Third year Day 130 - Tuesday April 22, 2014

I thought I’d talk a little more about long term memory loss.  Most of us think this only refers to  remembrances of people or events.  However, to further clarify, I cite these two pieces of information. 

This information from the Medical Dictionary:

long-term memory n. Abbr.   

The phase of the memory process considered the permanent storehouse of retained information.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

 

What Is Long-Term Memory Loss?

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines long-term memory loss as difficulty remembering events that occurred further in the past. Long-term memories are formed when short-term memories, or non-permanent memories, are consolidated in the hippocampus, a brain structure located in the medial temporal lobe; once the memories are consolidated, they are available independent from the hippocampus in the neocortex, where they can be retrieved. When a patient has long-term memory loss, he has problems recalling stored memories, not creating new memories.

Types of Memories

The Helpguide.org article “Improving Your Memory--Tips and Techniques to Improve Memory,” states that long-term memories can be three types of memories: episodic, semantic and procedural. Both episodic and semantic memories are conscious memories, which require active thought to remember; procedural memories, on the other hand, can be recalled unconsciously. Episodic memories are about experiences, semantic memories are factual data and procedural memories are skills and routines.

Brain Location

Long-term memories are stored in the neocortex, part of the cerebral cortex responsible for higher functions in the brain, according to Helpguide.org. The neocortex has separate parts for different functions; for example, there are areas in the neocortex for language, sensation, movement and problem-solving. When part of the neocortex is damaged, the patient will lose the associated memories. For example, if the language area of the neocortex is injured, the patient may have long-term loss of semantic language memories.