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Explicit Memories

Explicit Memories

Explicit memories, also known as declarative memories, are consciously remembered, recalled, and reported. Studying for a chemistry exam involves material that will become part of explicit memory. There are two types of explicit memory: episodic and semantic.
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Storage

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A schema is a mental framework that helps individuals organize and interpret information. Schemata, formed from previous experiences, influence how we process new information: how we encode it, the inferences we make, and how we retrieve it. For instance, a schema for what a typical classroom looks like might include desks, a teacher's desk, a whiteboard, and students in such an environment. This expectation helps us quickly understand and navigate new classrooms without needing to analyze each...

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Concepts and Prototypes

The human nervous system handles vast amounts of information by translating sensory stimuli into neural impulses, which the brain processes, creating thoughts expressed through language or stored as memories. The brain also synthesizes information from emotions and memories, which significantly influence thoughts and behaviors. This intricate process creates a comprehensive mental picture.
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Acronyms
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Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory

Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory

Memory is one of the most vital higher mental functions of the brain. Memory is closely related to learning because it enables us to retain information and experiences from our past to use them in our present life. It also helps us to remember facts, events, and skills, such as riding a bike or swimming. There are two types of memory — declarative memory, which involves memorizing facts or events, and procedural memory, which enables us to remember how to do something like writing or playing an...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Published on: May 4, 2011

Expanded taxonomies of human memory.

Jason R Finley¹

¹Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL, United States.

Frontiers in Cognition

|June 24, 2026

Summary

Human memory extends beyond the brain, encompassing external information and biological systems like genetics and the immune system. This broadens our understanding of memory as information transmission across time.

Keywords:

body memory collective memory external memory information storage internal memory memory taxonomy

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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

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Last Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Published on: May 4, 2011

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Published on: August 26, 2011

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Memory Studies

Background:

Human memory is traditionally viewed as multiple subsystems within the brain.
Existing models include the modal model, working memory, and distinctions between explicit and implicit long-term memory.
Previous work expanded this to include external memory (social and technological).

Purpose of the Study:

To propose further expanded taxonomies of human memory.
To conceptualize memory as the transmission of information across time.
To explore memory beyond the brain, including biological systems and collective memory.

Main Methods:

Conceptual expansion of existing memory taxonomies.
Integration of cognitive psychology and neuroscience perspectives.
Analysis of memory transmission across biological and social systems.

Main Results:

Proposed expanded taxonomies including numerous biological systems (immune, genetic, bodily traces) and external natural memory.
Distinguished between individual and collective memory, applying it to various systems.
Highlighted parallels and interplays between different memory systems and traditional cognitive concepts.

Conclusions:

Human memory is a complex phenomenon extending beyond neural processes.
Considering biological systems, external information, and collective memory offers new insights.
Memory as information transmission across time provides a unifying framework.