ABSTRACT
The notion that there are several memory systems is very influential. This chapter discusses the various forms of declarative and non-declarative memory. Declarative memory is divided into semantic and episodic/autobiographical memory, whereas non-declarative memory is divided into priming and skill learning or procedural memory. Episodic memory is concerned with personal experiences or events that occurred in a given place at a specific time. Semantic memory consists of general knowledge about the world, concepts and language. The performance of many long-term memory tasks involves combining episodic and semantic memory processes. Suggestive evidence that there may be several long-term memory systems comes from the study of brain-damaged patients with amnesia. Amnesic patients have very poor episodic memory but often have fairly intact semantic memory. Learning and memory involve numerous processes used in flexible combinations rather than a much smaller number of memory systems.
