To use knowledge or skills, it is necessary to access long-term memory. This stores facts, memories, and skills for minutes, years, or a lifetime, depending on the type. This article by Animus Medicus, the shop for anatomical charts,
What is long-term memory?
Long-term memory is a mechanism in the human brain. It is capable of storing and retrieving information and skills over varying periods. The information contained in long-term memory is extremely important for everyday tasks. A weak long-term memory can be managed to a certain extent through cognitive training.
The Structure of Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory is composed of two main areas: "declarative memory" and "non-declarative memory." Both are presented below:
- Declarative Memory
Declarative memory is also known as knowledge memory. It is capable of storing knowledge, data, and facts, as well as memories of events, in a way that they can be retrieved. The information stored here is explicit and can be reproduced verbatim.
Two sub-areas of declarative memory are semantic and episodic memory. Semantic memory stores factual knowledge that is true regardless of individual experience. This includes, for example, the fact that the Earth is a sphere. Episodic memory, on the other hand, stores facts about personal life. This is how people are able to remember their first kiss.
- Non-declarative Memory
Non-declarative memory is also referred to as behavioral memory. Learned sequences of actions or skills are stored here. These enable a person, for example, to ride a bicycle. The information stored here is implicit and cannot be reproduced verbatim.
Non-declarative memory is divided into three areas. Procedural memory contains all of a person's skills. Only through the information stored here are we able, for example, to swim.
The second sub-area is priming. Here, different aspects are linked with individual pieces of information. What color are clouds? White. What color is snow? White. What does a cow drink? Milk. Since we have primed our memory to the color white, we think the cow must drink something white. This is not the case, however, it drinks water.
The third sub-area of non-declarative memory is conditioning. The most famous example of this is Pavlov's dog. Pavlov always rang a bell when he gave his dog something to eat. This led to the dog, over time, producing saliva when it only heard the bell, without there being any food.
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Processes of Long-Term Memory
Various processes take place in long-term memory. The first is learning. This means that information is stored in such a way that it does not just remain in short-term memory, but transfers to long-term memory. Only when this has happened do we have long-term access to such information.
The second process consists of the sub-areas "remembering, retaining, and connecting". People are then able to retain the information stored in long-term memory for a long time and recall it when needed. In addition, the stored information can be linked to derive new information or skills. Information that is not used, repeated, consolidated, and networked is deleted from long-term memory.
Differences to Other Memory Areas
There are different memory areas in the human brain, each fulfilling different tasks and possessing unique characteristics and capabilities. The three most important are presented in the following table:
| Ultra-short-term memory | Short-term memory | Long-term memory |
| Registers all sensory perceptions | Is also referred to as working memory | Can theoretically store an unlimited amount of data |
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Filtering of impressions |
Stores information for about 30 seconds | Depending on the type of learning, information is stored for minutes, years, or a lifetime |
| Separation of important and unimportant information | Used for information that is not needed permanently stores and sorts incoming information, making us consciously aware of it for the first time | Stores factual knowledge, skills, and memories |
| Forwards important impressions to short-term memory | Forwards important information to long-term memory; unimportant information is overwritten | Consists of different areas |
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Is characterized by a limited storage capacity | A poor long-term memory can be due to circumstances (e.g. B. lack of sleep) or illnesses. |
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| Essential for concentration and attention.
| Training can improve the performance of long-term memory. |
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Possible causes of poor long-term memory
Forgetting is generally not a fault of long-term memory in the brain, but a completely normal process. If information is not needed or is rarely needed, we forget it. The same applies to skills that we have acquired but do not practice regularly. However, there are different forms of forgetfulness that indicate a poor long-term memory.
Some people are unable to store and remember new information. This is called anterograde amnesia. Problems retrieving information stored in long-term memory, on the other hand, are called retrograde amnesia. The opposite of this is hypermnesia, where one involuntarily remembers things stored in long-term memory.
There are many causes that can lead to poor long-term memory. These include, for example, lack of sleep and high stress. Psychological stress, such as that caused by the death of loved ones, can also impair long-term memory. But even positive effects like being in love occasionally have negative effects on long-term memory. However, persistent problems with long-term memory can also be caused by illnesses. These include alcohol and drug addiction, but also Alzheimer's, dementia, or Parkinson's disease.
Conclusion
A weak long-term memory can be attributed to many different causes. If these are caused by illness, not only the symptoms but also the causes of the illness themselves must be addressed. For other problems, it is possible to improve long-term memory through a slight adjustment of lifestyle. Last but not least, it is recommended to regularly perform various memory exercises to maintain the performance of long-term memory. It is important to determine the individual causes of poor long-term memory and to take individually tailored measures to counteract them. If you have any questions, you'll find many answers in our Help Center or contact us.