Long Term Memory

Long-term memories aren't all of equal strength. Stronger memories enable you to recall an event, procedure, or fact on demand—for example, that Paris is the capital of France. Weaker memories often come to mind only through prompting or reminding.

Long-term memory isn't static, either. You do not imprint a memory and leave it as if untouched. Instead, you often revise the memory over time—perhaps by merging it with another memory or incorporating what others tell you about the memory. As a result, your memories are not strictly constant, and are not always reliable.

There are many different forms of long-term memories. These memories aren't formed and retained in a single part of the brain; instead, the process of creating and storing long-term memories is spread throughout multiple regions. The two major subdivisions are explicit memory and implicit memory. Explicit memories are those that you consciously remember, such as an event in your life or a particular fat. Implicit memories are those that you do without thinking about, like riding a bike—you once learned how, and you remembered how, but now do it without conscious thought. Although understanding these differences in the types of long-term memory is helpful, the divisions are fluid: different forms of memory often mix and mingle.

To learn more about the different types of long-term memory, view our explicit (declarative) memory and implicit (nondeclarative) memory pages.