Long Term Memory

Long term memory stores information that your brain retains because it is important to you, such as names of family and friends, your address, as well as information on how to do certain activities and tasks.^[1] Long-term memory can be divided into the following groups:^[1]

• Explicit memories are facts that you made a conscious effort to learn and that you can remember at will, such as the names of state capitals.
• Implicit memory is information you draw on automatically in order to perform actions, such as driving a car or riding a bike.
• Semantic memories are facts that are so deeply ingrained they require no effort to recall, such as the months of the year.

Age has little or no effect on implicit or semantic memory, but there are large age-related differences with explicit memory.(1)

For More Information

For more in-depth information on memory, read Human Memory and Memory Loss in our Elder Health Guides section.