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Procedural Memory Essay

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Semantic, episodic, and procedural memory are all vital to humans, and I can’t imagine a life lived without these everyday functions. Damaging the temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex engender a loss of semantic memory. Without semantic memory I would lose my general knowledge. Basic certainties that I’ve obtained since preschool would fly out the window. A person doesn’t realize how much capacity a human brain stores, I still have multiplication tables imbedded into my mind. Imagining a life without conscious data like multiplication, the sounds of letters, and/or even the simplest information like knowing what a tree looks like, is a very scary thought to process. The concept of not being able to recognize the items and scenery around me would be the scariest task that I would lose if my semantic memory disappeared. I couldn’t even fathom a life without such simple knowledge. …show more content…

I wouldn’t be able to type this paper without procedural memory. Procedural memory is what allowed Clive Wearing to maintain his ability to play music. Right now I don’t have to think about how to get my fingers to smack the keys of my key board, and Clive didn’t have to think about how to create music; however, once Clive stopped to think about what he was doing he couldn’t play anymore, because procedural memories are retrieved from unconscious thought. The most alarming activity that I would lose would be not being able to move my body parts without a conscious effort. After you learn how to walk or ride a bike you never forget these actions, and if I lost them I wouldn’t know how to

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