Endel Tulving is one of the world’s most influential cognitive psychologists. Throughout his life, his work has made him a worldwide authority on the functioning of human memory. Experimental studies on encoding (the process by which information passes into memory) and retrieval of memories led him in 1972 to distinguish between episodic memory (the process that enables us to remember events together with their context) and semantic memory (memory of facts and concepts), and to subsequently develop a concept of multiple memory systems. This contrasts with the multistore model's representation of long term memory as a single store.
In 1985 Tulving also published an initial article based on his study of patient KC who lost his episodic memory after a motorcycle accident. In this article he proposed a distinction between “autonoetic” and “noetic” consciousness, respectively characterising episodic memory and semantic memory; he suggested that “autonoetic consciousness” is the form of consciousness that allows subjects to travel through their own past or future (the ability to travel in time: past, present, future) while “noetic consciousness” is the consciousness of knowing that allows us to gain a general knowledge of our environment. In this same article, he put forward a simple method allowing the characterisation of these two forms of consciousness, dubbed the “remember/know (R/K) paradigm”. For example, I remember Christmas when I was 5 years old (remember) and I recall Pythagoras’ theorem (know).
Endel Tulving stressed that just because a person cannot recall a word heard only a minute ago does not mean that the word is not in memory. We have all experienced the frustration during an examination when we know the answer to a question but are unable to recall it no matter how hard we try. The knowledge is there but the route by which it may be accessed is missing. According to Endel Tulving, the worst way of preparing for an examination is to continually read through our lesson notes. We would do better to multiply experiences allowing us to associate cues with the information in order to increase our chances of retrieving the required information later.
The Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier International Prize is one of the most important in the world with prize money of 150,000 euros. The prize is awarded every three years in recognition of the efforts of a researcher or research team internationally renowned for their major role in a biomedical discovery leading to a therapeutic application. The aim of the prize is to promote and encourage fundamental research, and in particular the transition from laboratory research to medical therapy.
Source: Adapted from materials provided by Reynolds-MacKenzie (Press Release)
