Memory L3 - Types Of Long Term Memory

Question 1

What can the LTM be divided into

Answer 1

• explicit/declarative memory - memories easily described, recalled consciously, like episodic and semantic
• implicit/non-declarative memory - memories can’t easily be described, don’t need to be recalled consciously, like procedural

Question 2

Episodic LTM

Answer 2

• concerned with ‘episodes’ - it gives individuals an autobiographical record of personal experiences e.g. when their birthday is, the experience of their children’s birth.

The strength of episodic memories is influenced by:
• emotions present at the time memory is coded – for example, traumatic events are often well recalled due to their high emotional content.
• the degree of processing of information during coding with highly processed episodic events recalled more easily.
- It is thought that episodic memory helps individuals to distinguish the difference between real and imaginative events.
- The prefrontal cortex brain area is associated with initial coding of episodic memories, with consolidation and storage of the memories associated in the neocortex.
- However the connecting together to create a full memory of the episode is in the hippocampus

Question 3

Semantic LTM

Answer 3

• contains all knowledge (facts, concepts and meanings) and individual has learned - e.g world capitals
• The strength of semantic memories is dependent upon the degree of processing occurring during coding – though semantic memories seem to be better sustained over time than episodic ones.
• Semantic LTMs and linked to episodic LTMs as new knowledge tends to be learned from experiences, with the episodic memory underpinning the semantic memory.
• There is a disagreement over which brain areas are involved in semantic LTM as some evidence suggests involvement of the hippocampus and related areas while others believe there is usage of several brain areas.
• Coding is mainly associated with the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.

Question 4

Procedural LTM

Answer 4

• type of implicit memory permitting individuals to perform learned tasks (skills) with little conscious thought, for instance riding a bicycle.
• Many procedural LTMs occur early in life, involving the learning of important motor skills, like walking, dressing etc.
• Procedural LTM is also involved in language, helping individuals to speak automatically, using grammar and syntax without thinking how to - shows how procedural and semantic memories work together.
• procedural memory does not require conscious thought, some people can simultaneously perform other cognitive tasks that require attention.
• Procedural LTM is associated mainly with the neocortex brain areas of primary motor cortex, cerebellum and prefrontal cortex and unlike explicit forms of LTM , doesn’t need the hippocampus to function.

Question 5

Differences between the three types of LTM

Answer 5

• both episodic and semantic memories are conscious whereas procedural memory is unconscious
• when carrying out brain scans, these show that the different types of memory are stored in different areas of the brain – for example, semantic memories and episodic memories tend to be stored in the hippocampus whilst procedural memories are stored in the cerebellum and motor cortex
• with semantic memories, we may not recall when we learned/encoded these memories whereas episodic memories are stored with reference to time and place.

Question 6

LTM Evaluation

Answer 6

strengths
- case studies:
H.M/Clive wearing
Vicari et al
Finke
Brain scan evidence
Real life application
weaknesses
Case study counter
Can’t be generalised

Question 7

H.M./Clive Wearing

Answer 7

• H.M and Clive Wearing- both had severely impaired episodic memories but could learn new skills (so their procedural memories were intact) - but both these individuals also had a relatively intact semantic memory.
• in the case of Clive Wearing – he suffered a viral infection in the brain which caused severe brain damage – he was a brilliant musician – however, even after the brain damage, he could still read music and play the piano
• This proves that the LTM has different stores because you can damage one and leave the others unaffected. This is also clear support that not only are there different types of LTM but they are actually stored in different parts of the brain

Question 8

Vicari et al.

Answer 8

• Vicari et al (2007) reported on the case study of CL an eight year girl who suffered brain damage due to the removal of a tumor.
• She had real difficulties in forming new episodic memories but was still able to create new semantic memories.
• This suggests that episodic and semantic memories are separate systems using different brain areas.

Question 9

Finke

Answer 9

• Finke (2012), reported the case of PM, a 68 year old professional cellist who suffered brain damage leading to severe episodic and semantic memory difficulties.
• However although he could not recall musical facts such as names of famous composers, he could still read and play music including the learning of new complex pieces.
• This suggests that his procedural memory was unaffected

Question 10

Case studies counter

Answer 10

• have methodological issues including lack of control.
• We cannot control for example the location of the brain damage.
• It is therefore difficult to generalize from these case studies about how the LTM in all people operates.
• It lacks population validity - the support comes from case studies whereby the brain damage is uniques for every study so it can’t be generalised

Question 11

Brain scans

Answer 11

• there is evidence from brain scans such as PETs and fMRI’s that show how different types of LTM are stored in different parts of the brain.
  E.g. Tulving (1989) did an experiment where he asked participants to different memory tasks which required them to use their procedural and semantic memories whilst having PET scans.
• He found that when the task required the use of semantic memory then there was more brain activation in the frontal and temporal lobes whereas when the task required the use of episodic memory then the prefrontal cortex was activated.
• This brain scan evidence shows that different areas of the brain is used in the different type of LTMs.

Question 12

Real life application

Answer 12

• A final strength is that types of LTMs can be used in real life applications – as being able to identify different LTM stores has positive applications
• Knowing episodic is a distinct store means it can be targeted in people with specific episodic memory difficulties.
• Belleville (2006) - showed that it is possible to improve episodic memories in elderly people with impairments. This highlights the benefit of distinguishing between different types of LTM- it allows specific treatments to be developed.

Question 13

Can’t be generalised

Answer 13

• evidence of gender differences in LTMs suggesting that research on types of LTMs cannot be generalized to all of the population and needs to be treated with caution.
• Herlitz et al (1997) assessed LTM abilities in 1,000 Swedish participants and found that females consistently performed better on tasks requiring episodic LTM, although there were no gender differences in semantic LTM ability.
• This further supports the idea that semantic and episodic memories are different. It has been suggested women may have stronger episodic memories due to their higher verbal abilities. This then questions the idea of generalization on the different types of LTM’