Procedural memory

Procedural memory refers to our knowledge of skills or procedures, such as:

• playing piano
• riding a bike
• tying your shoelaces
• applying the rules of grammar in language.

Declarative memory

Declarative memory refers to memory for facts and events — information that can be verbalised or "declared".

There are two types of declarative memory:

• Semantic
• Episodic

Semantic

Semantic memory is our knowledge of facts about the world, such as that:

• summer and winter are seasons
• dogs chase cats
• Paris is the capital of France.

Episodic

Episodic memory is our knowledge of particular events or "episodes", such as:

• what you did over the summer holidays
• when you were five and took a ride in a hot-air balloon.