(Skilled Memory, what some incorrectly call muscle memory) Tetsudzuki kioku [手続き記憶]
- CEJames & Alfonz Ingram
Procedural memory is a type of long-term memory responsible for storing information on how to perform tasks and actions. It is often considered implicit memory, meaning it is accessed unconsciously and does not require conscious recall. Procedural memory enables individuals to perform skills such as riding a bicycle, typing, or executing martial arts movements without actively thinking about each step.
How Procedural Memory Works
Procedural memory is thought to involve multiple brain regions working together to encode, store, and retrieve learned motor skills and habits. The key processes include:
1. Encoding: When a person repeatedly practices a skill, neural pathways in the brain strengthen through a process called synaptic plasticity. This involves the repeated activation of specific neural circuits, which eventually makes performing the skill more automatic.
2. Storage: Procedural memories are primarily stored in the basal ganglia, cerebellum, and motor cortex:
• Basal Ganglia: Plays a key role in habit formation and motor learning.
• Cerebellum: Important for refining movements and ensuring smooth execution.
• Motor Cortex: Involved in planning and executing voluntary movements.
3. Retrieval & Execution: Once a skill is learned, the brain retrieves the stored motor patterns automatically, often bypassing conscious awareness. This allows for rapid and efficient movement execution.
Neuroscientific Evidence
• Studies on Amnesia & Procedural Memory: Patients with damage to the hippocampus (which is crucial for declarative memory) can still retain procedural memory. A famous example is the case of patient H.M., who, despite severe amnesia, could learn new motor skills without remembering the learning process (Corkin, 1968).
• Neuroimaging Studies: Functional MRI (fMRI) and PET scans have shown increased activity in the basal ganglia and cerebellum during motor learning and execution (Doyon et al., 2009).
• Hebbian Learning Principle: “Neurons that fire together, wire together” (Hebb, 1949) describes how repeated practice strengthens procedural memory.
Role in Martial Arts and Sports
Procedural memory plays a significant role in martial arts and self-defense training. Through applicable and relevant repetition and drilling, movements become ingrained and can be executed reflexively under stress. This explains how experienced martial artists can react instinctively to attacks without needing to think about each movement.
Procedural vs. Declarative Memory
• Procedural Memory: Unconscious, implicit learning (e.g., riding a bike, throwing a punch).
• Declarative Memory: Conscious, explicit knowledge (e.g., remembering a kata’s name or the history of a technique).
References
1. Corkin, S. (1968). “Acquisition of Motor Skill after Bilateral Medial Temporal-Lobe Excision.” Neuropsychologia, 6(3), 255-265.
2. Doyon, J., et al. (2009). “Contributions of the Basal Ganglia and Functionally Related Brain Structures to Motor Learning.” Behavioral Brain Research, 199(1), 61-75.
3. Hebb, D. O. (1949). The Organization of Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory. Wiley.
Also known as skilled memory, doesn't involve speech or words at all. A god example includes physical skills like karate self defense, etc. when sifficient repetition is coupled with sufficient experiences these actions become doable outside of conscious awareness.
It is easier to establish a memory if we accompany an appropriate bodily movement of what we want to remember.
Procedural memory does not require consciousness if properly encoded and is a non-declarative memory. No one can or has ever learned by verbal instruction alone how to carry out any skilled action. Procedural memory is an acquired sense of how to carry out a complex pattern of behavior.
The development of any skill or habit such as karate-jutsu involves motor action involving automatic behavior.
The concepts and components of the action must be frequently practiced. Merely repeating a certain behavior DOES NOT guarantee the development of a skill: defending against violent behavior.
As a first step of training and practice, the desired skill must be broken down into its fundamental parts accompanied by an understanding of how the parts, fundamentals, come together.
Practice and present feedback of its results, is key to perfection in procedural memory: test yourself for internal feedback and take into account the perspective of others (external feedback).
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