Items or information are transferred from short-term to long-term memory through synaptic consolidation.

1. Long Term Memory
Dr Rajesh Verma
Assistant Professor in Psychology
Govt. College Adampur, Hisar (Haryana)

2. Stage Model of Memory
Atkinson’s and Shiffrin’s (1968) multi-store
model.

3. Introduction
According to Stage model of memory Long term
memory is the third stage of memory. The information
that enters LTM remains their for lifetime or
permanently. It has limitless storage capacity. The
longer an item stays in short-term memory, the stronger
its association becomes in long-term memory (Atkinson
and Shiffrin, 1968).
Items or information
are transferred from
short-term to
long-term memory
through synaptic
consolidation.

4. The information is encoded into semantic, visual
and acoustic forms for storage into the long term store.
The information is encoded in the synapses in the form
of engram (memory trace) becoming resistant to
external interference but remains prone to
manipulation. The information travels from the STM to
LTM via temporary
transit hub popularly
known as ‘hippocampus
Area’. This area doesn’t
store information by
itself.

5. Characteristics
1. Long Term Memory is the last stage of memory
system.
2. LTM has unlimited capacity.
3. LTM is the outcome of permanent physical
changes in the brain.
4. In LTM
information remains
intact but all of it may
not be accessible.

6. 5. Maintenance rehearsal is one of the important
tools of LTM.
6. Most of the information is encoded as images,
sounds, smells and tastes (Cowan, 1988) in LTM.
7. In LTM, information is stored in meaningful
(Meaningfulness is subjective) & organized form
(Ciccareli & Meyer, 2016).
8. Information is prone
to manipulation in LTM.
9. Information stored
in the LTM tends to
fading leading to
forgetting.

7. Types of Long Term Memory
The LTM is broadly divided into two types i.e. Explicit
(Declarative) and Implicit (Non-Declarative or Procedural)
memory.
(i) Explicit or Declarative – All information pertaining to
facts, names, dates etc. comes under explicit memory. In other
words memories that are consciously recalled are brought to mind
and “declared”. Such Memories are encoded by the hippocampus
but consolidated
and stored in other
parts of the brain.
It can be of
either Episodic
or Semantic
type (Tulving,
1972).

8. (b) Semantic – The memory of general
knowledge, concepts, ideas and rules of logic are
found in semantic memory. For example 2+1=3
or name of our college etc. This kind of memory
is not dated. Since the contents of semantic
memory relate to
facts and ideas of
general awareness
and knowledge, it
is affect-neutral
and not
susceptible to
forgetting (NCERT).

9. (a) Episodic – The biographical details of
our lives such as personal life experiences
are generally emotional in nature.
Emotions provoking experiences are hard
to forget. Episodic memory involves
conscious thought
which is of
declarative
nature.

10. (ii) Implicit or Non-declarative or Procedural –
The memories relating to procedures for
accomplishing various tasks and skills such as
how to ride a bicycle or memory of motor skills.
In other words
it is the
memory of
‘How to do
things’? It
involves
unconscious
thought
process.

11. Other classifications of LTM
(i) Autobiographical Memory – These are personal
memories and unique to each individual. They are not
distributed evenly throughout our lives. Some periods in our
lives produce more memories than others. For instance, no
memories are reported pertaining to early childhood
particularly during the first 4 to 5 years. This is called
‘childhood amnesia’. There
is a dramatic increase in
the frequency of memories
just after early adulthood,
i.e. in the twenties.
Perhaps emotionality,
novelty, and importance
of events contribute to it.

12. (ii) Flashbulb Memories – The detailed
memories of arousing or surprising events. They
are like a camera image frozen in memory and
tied to particular places, dates, and times. If
asked, individuals
can explain the
details of the
event meticulously,
as if some
photograph of
the event is lying
inside the brain.

13. Factors affecting LTM
1. Maintenance rehearsal – Repeating of information
over and over again.
2. Elaborate rehearsal – Giving meaning to the
information.
3. Sleep – A state of altered consciousness where
memory consolidation occurs.
4. Attention – Ability to
focus on one or more
stimuli simultaneously.
5. Neural structure – A
structural change in the
neural system (engram)
leads to LTM.

14. 6. Forgetting – The inability to recall stored
information.
7. Intervals – Time gap between the material
learned.
8. Amnesia – Inability to create new long-term
memories.
9. Ageing – With
increasing age people
face retrieval related
problems which occurs
due to changes in the
frontal lobe and
hippocampus region.

15. References:
1. NCERT, XI Psychology Text book.
2. Atkinson, R. C. & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed
system and its control processes. Psychology of Learning and
Motivation. 2. pp. 89–195. doi:10.1016/s0079-7421(08)60422-3. ISBN
9780125433020.
3. Dudai, Yadin (2003). "The neurobiology of consolidations, or, how stable is
the engram?". Annual Review of Psychology. 55: 51–86.
doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.142050. PMID 14744210.
4. Ciccarelli, S. K. & Meyer, G. E.
(2016). Psychology. New Delhi:
Pearson.

16. vermasujit@yahoo.com
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