Types of Memory Diagram – Brain Regions for Each Kind

All 14 labels on the diagram

Show the list

In the brain 6

Hippocampus Needed to form new memories of facts and events. It is not where they are kept for good.
Amygdala Gives memories their emotional weight. It has a key part in forming memories of fear.
Cerebellum Tied to motor learning and fine motor control. It sits under the back of the cerebrum.
Prefrontal cortex Working memory leans most on it. It is the front part of the frontal lobe.
Basal ganglia Tied to habits and learned sequences of movement. They lie deep inside the cerebrum.
Cerebral cortex The outer layer of the cerebrum. General knowledge comes to rest here over time.

Kinds of memory 8

Long-term memory Memory that can last a lifetime. It splits into explicit and implicit memory.
Explicit memory (declarative) Memory you recall consciously: events and facts. It is also called declarative memory.
Implicit memory (nondeclarative) Memory that works without conscious recall. It is also called nondeclarative memory.
Episodic memory Memory of events from your own life. It is one kind of explicit memory.
Semantic memory Memory of facts and general knowledge. It is the other kind of explicit memory.
Procedural memory Memory of skills, such as riding a bicycle. It is used without thinking about it.
Priming One stimulus changes the response to a later one. No conscious recall is involved.
Classical conditioning A learned link between two stimuli. One source calls this branch emotional conditioning.

How this list was compiled: Every name, pairing and branch checked on 2026-10-03 in at least two of these. (1) Wikipedia, English edition: Long-term memory, Explicit memory, Implicit memory, Memory, Neuroanatomy of memory, Working memory, Amygdala, Basal ganglia, Cerebellum, Semantic memory and Memory consolidation, text only. (2) Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland: Where are memories stored in the brain? and Types of memory, https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain-basics/memory/where-are-memories-stored and https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain-basics/memory/types-memory. (3) Neuroscience Online, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, Section 4, Chapter 7, Learning and Memory, https://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/m/s4/chapter07.html. Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry; nothing traced. A plan, not to scale. Licence: own work

How it works

Different kinds of memory lean on different parts of the brain. The first drawing prints six kinds of memory around a brain seen from the side; you name the region for each. The second is the tree of long-term memory.

Read the full guide

Start in the brain

Each caption says what one region does. Working memory points to the prefrontal cortex (4), habits to the basal ganglia (5) and long-kept general knowledge to the cerebral cortex (6). New memories of facts and events need the hippocampus (1); emotional memories, the amygdala (2); fine motor skills, the cerebellum (3).

Then read the tree

Long-term memory (7) splits into explicit (8) and implicit (9) memory. Episodic (10) and semantic (11) memory are explicit. Procedural memory (12), priming (13) and classical conditioning (14) are implicit.

Explicit memory is what you can tell someone; implicit memory shows in what you do.
The hippocampus forms new memories of facts and events, but they are not kept there for good.

Questions and answers

Which brain regions are associated with each type of memory?

Explicit memory, of facts and events, leans on the hippocampus, the cerebral cortex and the amygdala. Implicit memory, such as skills and habits, leans on the basal ganglia and the cerebellum. Working memory relies most on the prefrontal cortex.

What are the types of long-term memory?

Explicit (declarative) memory, which divides into episodic memory of events and semantic memory of facts, and implicit (nondeclarative) memory, which includes procedural memory of skills, priming and classical conditioning.

What is the difference between explicit and implicit memory?

Explicit memory is recalled consciously: a fact, or an event from your life. Implicit memory works without conscious recall: a skill such as riding a bicycle, or a response shaped by something met before.

What does the hippocampus do in memory?

It is needed to form new memories of facts and events. It is not where they are kept for good: over time, general knowledge comes to rest in the cerebral cortex.

Can I practice here for “label the brain regions associated with each type of memory.”?

Yes, for practice. That sentence is the instruction of a labeling exercise. The drawing here is our own and not a copy of any course figure, so your figure may pair other regions or use other names.