What’s declarative memory?

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Declarative memory stores factual information while procedural memory stores physical memory. The temporal lobe is where declarative memory is stored, with two forms: episodic and semantic. Recall can be imperfect, and damage to the temporal lobe can cause memory problems. The only way to strengthen declarative memory is to use it.

Declarative memory is the part of long-term memory that deals with storing factual information, in contrast to procedural memory, which is involved with storing physical memory of how to do something. Simply put, when you tie your shoes, procedural memory is the part of memory that lets you remember how to tie your shoes, while declarative memory is the part of memory where you store information like the word “shoe” and the I remember learning to tie my shoes.

The region of the brain where declarative memory is stored is the temporal lobe. There are two basic forms of declarative memory: episodic and semantic. Episodic memories are related to particular times and places and could be considered personal memories, such as experiences of certain events. Semantic memory is memory that deals with the storage of factual information that is not related to a particular experience.

People can access information in their declarative memory through the process of recall. Recall can often be imperfect, especially when acquiring a memory is surrounded by stress or intense emotion, or when a memory is not accessed very regularly. Witnesses to crimes, for example, often give different accounts at different times because their episodic recall is less than perfect, while someone who learned all the world’s capitals in elementary school might have trouble remembering them 40 years later because they haven’t I haven’t had access to that particular semantic memory in a long time.

People with damage to their temporal lobes may have problems with their declarative memory. Some people may have difficulty acquiring new information or remembering certain information. Amnesia, in which people have trouble recalling memories, can be short-term or persistent, depending on the type of amnesia involved, and can be quite debilitating for the patient.

The only way to strengthen declarative memory is to use it. People who learn things by heart and repetition and who repeat this information over and over will be more likely to remember it in the future. This is why rote learning is such a popular method of teaching people, as are teaching techniques that force people to mix and recall memories in new ways. For example, someone learning Spanish would memorize verb conjugations and practice their use in routine conversations to strengthen their ability to remember conjugations quickly and accurately.




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