semantic memory

explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems

episodic memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems

hippocampus

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories of facts and events for storage

memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

long-term potentiation

an increase in a nerve cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

encoding specificity principle

the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items in a list

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

an inability to remember information from one's past

proactive interference

the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information

retroactive interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information

reconsolidation

a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again

misinformation effect

occurs when a memory has been corrupted by misleading information

source amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined

déja vu

the eerie sense of having experienced this event in the past