declarative (explicit) memory

Declarative memory is the kind of memory you can consciously bring to mind and put into words. It holds two main things: facts about the world, like the capital of France or what a zebra looks like, and events from your own life, like what you ate for breakfast or your first day of school. The word declarative is a clue: this is knowledge you can declare, that is, state out loud or describe to someone else. It is also called explicit memory, because the remembering is deliberate and open, rather than hidden.

This sets it apart from the silent, automatic skills you carry without thinking, like riding a bike or typing, which you cannot easily explain in words. When you search your memory for a fact or replay a scene from your past, you are dipping into the declarative store. Forming these memories leans heavily on a seahorse-shaped brain structure called the hippocampus, which knits the scattered pieces of an experience together; over time the memories settle into the wider cortex for long-term keeping. Damage to the hippocampus can leave someone unable to lay down new facts and events, even while their old habits and skills remain perfectly intact.