in the previous video I introduced the multi store model of memory and in that video I said the long-term memory store is coded semantically we store information according to what it means but when I think of a bike I do know semantically what it means to say bike the definition of the word but I also remember how to ride a bike it's a muscle memory and it seems like a different type of long-term memory from a semantic memory I can also think back and remember what happened the last time I rode a bike again that's seems to be a very different type of long-term memory so let's explore three types of long-term memory semantic procedural and episodic in this psych Boost video you can now follow along by making your notes in my psych boost workbook 150 full color work sheets covering all compulsory units it's on Amazon or you can get sign additions from our website and teachers can order packs for the whole class semantic procedural and episodic long-term memory these are the three types of long-term memory what I want to do is show you how we can Define them as distinct processes and look at some research and evaluations that support or contradict that they are actually separate the first distinction I want to make is between the different types of long-term memory and that is if we can put the memory into words so of the type of long-term memory is declarative or not now with two types episodic and semantic we would say they're declarative so going back to my example if you ask me do you know what a bike is I would say yeah it's a two- wheed vehicle that you sit on and you move by turn the pedals that's a semantic memory and I've described it in words if you ask me when was the last time I rode a bike I would say I hide a bike last summer and I rode in the Peak District it was beautiful but it was the hottest day of the year so a little intense you can see there there's a range of episodic points about the last time I wrote bike an episode from my life that I've been able to put into words but if you ask me to describe in words how to ride a bike I get a little stuck I mean obviously you sit on it you hold the handles and you pedal but that's not it anyone trying for the first time with just those instructions it's going to fall off because riding a bike is like other procedural memories it's a non- declarative implicit skill we would call it a procedural memory also known as muscle memory I can do it easily but I do it unconsciously after I've learned the skill let's take another example someone who knows how to play guitar will have semantic memories of what a guitar is episodic memories of playing a guitar for others and procedural memories of how to actually play guitar and applications are common in this section you may want to take a moment to think of other long-term memories that you can separate and classify as episodic semantic and procedural so for those examples we can see we've got two categories declarative and non- declarative given a quick definition for the two declarative memories episodic memories are our memories for particular events in our lives and semantic memory is our knowledge about the world so facts and Concepts and to Define non- declarative procedural memory it's an unconscious memory of skills known as muscle memory but there are lots of differences between these types of longterm memory that we should know and will help us Define them as separate processes now you don't need to remember absolutely all of these but what you can do is pick a few to use so if you're asked to talk about the differences between them firstly I've already talked about declarative versus non declarative but next timestamps this means is the memory stored with a reference time and place well with episodic yes if I think back I've got a sense of when that memory happened if I think back to when I was school when I started teaching or I think of something that happened yesterday each of those memories are associated with a particular time in my life when it comes to semantic memories well not really I know a range of facts but for the vast majority of them I do not remember when I learned that fact I've got a strong semantic memory that Paris is the capital of France but I've got no idea when I learned that fact and procedural memories are also not time stamped I don't remember when the first time I learned time I shoose but it is a strong procedural memory both episodic memories and semantic memories can be recalled consciously I have a sense of if I want to try to remember something that happened to me or a fact I think and I try to bring the information into Consciousness but procedural memories I can just perform it unconsciously episodic memories are autobiographical they're about me and my life experiences and when I think about them I'm part of the memory but NE semantic or procedural memories are autobiographical episodic memories are easy to forget semantic memories are more resistant forgetting and procedural memories are very resistant to forgetting I mean we even have the phrase it's like riding a bike to describe how you can perform a skill well after many years when you haven't done it the level of emotion felt when coded influences the strength of episodic memories How Deeply information is processed affects the strength of semantic memories so how many other bits of information we can link to him and when it comes to procedural how much practice we've had with that skill will affect his strength finally when it comes to brain regions with episodic the first coding seems to be in the prefrontal cortext but it's stored across a brain connected by the hippocampus with semantic memory one of the associated brain regions is the parahippocampal cesy and for procedural memories there's a role for the motor cortex and the cerebellum evaluating types of long-term memory to evaluate we want to look at evidence that suggests that these three types of long-term memory are truly separate if we can trust that research but also are there any reasons to think they're not actually distinct firstly we have research by vagara kadim this was an investigation of three young amnesic patients who had all suffered damage to their hippocampus but a nearby region called the parahipp cample cortices were reasonably undamaged it was found that all of these children had significant episodic Amnesia but they were all able to attend school because their semantic ability was largely unaffected they learned to speak and could recall factual information at a level just a little below what was normal for their age these results suggest that episodic and semantic memories are separate processes that function using separate brain regions one of the most famous case studies in Psychology is that of Clive wearing after severe brain damage to his hippocampus caused by a virus he has retrograde amnesia meaning he can't remember episodic memories from before the brain damage like his wedding day what he can recall semantic memories like the fact that he's married to his wife Deborah and he still has the ability to play the piano which is of course a procedural memory he also has anterior grade Amnesia so we can't make new episodic or semantic memories very interestingly under Expendable conditions though Clive and other amnesiac patients like hm when trained on a procedural skill can improve on that procedural skill but they won't retain any episodic or semantic memory of actually doing the skill these case studies show that the three types of long-term memory are separate processes as each process can remain while the others are completely lost now much of the research on types of long-term memory use clinical case studies this is an example of idiographic research these studies allow an in-depth investigation of memory in a way that would be simply impossible in an experimental setup however because they're individuals and unusual individuals at that we may not be able to generalize findings on the types of long-term memory to other healthy people it may be that their brain damage is more extensive than we can see so there may be other reasons for their unusual experiences however researchers like tving use modern cognitive Neuroscience studies using pet and FM scanners to investigate how different types of long-term memories are linked to areas of brain activation these nomothetic methods using healthy samples also show distinctions between the types of long-term memory backing up observations from case studies this increases our confidence that types of long-term memory truly are separate however there are reasons to argue that there may not be such a clear-cut separation between the different types of long-term memory firstly episodic and semantic memories are both declarative also episodic memories tend to become semantic memories over time also there is a strong connection between procedural and semantic memory as we're able to produce automatic language this is the fact that we're able to fluently talk using a wide range of semantic facts and Concepts quickly without having to consciously consider and recall every semantic fact now have a go at this real exam question on types of long-term memory if you're a psycho Patron at the neuron level or above you can access tutorial on psych boo.com and in it I'll talk you through a model answer for this question and general tips for everyone else don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss the videos released right after your exams and I'll see you in the next psych Boost video The Working memory model