Long-term memory facts for kids

Long-term memory (LTM) is like your brain's big storage locker for everything you've learned or experienced. It's where information from your short-term memory goes to stay for a long time. This happens when tiny connections in your brain, called synapses, grow stronger and last a long time.

How Your Brain Stores Memories

Your brain doesn't store all memories in one place, like files on a computer's hard drive. Instead, different types of long-term memories are kept in different parts of your brain. We usually divide long-term memory into two main types: explicit memory and implicit memory.

Explicit Memory: Facts and Events

Explicit memory is also called 'declarative' memory. These are memories you can consciously remember and talk about. Think of facts, knowledge, or specific events from your life. For example, remembering what you had for breakfast or the capital of France.

A part of your brain called the hippocampus helps to create these memories. They are then stored in other areas of your brain, possibly in the temporal cortex. Scientists have studied people with amnesia who have damage to their medial temporal lobe (which includes the hippocampus). These people struggle with explicit memory tasks. This shows that this brain area is very important for learning and remembering facts and events.

Implicit Memory: Skills and Habits

Implicit memory, also known as procedural memory, is about how to do things. These are memories for skills and habits that you do without thinking much about them. For example, knowing how to ride a bike, tie your shoes, or use a pencil. You don't usually "declare" or explain these memories; you just do them.

This type of memory is mainly handled by a part of the brain called the basal ganglia, especially the striatum. The basal ganglia works mostly on its own, separate from the hippocampus. Other brain areas like the parietal lobe and occipital lobe are also linked to implicit memory.

Emotional Memory: Feelings and Events

Emotional memory is when an event makes you feel a strong emotion. These memories can be both about facts (what happened) and skills (how you reacted). You can often remember the event itself, but it also causes a strong, automatic feeling in your body.

Research shows that a small part of your brain called the amygdala is very active during emotional situations. It works with the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex to help you remember events that have a strong emotional connection.

Working Memory and Long-Term Memory

Working memory (also called STM) is not part of long-term memory, but it's super important for it to work well. Working memory holds and processes information for a short time. This information is either forgotten or moved into long-term memory.

When you want to remember something from your long-term memory, it first comes back into your working memory. If your working memory gets too full or busy, it can make it harder for new information to get stored in your long-term memory.