Theories Cognitive Psychology What Is Episodic Memory? By Kendra Cherry Kendra Cherry Facebook Twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author and educational consultant focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial process Updated on May 19, 2022 Medically reviewed Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Amy Morin, LCSW, Editor-in-Chief Print Daniel Ingold / Cultura / Getty Images Table of Contents View All Table of Contents How It Works Episodic vs. Semantic Memory Types Examples Properties Impact Effects of Damage and Disease An episodic memory is a memory of a specific event. Because each person has a different perspective and experience of an event, episodic memories of that event are unique to each person. Closely related to this is what researchers refer to as autobiographical memory—memories of your own life history. As you can imagine, episodic and autobiographical memories play an important role in your self-identity. What Is Episodic Memory? Episodic memory is a category of long-term memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations, and experiences. How Episodic Memory Works Imagine that you get a phone call from an old college friend. You spend an evening reminiscing about amusing moments from your days at school. Your memories of those specific events and experiences are examples of episodic memory. These memories provide you with a sense of personal history as well as a shared history with other people in your life. Episodic memories are important because they allow you to recall personal experiences that helped shape your life and perceptions. Several parts of the brain work in concert to help you store and retrieve episodic memories: the temporal, parietal, and frontal cortices, diencephalon, and cerebellum. Practice, genetics, and experience all influence your ability to recall episodic memories. Episodic vs. Semantic Memory The term episodic memory was first introduced by Endel Tulving in 1972 to distinguish between remembering events from the past (episodic memory) and knowing factual information, which is known as semantic memory. Semantic memory is focused on general knowledge about the world and includes facts, concepts, and ideas. Episodic memory together with semantic memory is part of the division of memory known as explicit or declarative memory. Types of Episodic Memories Episodic memories fall into a few main categories. Specific Events These involve memories of particular moments from personal history. Your first kiss, first day of school, a friend's birthday party, and your brother's graduation are all examples of episodic memories. In addition to your overall recall of the event itself, the episodic memory include the locations and times of the events. Personal Facts Knowing who was president the year that you got married, the make and model of your first car, and the name of your first boss are all examples of personal fact episodic memories. General Events Remembering what a kiss feels like is an example of this general type of memory. You do not remember each and every kiss you've ever shared, but you can recall what it feels like based on your personal experiences. Flashbulb Memories Flashbulb memories are vivid and detailed "snapshots" related to finding out particularly important news. Sometimes these moments might be highly personal, like the moment you found out that your grandmother had died. In other cases, these memories might be shared by many people in a social group. The moments you found out about the 9/11 attacks or the Paris concert theater attacks are examples of shared flashbulb memories. Examples of Episodic Memories Some examples of episodic memories might include: What happened on your recent trip to DisneylandWhere you were when you learned that a loved one had diedYour old cell phone numberYour first day at your jobYour first date with your partner Remember, each person's episodic memory of an event is entirely unique. Even other people who shared the same experience may have different recollections of what happened. 9 Properties of Episodic Memory Research indicates that episodic memory carries nine attributes. Other types of memory feature some of these, too—but only episodic memories comprise all of them. Episodic memories: Contain summary records of sensory-perceptual-conceptual-affective processingRetain patterns of activation/inhibition over long periodsAre often represented in the form of (visual) imagesAlways have a perspective (field or observer)Represent short time slices of experienceAre represented on a temporal dimension roughly in order of occurrenceAre subject to rapid forgettingMake autobiographical remembering specificAre recollectively experienced when accessed Impact of Episodic Memory Researchers have found that episodic memory can also be interdependent with semantic memory. On learning tasks, participants performed better when new information was aligned with prior knowledge, suggesting that semantic knowledge of a task provides a sort of framework for new episodic learning. Participants were asked to remember the prices of grocery items. Those in the control group were better able to remember these prices when the new information was congruent with their existing episodic memories of grocery prices. Amnesiac participants in the experimental group, however, performed much worse at remembering new information because they did not have access to episodic information from their past. Conversely, researchers have also found that episodic memories also play a role in the retrieval of semantic memories. In experiments where participants were asked to generate lists of items in particular categories, those who were able to rely on episodic memories performed better than amnesiac participants who did not have access to episodic memories. Studies also suggest that there are sex differences in episodic memory. Research has found, for example, that women tend to outperform men on tests of episodic memory function, particularly on verbal-based episodic memory. Studies also show that women are able to access these memories faster and date them more accurately than men. How Damage and Disease Can Affect Episodic Memory Aging and neurodegenerative diseases take an extreme toll on episodic memory. For example, a decline in the ability to retrieve this kind of memory is among the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Other psychiatric conditions such as dissociative disorders, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease also feature deficits in episodic memory functions. However, such damage is difficult to assess because memories are difficult to induce and measure. Likewise, traumatic brain injury, such as concussion, tends to impede episodic memory. Semantic memory appears to be less susceptible to this kind of damage. 7 Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Byrne JH. Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference. Elsevier Science. Conway MA. Episodic memories. Neuropsychologia. 2009;47(11):2305-2313. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.02.003 Kan IP, Alexander MP, Verfaillie M. Contribution of prior semantic knowledge to new episodic learning in amnesia. J Cogn Neurosci. 2009;21:938-944. doi:10.1162/jocn.2009.21066 Lundervold AJ, Wollschlager D, Wehling E. Age and sex related changes in episodic memory function in middle aged and older adults. Scand J Psychol. 2014;225-32. doi: 10.1111/sjop.12114 Loprinzi PD, Frith E. The role of sex in memory function: Considerations and recommendations in the context of exercise. J Clin Med. 2018;7(6):132. doi:10.3390/jcm7060132 Pause BM, Zlomuzica A, Kinugawa K, Mariani J, Pietrowsky R, Dere E. Perspectives on episodic-like and episodic memory. Front Behav Neurosci. 2013;7. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00033 Wammes JD, Good TJ, Fernandes MA. Autobiographical and episodic memory deficits in mild traumatic brain injury. Brain Cogn. 2017;111:112-126. doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2016.11.004 Additional Reading Greenberg DL, Keane MM, Verfaellie M. Impaired category fluency in medial temporal lobe amnesia: The role of episodic memory. J Neurosci. 2009;29(35):10900-10908. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1202-09.2009 By Kendra Cherry Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author and educational consultant focused on helping students learn about psychology. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit