Physiology of the brain
Temporal Lobe
- Plays a key role in the formation of long-term memory
- Involved in declarative and episodic memory
- Declarative Memory = memory of facts and events
- Episodic Memory = memory of experiences and specific events
- Contains the Limbic System (includes the hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, etc.) which is important to the processing of memory
- Hippocampus = essential for memory function; especially with the transfer of memories from short-term to long-term memory
- Basal Ganglia = important for the formation/retrieval of procedural memory
- Procedural Memory = the unconscious memory of skills such as tying a shoelace, riding a bike, etc.
- Sensory Memory = the shortest-term element of memory (less than a second); the ability to comprehend sensory information (Ex: the ability to look at something and remember what it looked like)
- Short-Term Memory = the duration of memory between 15 and 30 seconds; the ability to remember and process information at the same time; this information will quickly disappear unless a conscious effort is made to retain it
- Long-Term Memory = intended for storage of information over long periods of time; short-term memories can become long-term through the process of consoldiation
- Implicit Memory = one of the two main types of long-term memory; unconscious memory
- Procedural Memory = responsible for knowing how to do things such as motor skills (Ex: how to tie your shoes)
- Explicit Memory = one of the two main types of long-term memory; requires conscious thought (Ex: recalling what was for dinner last night)
- Declarative Memory = a type of explicit memory; memory of facts and events; refers to memories that have to be consciously recalled
- Episodic Memory = a type of declarative memory (events); memory of autobiographical events (times, places, etc.)
- Semantic Memory = a type of declarative memory (facts); includes things that are common knowledge (names of colors, sounds of letters, capticals of countries)
- Declarative Memory = a type of explicit memory; memory of facts and events; refers to memories that have to be consciously recalled
- Implicit Memory = one of the two main types of long-term memory; unconscious memory
- Encoding = when information comes into our memory system (through sensory input), it needs to be changed into a form that our system can store (information is changed into meaning)
- Storage = controls where the information is stored, how long the memory lasts for, how much can be stored at a time (capacity), and what kind of information is held
- Retrieval = refers to getting information out of storage