Declarative memory

what is episodic memory?

• declarative memory for personanlly experienced events

• remembering what happened, when and where

• supports mental time travel: consciously re-experiencing a past event

what is semantic memory?

• semantic memory is declarative memory for general knowledge, facts, concepts and meanings

• it does not require recollection of a specific personal event or original context

How do episodic and semantic memory differ?

• episodic memory concerns personally experienced events and their contextual details

• semantic memory concerns general facts that may be detached from original learning episode

• distinction is support by neuropsychological and cognitive evidence, although systems interact during retreval

Evidence from Korsakoff syndrome for declarative memory:

• KS is associated with severe memory impairment (amnesia)

• clinical evidence helps demonstrate that memory can be distrupted while other cognitive abilities are preserved

• research hs examined temporal and brain changes in KS, support the importance of specific memory related systems

what does semantic dementia contribute to understanding memory systems?

• SD produces severe degration of conceptual and factual knowledge

• evidence that some patients can retain aspects of memory for persoanlly experienced events supports a distinction between smantic and episodic memory

• pattern is consistent with partially separable declarative memory systems

what does developmental amnesia suggest about episodic memory?

• it can severely affect memory for personal events while leaving some other knowledge less affected

• this highlights the hippocampus’s role in episodic

what is the standard consolidation theory?

• new memories initially depend on the hippocampus

• over time, they may become more supported by the neocortex

• the theory is debated because detailed old memories may still rely on the hippocampus

What is the Hebbian principle?

• neurons that repeatedly activate together form stronger connections

• this may help explain how learning strengthens memories

What is semantization?

• specific memories can become general knowledge over time

• details of the event may fade while the main facts remain

What did Tibin et al (2026) examine?

• they studied brain activity and representations during episodic and semantic memory retrieval

• their work explored how similar or different the two processes are

what are three types of episodic recall?

• free recall

• serial recall

• cued recall

what is recognition memory?

• recognising whether something has been seen or experienced before

• it is often easier than free recall because the item is presented

• it can involve familiarity or recollection

How do familiarity and recollection differ?

• familiarity: something feels known, without details

• recollection: remembering details or the context

what is the remember/know/guess procedure?

• remember: recognise an item and recall details

• know: it feels familiar, but details are missing

• guess: unsure whether it was seen before

What did Rugg and Curran (2007) find about ERPs?

• the left parietal effect is linked with recollection

• the mid frontal effect is linked with familiarity

• these findings suggest recognition may involve different processes

What did Dunn’s (2008) meta analysis conclude?

• reviewing 37 studies, Dunn argued that recognition differences might reflect memory strength rather than separate processes

• this challenges the dual process view

How can episodic memory be tested?

• free recall

• story recall

• paired associations

• recognition

what did Aschenbrenner et al report?

• free recall was more strongly linked to early Alzheimer’s biomarkers than story or paired associate recall

• the study followed older adults over about ten years

what did Karagoz et al find about event boundaries?

• people tended to recall words from the same event together

• recent words were remembered better

• recall was poorer for words just before or after event boundaries

What are the key points about declarative memory?

• episodic memory= personal events; semantic memory= general knowledge

• episodic memory can be tested through recall or recognition

• recongition may involve familiarity and recollection, though this is debated