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Unlock This CourseYour brain stores different types of information in different ways. Think about riding a bike versus remembering your birthday party last year. These involve completely different memory systems! Understanding how your memory works helps explain why you can remember some things easily but struggle with others.
Memory isn't just one big storage system - it's more like having different filing cabinets for different types of information. Today we'll explore the two main types: declarative memory (things you can talk about) and procedural memory (things you can do).
Key Definitions:
This is memory you can "declare" or talk about. It includes your memories of what happened yesterday, facts you learned in school and general knowledge about the world. You can consciously access these memories and put them into words.
This is memory for "procedures" or skills. It's how you remember to ride a bike, tie your shoes, or play a musical instrument. You often can't explain exactly how you do these things - you just do them automatically.
Declarative memory is like your brain's encyclopedia and diary combined. It stores two main types of information: personal experiences (episodic memory) and general knowledge (semantic memory). This type of memory requires conscious effort to recall and can usually be put into words.
Declarative memory splits into two distinct categories, each serving different purposes in how we understand and navigate our world.
Your personal photo album of memories. This includes specific events from your life - your first day at school, last Christmas dinner, or what you did yesterday. These memories have a time and place attached to them.
Your mental textbook of facts and knowledge. This includes knowing that London is the capital of England, that 2+2=4, or that dogs are animals. These facts don't need personal experience attached to them.
Episodic memory is about "when" and "where" something happened to you personally. Semantic memory is about "what" something is, regardless of when you learned it.
Henry Molaison (known as H.M.) had brain surgery that damaged his hippocampus. After surgery, he couldn't form new episodic memories - he couldn't remember meeting new people or what he had for breakfast. However, his semantic memory for facts learned before surgery remained intact and he could still learn new procedural skills like mirror drawing, even though he couldn't remember practising them!
Procedural memory is your brain's instruction manual for physical and mental skills. Unlike declarative memory, you don't need to consciously think about these memories - they happen automatically. This type of memory is incredibly durable and hard to forget once learned.
When you first learn a skill like riding a bike, you have to think about every movement. But through practice, these movements become automatic and stored in procedural memory. The skill becomes so ingrained that you can do it without conscious thought.
These include riding a bike, swimming, playing football, or typing on a keyboard. Once learned, you can perform these skills automatically, even after years without practice. Your muscles seem to "remember" what to do.
These include reading, mental arithmetic, or playing chess. These mental procedures become automatic with practice. You don't consciously think about how to recognise letters when reading - it just happens.
Understanding the difference between declarative and procedural memory helps explain many everyday experiences. Why can you ride a bike after years of not cycling, but forget someone's name minutes after meeting them?
Schools use both types of memory. Learning historical dates uses declarative memory, while learning to solve maths problems uses procedural memory. Understanding this helps teachers design better lessons and helps students choose the right study methods.
Facts, dates, vocabulary and concepts. Best learned through repetition, making connections and understanding meaning. Examples: learning French vocabulary or historical events.
Skills and techniques. Best learned through practice and repetition until automatic. Examples: solving algebra equations or writing essays.
Many subjects combine both types. Science involves learning facts (declarative) and experimental techniques (procedural). Language learning needs vocabulary (declarative) and speaking skills (procedural).
When learning to drive, you start by consciously remembering rules (declarative memory): "Check mirrors, indicate, manoeuvre." With practice, these actions become automatic (procedural memory). Experienced drivers don't consciously think about changing gears - they just do it. However, they still need declarative memory for road signs and traffic rules.
Different types of memory can be affected differently by brain injury, disease, or ageing. Understanding this helps explain why someone with dementia might forget recent events but still remember how to play piano.
Brain damage can affect declarative and procedural memory differently because they use different brain regions. The hippocampus is crucial for declarative memory, while procedural memory relies more on the basal ganglia and cerebellum.
Typically affects declarative memory first, especially episodic memory. People may forget recent events and struggle to form new memories, but can still perform familiar skills like cooking or playing instruments.
Often affects procedural memory more than declarative memory. People may struggle with automatic movements and skills, but their ability to remember facts and events may remain relatively intact.
Knowing about different memory types helps you choose the best strategies for learning and remembering different kinds of information.
Different types of memory respond to different improvement techniques. What works for remembering facts might not work for learning skills.
Use elaboration, make connections, create stories, use mnemonics and test yourself regularly. Spacing out study sessions also helps consolidate facts and events.
Practice regularly, start slowly and build speed, break complex skills into smaller parts and use distributed practice over time. Repetition is key for building automatic responses.
Get enough sleep (crucial for memory consolidation), exercise regularly (improves brain function), eat well (brain needs proper nutrition) and manage stress (high stress impairs memory).
Studies show that sleep plays different roles for different memory types. REM sleep helps consolidate procedural memories (skills), while slow-wave sleep helps consolidate declarative memories (facts and events). This is why getting good sleep is crucial for both learning new skills and remembering information for exams.
Understanding the difference between declarative and procedural memory helps explain how your brain works and how to learn more effectively. Declarative memory handles facts and events you can talk about, while procedural memory handles skills you perform automatically.
Remember that both types of memory are important and work together in daily life. When you're cooking, you use procedural memory for the physical skills of chopping and stirring, but declarative memory for the recipe and ingredients. Recognising these differences helps you choose the right strategies for different types of learning and understand why some memories are easier to access than others.