Memory

Memory is a function of the brain: the ability to retain information. Memory is much studied by cognitive psychology and neuroscience. There are multiple types of classifications for memory based on duration, nature and retrieval of perceived items. The main stages in the formation and retrieval of memory, (from an information processing perspective) are:

Classification by information type

Long-term memory, the largest part of any model, can be divided into declarative (explicit) and procedural (implicit) memories.

Related Topics:
Declarative (explicit) - Procedural (implicit)

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Declarative memory requires conscious recall, in that some conscious process must call back the information. It is sometimes called explicit memory, since it consists of information that is explicitly stored and retrieved.

Related Topics:
Declarative memory - Conscious - Recall - Explicit

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Declarative memory can be further sub-divided into semantic memory, which concerns facts taken independent of context; and episodic memory, which concerns information specific to a particular context, such as a time and place. Semantic memory allows the encoding of abstract knowledge about the world, such as "Paris is the capital of France". Episodic memory, on the other hand, is used for more personal memories, such as the sensations, emotions, and personal associations of a particular place or time. Autobiographical memory - memory for particular events within one's own life - is generally viewed as either equivalent to, or a subset of, episodic memory. Visual memory is part of memory preserving some characteristics of our senses pertaining to visual experience. We are able to place in memory information that resembles objects, places, animals or people in sort of a mental image. Visual memory can result in priming and it is assumed some kind of perceptual representational system or PRS underlies this phenomenon. http://moodle.ed.uiuc.edu/wiked/index.php/Memory%2C_visual

Related Topics:
Semantic memory - Episodic memory - Knowledge - Autobiographical memory - Visual memory - Priming - Perceptual representational system

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In contrast, procedural memory (or implicit memory) is not based on the conscious recall of information, but on implicit learning. Procedural memory is primarily employed in learning motor skills and should be considered a subset of implicit memory. It is revealed when we do better in a given task due only to repetition - no new explicit memories have been formed, but we are unconsciously accessing aspects of those previous experiences. Procedural memory involved in motor learning depends on the cerebellum and basal ganglia.

Related Topics:
Procedural memory - Implicit - Unconsciously - Motor learning - Cerebellum - Basal ganglia

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So far, nobody has successfully been able to isolate the time dependence of these suggested memory structures.

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