MEMORY

WHAT IS MEMORY?
 People often think of memory as a single aspect of mind,
something that functions either poorly or well.

 How often have you heard someone say, I've got a really poor
memory?

 I just can't remember things or I know someone with a really

good memory who never forgets anything.
 Memory is more complex. It turns out that what we call memory is really a
collection of independent systems in the brain that enable us to learn and
remember different types of information.

 Each memory system including working memory, episodic memory,

semantic memory and procedural memory serves a different purpose.

 We can think of working memory as the mind’s work bench.

 We use it to maintain and manipulate our thoughts in conscious

awareness.

 We can use working memory to think verbally as in remembering a friend's phone

number by mentally rehearsing the digits or we can use it to think visually as in
imagining how our bedroom would look if we rearranged all of the furniture.
 Working memory is temporary designed for short-term retention.

 The other memory systems are more permanent, designed for long term retention. Each
of the remaining systems enables us to retain a vast amount of information indefinitely.

 The first of these is episodic memory. The type of memory we use for retaining the
experiences that make up our life. Episodic memory involves the conscious recall of
personal experiences. It is the type of memory we use whenever we travel mentally
backward in time remembering past events such as a favorite movie, a festive family
holiday or our first miss.
 Whenever we engage in personal recollection, we are using our episodic memory, the long-term memory
system.

 Next is semantic memory. Semantic memory is also long-term, but instead of personal
recollections, it represents the factual knowledge that we have learned over time and it
involves more than just word meanings. Facts such as the meaning of the word ecology,
one plus one equals two.

 To help keep episodic and semantic memory separate in your mind, think of episodic
memory as specific to a time and place as in remembering, for example, your first kiss,
 The last type of long-term memory is called procedural memory
and it represents our ability to learn and perform complex
activities and skills.

 Skilled actions, such as riding a bicycle or driving a car are

acquired slowly through trial and error learning.

 But once acquired, they can be retained for a lifetime.

 Unlike episodic or semantic memory that can be declared,

procedural memory can only be demonstrated.

 We demonstrate procedural memory by doing it, not by

describing it.
 Our memory systems differ in a number of ways, including their capacity
and duration.

 One is short-term, the others are long term.

 Short-term memory enables us to retain a small amount of information for

a short period of time.

 Long-term memory permits us to retain a vast amount of information for an

indefinite period of time.

 Sometimes people get these terms mixed up, mistakenly stating that they
have no short-term memory when they really mean that they have trouble
recalling something from the recent past.
 Remembering what you did a short time ago is recent long term not short-term memory.

 Short-term memory involves the present. It is what is on your mind at the moment and the
memory system responsible for short-term retention is called working memory.

 Whereas working memory is always temporary used for short-term retention, the other
memory systems are more permanent used for long-term retention.

 Remembering after a delay, whether a day or a decade is long-term retention and it

involves our episodic, semantic and procedural memory systems.

 We also know from case studies of people with different forms of brain damage whether by accident or
disease, that these memory systems can function independently.
 A person can suffer an impairment in one system while leaving the others intact.
 For example, following a concussion a person might have trouble making new episodic memories, yet still be
able to learn new procedural skills.

 Episodic memory is the most fragile system.

 It develops gradually during early childhood and it shows the first signs of dementia in old age
 WHAT IS MEMORY?
 It is said by psychologist Endel Tulving that memory is a
gift of nature.

  It is the ability to acquire, retain and use information or

knowledge.

 This gift we now know is provided by our working,

episodic, semantic and procedural memory systems that
normally functions seamlessly together.