Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

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.
Episodic memory contains information about personally experienced events and is reported as a story. An example of episodic memory is recalling a birthday celebration. This type of memory includes the what, where, and when of an event, as...

Storage

Storage

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...

Long-Term Memory

Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory is a relatively permanent type of memory, capable of storing vast amounts of information over extended periods. Its storage capacity is generally considered unlimited.
Long-term memory can be categorized into two primary types: explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory, also known as declarative memory, involves the conscious recollection of information that we deliberately try to remember, recall, and articulate. This type of memory encompasses specific facts, events, and...

Role of Hippocampus in Memory

Role of Hippocampus in Memory

The hippocampus, a critical brain structure, plays an essential role in memory processing, particularly in the formation and retrieval of memory. This small, seahorse-shaped region is located within the medial temporal lobe, with one hippocampus in each brain hemisphere. Experimental studies involving lesions in the hippocampi of rats have demonstrated significant impairments in tasks such as object recognition and maze navigation, indicating the hippocampus involvement in both recognition and...

Autobiographical Memory

Autobiographical Memory

Autobiographical memory is a unique type of episodic memory that involves recollecting personal life experiences. It allows individuals to remember significant events from their past, creating a narrative of their lives. One interesting phenomenon related to autobiographical memory is the reminiscence bump. This effect refers to the tendency of adults to recall more events from their second and third decades of life — typically between ages 10 to 30 — than from other periods. This period is...

Working Memory

Working Memory

Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this information.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Reliability and validity of the Brief Attention and Mood Scale of 7 Items: a self-administered, online assessment.

Frontiers in psychology·2025

Same author

Age-related changes in susceptibility to false memories in different tasks.

Memory & cognition·2025

Same author

Real-world effectiveness of a widely available digital health program in adults reporting a lifetime diagnosis of ADHD.

Npj mental health research·2025

Same author

Age-related differences in the relationship between sustained attention and associative memory and Memory-Guided inference.

Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience·2025

Same author

Are False Memory and Creative Thinking Mediated by Common Neural Substrates? An fMRI Meta-Analysis.

Creativity research journal·2025

Same author

Constructive Memory and Conscious Experience.

Journal of cognitive neuroscience·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 2, 2026

A Real-world What-Where-When Memory Test

A Real-world What-Where-When Memory Test

Published on: May 16, 2017

Episodic and semantic memory contributions to imagination and creativity.

Preston P Thakral¹, Kevin P Madore², Ruth E Gomez¹

¹Department of Psychology, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA.

Memory (Hove, England)

|July 1, 2026

Summary

Creative thinking (divergent thinking) and imagining future events (episodic simulation) rely on memory. Semantic memory strongly supports divergent thinking, while both semantic and episodic memory support episodic simulation.

Keywords:

Episodic memory creative thinking episodic simulation future thinking individual differences

More Related Videos

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

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 2, 2026

A Real-world What-Where-When Memory Test

A Real-world What-Where-When Memory Test

Published on: May 16, 2017

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

Background:

Divergent thinking (DT) and episodic simulation (ES) are crucial cognitive abilities.
These abilities are thought to be linked to memory retrieval processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the differential associations between DT, ES, and episodic vs. semantic memory retrieval.
To test the semantic scaffold hypothesis of imagination.

Main Methods:

An individual differences approach was used.
Participants performed tasks assessing semantic memory, episodic memory, ES, and DT in response to object word cues.

Main Results:

DT was predicted by episodic details during ES and, more strongly, by semantic memory.
ES ability was predicted by both episodic and semantic memory.
ES showed a greater reliance on both memory types compared to DT.

Conclusions:

Findings support the semantic scaffold hypothesis, suggesting semantic memory provides a framework for imagination.
Common event construction processes underlie episodic remembering and imagining.