types of LTM

Question 1

AO1: what is LTM

Answer 1

the permanent memory store

Question 2

AO1: episodic memory

Answer 2

LTM store for personal events

is is explicit (available for conscious inspection)

brain region: hippocampus

Question 3

AO1: semantic memory

Answer 3

LTM store for our knowledge of the world

it is explicit

brain region: temporal lobe

Question 4

AO1: procedural memory

Answer 4

LTM store for our knowledge of how to do things (learned skills)

it is implicit (unavailable for conscious inspection)

brain region: cerebellum and motor cortex

Question 5

AO3: strength- case study of patient HM

limitation- based on one person

Answer 5

P: case study of patient HM provides support for the difference between implicit and explicit LTM
E/E: he had epilepsy and got his hippocampus removed, his STM stayed intact but he was unable to transfer info into the LTM. He was able to learn procedural tasks (implicit) but not remember episodic and semantic info (explicit)
L: this shows that there are different types of LTM as some can be remember and others cant
HOWEVER,
only based on one person so population validity is low and it cant be generalised to the target population

Question 6

AO3: strength- case study patient PM

limitation- can’t establish brain region

Answer 6

P- further support for the difference between implicit and explicit from patient PM
E: he had a virus and got amnesia. His explicit memory (semantic and episodic )was effected but his implicit (procedural) memory was still intact
L: demonstrates a clear distinction between different types of LTM.
HOWEVER,
it is difficult to establish exactly which brain regions are affected in patients with brain damage. damage to a particular region does not necessarily mean that region is associated with a particular type of memory.

Question 7

AO3: strength- brain scans

Answer 7

P- brain scans show that there are different types of LTM
E/E: research shows that different parts of the brain are active for each LTM. episodic (hippocampus), semantic (temporal lobe) and procedural (cerebellum).
L: LTM is made up of at least 3 distinct categories

Question 8

AO3: strength- real world application

Answer 8

P: real world application
E: study compared performance of older people suffering with mild cognitive impairment. One group had memory training and one group didn’t.
E: found those with memory training, performed better on test of episodic memory
L: identifying different types of LTM can improve peoples lives through appropriate treatment