Long-term memory: retained knowledge and earlier experiences

This entry concerns that broad research category. It does not use “long-term” to mean a promise that a particular memory is permanent, complete, or immediately available. The question here is about information retained from before the present activity, not a rating of how good someone's memory is.

The old card game

For this fictional example, Nadia and her adult son are sorting a cupboard. They find an unfamiliar deck of illustrated cards. Nadia remembers that her cousins invented a game with the deck years earlier. She can describe how a player wins, but she is unsure whether the starting hand contained four cards or five.

Her son writes “starting hand unresolved” on their description. They do not need to turn uncertainty into a contest about whose account deserves respect. They could look for an old written rule sheet, ask another former player, or choose a new house rule and label it as new.

The example concerns knowledge and an earlier experience. It is not evidence about a memory system's capacity, and the scene does not say why one detail was remembered while another was uncertain.

Keep memory and present decisions apart

An optional record for this sort of project could have two sections: “What we remember” and “What we are choosing now.” For Nadia's deck, these might read:

• Remembered: the game ended when someone collected the four landscape cards.
• Uncertain: the original number of cards in a starting hand.
• Chosen today: begin with four cards for this afternoon's game.

Someone using this format may leave a field empty or add a different account. Do not silently rewrite a remembered event to match the new rule. Equally, the family does not have to resolve every historical detail before making a clearly labeled present-day choice.

Different people own different stories

A parent contributing a childhood memory can decide which parts to share. An adult child collecting family stories can ask permission before putting names or personal details into a document. A sibling's different recollection can be retained as a separate account instead of being treated as an obstacle to a polished family narrative.

These are editorial choices about a shared record. They are not procedures for recovering hidden memories, establishing the truth of a disputed event, or evaluating someone's health.

Which glossary question is this?

The long-term-memory page concerns retained information. The short-term-memory entry concerns brief availability in the cited author's terminology; the existing working-memory page concerns keeping information available while using it. Recall and recognition pages ask how remembered material is requested or encountered.

We do not infer a diagnosis, developmental level, or future ability from the card-game scene. Nor does this entry prescribe repetition, memory training, or a fixed interval after which information must count as long-term. When reading research, carry the author's definition with the term rather than assuming that a familiar everyday phrase supplies every technical detail.

Source

[1] Cowan N. What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory?. Progress in Brain Research. 2008;169:323–338. doi: 10.1016/S0079-6123(07)00020-9. PMID: 18394484. Accessed September 6, 2026, author manuscript in PMC, “Description of three kinds of memory.” Supports [1]; the family scene and record format are Ready's original illustrations.

Related guides

• Short-term memory
• Working memory
• Recall