Remembering how to ride a bike
Humans have two kinds of memory: Declarative and Procedural. “Declarative” memory is the memory of ideas or events. Declarative memories can be consciously discussed. “Procedural” memory is remembering how to do things. The words themselves help us remember which is which; Declarative memory enables us to express something, or “declare.” Procedural memory helps us to do something – to “proceed.” Procedural memory is often not easy to discuss, or explain, but can be used without consciously thinking about it. Procedural learning and recall are used in things like riding a bike, learning to touch type, learning to play a musical instrument or learning to swim. We can drive a car from place to place all day long without being aware of the driving process most of the time, and be completely safe. Once a procedural memory has been imprinted on the brain, it can be very durable. For example, people often observe that you can still ride a bike many years after your last time.
Now to get just a little more complicated. Declarative memory also has two types: “Semantic memory” and “episodic memory.” Semantic memory is theoretical, or abstract, memory. It is independent of time and place. It is a piece of information. For example, knowing that an apple is called a “fruit” is a semantic memory. Episodic memory is factual knowledge of personal experience in a specific time and place. For example, if you are thinking about looking over the Grand Canyon when you visited it as a child, you are experiencing an episodic memory.
Perhaps you are wondering why these concepts and terms are important. They are important because the different types of memory are formed and stored by the brain in different ways and in different locations. They are subject to improvement or damage in different ways, as well. For example, not all kinds of memories are affected by aging in the same way. I will discuss why and what can be done to help preserve and enhance memory in the following postings.
