Verified by Semantic Memory
Semantic memory is a form of long-term memory that comprises a person’s knowledge about the world. Along with episodic memory, it is considered a kind of explicit memory, because a person is consciously aware of the facts, meanings, and other information that it contains.
On This Page
Semantic memory is key to understanding and describing how everything around us works. Collected over each person’s lifetime of learning, the information in semantic memory—facts, relationships between objects or concepts, and many more abstract details—is invaluable to everyone from kindergartners to gameshow contestants.
The information contained in semantic memory ranges from basic facts such as the meanings of words and what colors different kinds of food are to more complex forms of understanding, such as how certain concepts relate to each other. Semantic memory also reflects the abstract details of one’s own life, such as birth date, hometown, or personal characteristics.
Semantic memory isn’t just a library of trivia: In compiling a vast range of meanings, details about the way things are, and conceptual linkages, it enables one to learn about the world and other people, to use language and share ideas, and to interpret personal experiences, among other important behaviors.
Unlike episodic memory, which reproduces the subjective impressions of past experiences, semantic memory contains information that is context-free—not grounded in a particular time and place. A person who started learning the alphabet on a particular afternoon in childhood doesn’t need to revisit that moment to remember (thanks to semantic memory) that the letter P comes after M.
The base of knowledge contained in semantic memory is accumulated through many moments of learning, from picking up the basics of language in early childhood to grasping complex ideas and systems in class, in conversations, or while reading books. While few of these moments of learning will remain with us as scenes in episodic memory, our brains collect the abstract insights to help us answer questions, communicate, and solve problems in the future.
The medial temporal lobe, which includes the hippocampus, appears to play a role in the creation of semantic memories, they are ultimately thought to be stored throughout the neocortex—and other areas of the brain are likely involved in the process of retrieving semantic memories.
Semantic memory ability seems to develop earlier in childhood than episodic memory (the memory for personal experiences). In older age, it tends to decline, on average, but remains more stable than episodic memory.
Personal semantic memory is a term that describes semantic memories about one’s own life. These are related to episodic memories, but are considered distinct, since they do not require revisiting a specific moment. While remembering what attending a great concert was like would count as episodic memory, knowing that it was one’s favorite concert is an example of personal semantic memory.
