What Is Long-Term Memory?

Long-term memory lasts from a minute or so to weeks or even years. From long-term memory you can recall general information about the world that you learned on previous occasions, memory for specific past experiences, specific rules previously learned, and the like.

"Students who have deficits in the storage and retrieval of information from long-term memory may study for tests, but not be able to recall the information they studied when taking the tests," says Glenda Thorne, Ph.D., in her article '10 Strategies to Enhance Students' Memory.' "They frequently have difficulty recalling specific factual information such as dates or rules of grammar. They have a poor memory of material learned earlier in the school year or last year. They may also be unable to answer specific questions asked of them in class even when their parents and/or teachers think they really know the information."