Memory

What is memory?

 Memory is a cognitive system that encodes, retains and retrieves

information
 It’s our ability to encode, store, retain and subsequently recall
information and past experiences in the human brain
 Three basic components of memory are: SENSORY, SHORT –
TERM and LONG TERM memory
Sensory memory

 Information from the environment including iconic memory (visual images), echoic
memory (auditory senses), and haptic memory (physical senses such as touch)
 It’s the shortest term of memory, stored very briefly (usually less than a second, longest
to 4 seconds), for example the ability to look at the item for a second and then remember
what it looked like
 Converts to short term memory when the individual finds an interest or pays attention to
the information received
Short-term memory (Working memory)

 Also known as working or active memory because it stores

information for what we are currently doing or thinking about (it’s
where memory is recalled without practicing, something that
happened recently)
 Stored from 20-30 seconds
 Quickly forgotten as it has a limited capacity
 Converts to Long - Term Memory by repetition
 Long Term Memory

 Stores information over a long period, it’s the ability to store more information for
longer periods of time (life times) like phone numbers, name and addresses’ from
when we were kids.
 Long term memory can store much larger quantities of information for potentially
unlimited duration (sometimes a whole life span). Its capacity is immeasurably large
 Two types of information retrieval:
 Recall: information is reproduced from memory
 Recognition: information is recognized that it has been seen before. Feeling is
familiarity.
Long Term Memory

 Long term memory is often divided into two further main

types:
 Explicit or declarative memory
 Implicit or procedural memory
1.Declarative memory (knowing what)

 It’s a memory of facts and events, and refers to those memories

that can be consciously recalled
 It’s sometimes called explicit memory, since it consists of
information that is explicitly stored and retrieved
 Declarative memory can be further sub-divided into episodic
memory and semantic memory
 1.1 Episodic memory

 It represents our memory of experiences and specific events in time in a serial form,
from which we can reconstruct the actual events that took place at any given point in
our lives.
 It’s the memory of autobiographical events (times, places, associated emotions and
other contextual knowledge) that can be explicitly stated
 Individuals tend to see themselves as actors in these events, and the emotional charge
and the entire context surrounding an event is usually part of the memory, not just the
bare facts of the event itself
 1.2 Semantic memory

 Semantic memory, on the other hand, is a more structure record of facts, meanings, concepts and
knowledge about the external world that we have acquired. It refers to general, factual knowledge,
shared with others and independent of personal experience and of the spatial/temporal context in
which it was acquired
 Semantic memories may once have had a personal context, but now stand alone as simple knowledge
 It therefore includes such things as types of food, capital cities, social customs, functions and objects,
vocabulary, understanding of mathematics, etc..
 Much of semantic memory is abstract and relational and it’s associated with the meaning of verbal
symbols
 2. Procedural memory (Knowing how)

 It’s the unconscious memory of skills and how to do things, particularly the use of objects or
movements of the body, such as playing a guitar or riding a bike
 It is composed of the automatic sensory motor behaviors that are so deeply embedded that we are no
longer aware of them, and once learned these ” body memories” allow us to carry out ordinary motor
actions automatically.
 Procedural memory is sometimes referred to as implicit memory, because previous experiences aid in
the performance of a task without explicit and conscious awareness of these previous experiences,
although it is more properly a subset of implicit memory
Memory processes
How it works?

There are three major processes involved in memory

 Encodes: Information is developed into a usable form

 Stores: After information has been encoded, it is stored for later
use. We are not aware of memory being stored until we need to use
the information
 Retrieves: Memories are brought to our awareness
Memory encoding

 It’s the crucial first step to creating a new memory. It allows the perceived item
of interest to be converted into a construct that can be stored within the brain,
and then recalled later from short-term or long-term memory
 It’s a biological event beginning with the perception through the senses
 Encoding or registration *receiving, processing and combining of received
information)
Memory storage

 Is the more or less passive process of retaining information in the brain whether in the
sensory memory, the short term memory or the more permanent long term memory
 Each of these different stages of human memory function as a sort of filter that helps to
protect us from the flood of information that confront us on daily basis, avoiding an overload
of information and helping to keep us sane
 The more the information is repeated or used, the more likely is to be retained in the long term
memory (which is why, for example, studying helps people to perform better on tests)
 Here we are talking about the process of consolidation, the stabilizing of a memory trace, after
its initial acquisition
 Memory Recall/Retrieval

 Retrieval, recall or recollection (calling back the stored information in response to some cue for
the use in a process or activity) refers to the subsequent re-accessing of events or information
from the past, which have been previously encoded and stored in the brain
 During recall the brain replays a pattern of neural activity that was originally generated in
response to a particular event, echoing the brain=s perception of the real event. It’s known as
remembering
 Because of the way memories are encoded and stored, memory recall is effectively an on-the fly
reconstruction of elements scattered throughout various areas of our brains
How are memories stored in our brain?

 Memories are not stored in our brain like books on library

shelves, or even as a collection of self contained recordings or
pictures or video clips, but may be better thought as a kind of
collage or jigsaw puzzle, involving different elements stored in
disparate parts of the brain linked together by association and
neural networks
 Forgetting

 Forgetting is when we fail to retrieve information that we know is stored in our memory
Why do we forget?
 Failure to store: we can forget memories if they were not encoded properly; therefore not making it
to long term memory
 Interference: when information is similar to one another and memories compete and interfere with
other memories
 Fading over time: memory traces begin to fade and disappear over time if they have not came to use
Selective memory

 Also known as Motivated forgetting

 This is when we purposely forget memories because of the negative experiences
associated with them
 Studies have shown that blocking our horrid memories can be harmful to long
term memory because of all the effort that is put in to avoid pain
 Rather that trying to cover up and hide certain memories, it’s healthier if we deal
with the issue so that we can move on
 Memory Loss

 Amnesia is memory loss that is usually caused by physical damage to the brain or when oxygen is cut
off to the brain
 Alcohol blackout can cause a partial or total memory loss and happens after excessive drinking
 Dissociative fugue – created confusion about identity and life events
 Korsakoff’s psychosis: Inability to form short term memories. Typically occurs in alcoholics
 Post-traumatic amnesia: happens after coma and causes disorientation and agitation. Can also happen
when negative emotions related to trauma occur
 There are many forms of memory loss and they can occur to anyone at any age
 Brain and memory

 Each of our senses (taste, sight, hearing, touch and smelling) relates to one another and forms
connections
 Repetition creates strong neural connections
 Brain applies use it or lose it principal with memory
 Where memory is stored in brain: short term memory is stored in hippocampus and subiculum, while
long term memory (episodic and semantic) is stored in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus
 Long term (Procedural) memory is stored in motor cortex and the Cerebellum, while long term
(Priming) memory is stored in Cerebral cortex