobes: Working Memory is an Executive Function and is connected to planning and attention. Therefore, the frontal lobes in heavily involved.  Hippocampus: holds memories from your immediate past and dispatches the memory to the cortex, where it is stored in long-term memory.  Amygdala: plays a role in the storage of emotional memories. Sensory Memory  Immediate memory produced by our senses (smell, taste, touch, vision, hearing)  Very large capacity (since our senses are constantly taking in information)  The deciding factor of whether sensory memory is transferred to short term memory is Attention ____________ Working Memory (Short-Term Memory)  Used to be referred to as short-term memory, but now more commonly known as working memory.  Processes information used in planning, problem solving, and perception. Its short-term memories that you work with when performing a task.  Computer analogy: RAM Working Memory   Receives information from both sensory memory AND Long-term memory. We work with information from our stored knowledge and immediate sensory  Long-Term Memory experience  Working Memory  Sensory Memory We work with information from our stored knowledge and immediate sensory experience to navigate our everyday reality. Examples of Working Memory  Writing notes in class  Making a grocery list  learning a dance  Rehearsing a speech  Working memory test story Long-Term Memory  The memories that stay with us (for the most part) in long term, permanent storage.  Long term memory often consists of things that are meaningful to us, our experiences, facts and knowledge, and things that are automatic to us.  In terms of a computer analogy, think of our long-term memory as the hard drive.  Long-term memory is broken down into many different components. Types of Long-Term Memory: Implicit Memory  Implicit Memory – also known as Non-declarative memory; memories that are almost unconscious. Memory that a person is not aware of processing.  This form of memory is automatic, and breaks down further into Procedural Memory Procedural Memory  Memory consisting of unconscious skills that we have once learned to help us perform various tasks.  Motor skills  Habits  Riding a bike  Driving a car  Essentially our memory of things that we know how to do automatically. Things in which we know the procedure without having to consciously think about it. Types of Long-Term Memory: Explicit (Declarative) Memory  Explicit Memory – also known as declarative memory; conscious memories that a person is completely aware of. Memory of specific knowledge and is used when you consciously recall information.  Breaks down into 2 specific types:  Semantic Memory  Episodic Memory Semantic Memory  Semantic Memory – our memory of facts, concepts, words, and knowledge about the world  Examples can be:  What is the capitol of Canada?  Who was the lead singer of Nirvana?  What is a brain cell called?  Facts and concepts that have learned and can retrieve from our knowledge base. Episodic Memory  Episodic Memory – our memory of specific events that we have experienced. Often seen in images or "episodes" of our lives.  Examples can be:  That one time my friend switched his ping pong paddle from his right to his left hand and said "OH MY GOD... I’M BILINGUAL"  The first time you tried sushi, and it literally changed your life.  Heartfelt events, either bad or good. Using our Memory Using our Memory  Encoding – Initial experience of perceiving and learning information. Turning sensory memory into working memory  Storage – the process of memory consolidation. Turing working memory into long term memory.  Retrieval – taking information from our prestored knowledge (long term memory) and using it to complete complex tasks (working memory) Amnesia  Inability to remember information (typically all events within a specific period, usually due to physiological trauma). This includes loss of facts, experiences, time and place. 2 Types of Amnesia:  Retrograde  Anterograde Retrograde Amnesia Lose explicit memories from before the surgery/accident BUT don’t lose implicit memories Loss of memory for events and experiences that happened before the amnesia causing event. Anterograde Amnesia  loss of memory for events and experiences that occurred after the amnesia-causing event. Anterograde amnesia Normal working’ memory Remember everything up to incident Cannot form new long-term explicit memories CAN form new long-term implicit memories