Mind, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 28, 2014

Semantic Memory: Definition & Examples

Semantic memory refers to a portion of long-term memory that processes ideas and concepts that are not drawn from personal experience. Semantic memory includes things that are common knowledge, such as the names of colors, the sounds of letters, the capitals of countries and other basic facts acquired over a...

Feb 5, 2014

Declarative Memory: Definitions & Examples

Declarative memory consists of facts and events that can be consciously recalled or declared. Also known as explicit memory, it is based on the concept that this type of memory consists of information that can be explicitly stored and retrieved. Declarative memory differs from procedural memory, which encompasses skills such...

Feb 12, 2014

Implicit Memory: Definition and Examples

Implicit memory is sometimes referred to as unconscious memory or automatic memory. Implicit memory uses past experiences to remember things without thinking about them. The performance of implicit memory is enabled by previous experiences, no matter how long ago those experiences occurred. A subset of implicit memory, procedural memory, enables...

Feb 25, 2014

Episodic Memory: Definition and Examples

Episodic memory is a person’s unique memory of a specific event, so it will be different from someone else’s recollection of the same experience. Episodic memory is sometimes confused with autobiographical memory, and while autobiographical memory involves episodic memory, it also relies on semantic memory. For example, you know the...

Feb 26, 2014

Memory Definition & Types of Memory

For us to recall events, facts or processes, we have to commit them to memory. The process of forming a memory involves encoding, storing, retaining and subsequently recalling information and past experiences. Cognitive psychologist Margaret W. Matlin has described memory as the “process of retaining information over time.” Others have...

Mar 18, 2014

Erasing Bad Memories: Wiping Out Unconscious Traces Is Possible

Bad memories are not only part of our conscious mind, they also leave a trace in our unconscious. But now, new research shows that actively trying to forget an unwanted memory can help erase this unconscious trace. In a new study, researchers showed people pairs of images, and sometimes asked...

Mar 28, 2014

Memory Lapses: When Should You Be Worried?

The Healthy Geezer answers questions about health and aging in his weekly column. Question: How can you tell when you should go to a doctor for memory lapses? Answer: This is a serious question that demands a joke for openers... Because they are forgetful, an elderly husband and wife go...

Apr 2, 2014

Spotless Mind? Erasing Memories Not Just Science Fiction

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Whether it's messy breakup or a traumatic car crash, there are some memories many of us would rather erase from our minds. Although the idea was explored in the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the total erasure of conscious memories is no longer completely...

Apr 18, 2014

Why You Forget: 5 Strange Facts About Memory

Memory can be a playful thing. It collects minute details from childhood events, yet leaves us wondering where we left our keys. There are several types of memories, and the brain has a unique way of forgetting each kind. Psychologists have classified various ways by which we forget, and biologists...

Apr 25, 2014

Justifying Atrocities Alters the Memory

Torture and atrocities are often downplayed by those inflicting the pain. Now, research reveals how attempting to justify the behavior of one's own group literally alters memory. In the new study, people from the United States listened to accounts of torture and war crimes shared by Afghani or American soldiers....

May 9, 2014

What's Causing Your Foggy Brain? Check These 5 Possibilities

It happens to almost everyone every now and then: a strange memory lapse, impaired concentration, mental fatigue, or a sensation that a cloud has taken over your sharp minds, leaving you with a foggy brain. Besides lack of sleep and stress, there are five additional reasons why this may happen....

Jun 5, 2014

Red Wine Compound May Improve Memory, Study Suggests

A substance found in red wine and dark chocolate that has been touted for its supposed anti-aging effects may improve people's memory, new research suggests. In a study of overweight adults, those who took resveratrol supplements for six months had better short-term recall than their counterparts who took a placebo....

Jul 9, 2014

US Military Developing Brain Implants to Restore Memory

The U.S. military has chosen two universities to lead a program to develop brain implants to restore memory to veterans who have suffered brain injuries, officials said at a news conference yesterday (July 8). The Restoring Active Memory (RAM) program is a project of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency...

Aug 13, 2014

Emergency Plane Landing Yields PTSD Clues

This story was updated at 1:15 pm ET on Aug. 14. Interviews with the survivors of a 2001 emergency plane landing are helping researchers understand how certain memories may increase the risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a new study finds. The study's lead researcher has firsthand knowledge of the...

Aug 19, 2014

Memory Making Linked to Gene and Protein, Research Shows

This Research in Action article was provided to Live Science in partnership with the National Science Foundation. In his 1923 volume The Prisoner, French novelist Marcel Proust describes memory as a “…sort of chemical laboratory.” This apt definition was ahead of its time, as scientists were just learning about the...