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Interdependence of episodic and semantic memory: Evidence from neuropsychology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2010

DANIEL L. GREENBERG  and
MIEKE VERFAELLIE
DANIEL L. GREENBERG*
Affiliation:
Memory Disorders Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
MIEKE VERFAELLIE
Affiliation:
Memory Disorders Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Daniel L. Greenberg, Memory Disorders Research Center, 150 S. Huntington Avenue (151-A), Boston, Massachusetts 02130. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Tulving’s (1972) theory of memory draws a distinction between general knowledge (semantic memory) and memory for events (episodic memory). Neuropsychological studies have generally examined each type of memory in isolation, but theorists have long argued that these two forms of memory are interdependent. Here we review several lines of neuropsychological research that have explored the interdependence of episodic and semantic memory. The studies show that these forms of memory can affect each other both at encoding and at retrieval. We suggest that theories of memory should be revised to account for all of the interdependencies between episodic and semantic memory; they should also incorporate forms of memory that do not fit neatly into either category. (JINS, 2010, 16, 748–753.)

Keywords

Semantic dementiaMemory disordersTemporal lobeHippocampusReviewAmnesia
Type
Short Review
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 16 , Issue 5 , September 2010 , pp. 748 - 753
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2010

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