In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences.

Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, scientists have put memory within the paradigm of cognitive psychology. In recent decades, it has become one of the principal pillars of a branch of science called cognitive neuroscience, an interdisciplinary link between cognitive psychology and neuroscience.

Sensory memory
Main article: Sensory memory Sensory memory corresponds approximately to the initial 200500 milliseconds after an item is perceived. The ability to look at an item, and remember what it looked like with just a second of observation, or memorisation, is an example of sensory memory. With very short presentations, participants often report that they seem to "see" more than they can actually report. The first experiments exploring this form of sensory memory were conducted by George Sperling (1960) using the "partial report paradigm". Subjects were presented with a grid of 12 letters, arranged into three rows of four. After a brief presentation, subjects were then played either a high, medium or low tone, cuing them which of the rows to report. Based on these partial report experiments, Sperling was able to show that the capacity of sensory memory was approximately 12 items, but that it degraded very quickly (within a few hundred milliseconds). Because this form of memory degrades so quickly, participants would see the display, but be unable to report all of the items (12 in the "whole report" procedure) before they decayed. This type of memory cannot be prolonged via rehearsal.

Short-term
Main article: Short-term memory Short-term memory allows recall for a period of several seconds to a minute without rehearsal. Its capacity is also very limited: George A. Miller (1956), when working at Bell Laboratories, conducted experiments showing that the store of short-term memory

was 72 items (the title of his famous paper, "The magical number 72"). Modern estimates of the capacity of short-term memory are lower, typically on the order of 45 items,[1] however, memory capacity can be increased through a process called chunking.[2] For example, in recalling a ten-digit telephone number, a person could chunk the digits into three groups: first, the area code (such as 215), then a three-digit chunk (123) and lastly a four-digit chunk (4567). This method of remembering telephone numbers is far more effective than attempting to remember a string of 10 digits; this is because we are able to chunk the information into meaningful groups of numbers. Herbert Simon showed that the ideal size for chunking letters and numbers, meaningful or not, was three.[citation needed] This may be reflected in some countries in the tendency to remember telephone numbers as several chunks of three numbers with the final four-number groups, generally broken down into two groups of two. Short-term memory is believed to rely mostly on an acoustic code for storing information, and to a lesser extent a visual code. Conrad (1964)[3] found that test subjects had more difficulty recalling collections of letters that were acoustically similar (e.g. E, P, D). Confusion with recalling acoustically similar letters rather than visually similar letters implies that the letters were encoded acoustically. Conrad's (1964) study however, deals with the encoding of written text, thus while memory of written language may rely on acoustic components, generalisations to all forms of memory cannot be made. However, some individuals have been reported to be able to remember large amounts of information, quickly, and be able to recall that information in seconds.[citation needed]

[edit] Long-term

Olin Levi Warner, Memory (1896). Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.

Main article: Long-term memory The storage in sensory memory and short-term memory generally have a strictly limited capacity and duration, which means that information is available only for a certain period of time, but is not retained indefinitely. By contrast, long-term memory can store much larger quantities of information for potentially unlimited duration (sometimes a whole life span). Its capacity is immeasurably large. For example, given a random seven-digit number we may remember it for only a few seconds before forgetting, suggesting it was stored in our short-term memory. On the other hand, we can remember telephone numbers for many years through repetition; this information is said to be stored in longterm memory. While short-term memory encodes information acoustically, long-term memory encodes it semantically: Baddeley (1966)[4] discovered that after 20 minutes, test subjects had the most difficulty recalling a collection of words that had similar meanings (e.g. big, large, great, huge). Short-term memory is supported by transient patterns of neuronal communication, dependent on regions of the frontal lobe (especially dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and the parietal lobe. Long-term memories, on the other hand, are maintained by more stable and permanent changes in neural connections widely spread throughout the brain. The hippocampus is essential (for learning new information) to the consolidation of information from short-term to long-term memory, although it does not seem to store information itself. Without the hippocampus, new memories are unable to be stored into long-term memory, and there will be a very short attention span. Furthermore, it may be involved in changing neural connections for a period of three months or more after the initial learning. One of the primary functions of sleep is thought to be improving consolidation of information, as several studies have demonstrated that memory depends on getting sufficient sleep between training and test. Additionally, data obtained from neuroimaging studies have shown activation patterns in the sleeping brain which mirror those recorded during the learning of tasks from the previous day, suggesting that new memories may be solidified through such rehearsal.

What is Memory?

Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain and later retrieve information. There are three major processes involved in memory: encoding, storage and retrieval. In order to form new memories, information must be changed into a usable form, which occurs through the process known as encoding. Once information has been successfully encoded, it must be stored in memory for later use. Much of this stored memory lies outside of our awareness most of the time, except when we actually need to use it. The retrieval process allows us to bring stored memories into conscious awareness. The Stage Model of Memory While several different models of memory have been proposed, the stage model of memory is often used to explain the basic structure and function of memory. Initially proposed in 1968 by Atkinson and Shiffrin, this theory outlines three separate stages of memory: sensory memory, short-term (working) memory and long-term memory. Sensory Memory Sensory memory is the earliest stage of memory. During this stage, sensory information from the environment is stored for a very brief period of time, generally for no longer than a half-second for visual information and 3 or 4 seconds for auditory information. We attend to only certain aspects of this sensory memory, allowing some of this information to pass into the next stage - short-term memory. Short-Term Memory Short-term memory, also known as active memory, is the information we are currently aware of or thinking about. In Freudian psychology, this memory would be referred to as the conscious mind. Paying attention to sensory memories generates the information in short-term memory. Most of the information stored in active memory will be stored for approximately 20 to 30 seconds. While many of our short-term memories are quickly forgotten, attending to this information allows it to continue on the next stage - long-term memory. Long-Term Memory Long-term memory refers to the continuing storage of information. In Freudian psychology, long-term memory would be call the preconscious and unconscious. This information is largely outside of our awareness, but can be called into working memory to be used when needed. Some of this information is fairly easy to recall, while other memories are much more difficult to access.

Sensory Memory: The part of the memory system which is the initial contact for stimuli. Sensory memory is only capable of retaining information for a very short period of time. This type of memory allows your eye to have a larger field of vision by remembering images that your eye has already focused on. In actuality, your eyes' field of vision is quite small but because of sensory memory you are able to remember stimulus your eye has already viewed.

Definition: Short-term memory, also known as primary or active memory, includes the information we are currently aware of or thinking about. Most of the information kept in short-term memory will be stored for approximately 20 to 30 seconds, but it can be even less if rehearsal or active maintenance of the information is prevented. The capacity of short-term memory can vary, but recent research suggests that people are capable of storing approximately four chunks or pieces of information in short-term memory.

Sensory Memory permits the trace of a stimulus to linger on for further processing Why Sensory Memory? we need to integrate information across time and space we need to keep a brief record in order to select important stimuli for further processing (e.g. selective attention) may provide a stability to visual world despite constant eye movement Types of Sensory Memory iconic memory: visual sensory memory echoic memory: auditory sensory memory Iconic Memory visual information = icon visual information automatically registered in iconic memory Duration = icon lasts .5 s

Sperling (1960) Hypothesis: mental picture of display disappeared / faded by the time you were able to respond Design: whole report (report all items) partial report (Ss heard high, med. or low tone; they reported corresponding top, middle, or bottom row of display) Results: whole report = 4.5 items partial report = 9 items (accuracy rate X # letters in display) (100% X 9 items = 9 items) in partial report, with longer delays between stimulus presentation and sounding of the tone to report, accuracy decreased to 4.5 items (whole report levels) Fig. 4.1 Conclusion: icon fades after 1/2 second provides a framework for info-processing - info is held for a brief amount of time before that info is processed further (stages of processing - Atkinson-Shiffrin) Echoic Memory auditory information = echo auditory information automatically registered in echoic memory Duration = echo lasts 2 s Darwin, Turvey, Crowder (1972) 'three eared man' procedure (adaptation of Sperling's procedure)J 4 T 3 M Z A 5 2 (simultaneous presentation)| | |left middle right replicated Sperling's pattern of results, but maximum number of items recalled was 5 items and echo lasted for 2 s

Short-Term Memory Theoretical Aspects: proactive interference

span of STM chunking temporary storage of information: we forget information from STM after 30 seconds (unless we rehearse) limited capacity (two views): number of units: digit span & the WAIS-III Miller's Magic Number 7 plus or minus 2 items can be organized into larger units called chunks pronunciation times: verbal trace endures for a limited time Chad, Sweden, Greece, Cuba, Malta --> 4.2 items recalled Indonesia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Argentina, Venezuela --> 2.8 Two Types of Chunking 149162536496481 combine items that are close together in time or space 1491 625 3649 6481 utilize information from LTM 1 4 9 16 25 36 49 64 81

Proactive Inhibition (Interference) old material interferes forward in time learning new material PI occurs only with related material Practical Example: abnormal psych & theories of personality Release from PI if one changes the learning material to unrelated material, performance on memory tests returns to normal Practical Example: studying same material...take a break!!

Sensory memory From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search During every moment of an organism's life, sensory information is being taken in by sensory receptors and processed by the nervous system. Humans have five main senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Sensory memory(SM) allows individuals to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimulus has ceased.[1]. A common demonstration of SM is a child's ability to write letters and make circles by twirling a sparkler at night. When the sparkler is spun fast enough, it appears to leave a trail which forms a continuous image. This "light trail" is the image that is represented in the visual sensory store know as iconic memory. The other two types of SM that have been most extensively studied are echoic memory, and haptic memory; however, it is reasonable to assume that each psysiological sense has a corresponding memory store. Children for example have been shown to remember specific "sweet" tastes during incidental learning trials but the nature of this gustatory store is still unclear.[2] Contents[hide] 1 Characteristics 2 Types 2.1 Iconic memory 2.2 Echoic memory 2.3 Haptic memory 3 Relationship with other memory systems 4 See also 5 References [edit] Characteristics SM is considered to be outside of cognitive control and is instead an automatic response. The information represented in SM is the "raw data" which provides a snapshot of a person's overall sensory experience. Common features between each sensory modality have been identified; however, as experimental techniques advance, exceptions and additions to these general characteristics will surely evolve. The auditory store, echoic memory, for example, has been shown to have a temporal characteristic in which the timing and tempo of a presented stimulus affects transfer into more stable forms of memory.[3] Four common features have been identified for all forms of SM:[3] The formation of a SM trace is independent of attention to the stimulus. The information stored in SM is modality specific. This means for example, that echoic memory is for the exclusive storage of auditory information, and haptic memory is for the exclusive storage of tactile information. Each SM store represents an immense amount of detail resulting in very high resolution of information.

Each SM store is very brief and lasts a very short period of time. Once the SM trace has decayed or is replaced by a new memory, the information stored is no longer accessible and is ultimately lost. All SM stores have slightly different durations which is discussed in more detail on their respective pages. It is widely accepted that all forms of SM are very brief in duration; however, the approximated duration of each memory store is not static. Iconic memory for example has an average duration of 500 ms which tends to decrease with age.[4] Genetics also play a role in SM capacity; mutations to the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a nerve growth factor, and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, responsible for synaptic plasticity, decrease iconic and echoic memory capacities respectively.[5][6] [edit] Types [edit] Iconic memory Iconic memory represents SM for the visual sense of visual perception/sight. Visual information is detected by photoreceptor cells in the eyes which is then sent to the occipital lobe in the brain. Iconic memory was the first sensory store to be investigated with experiments dating back as far as 1740. One of the earliest investigations into this phenomenon was by Johann Andreas Segner (1704 - 1777) a German physicist and mathematician.[7] In his experiment, Segner attached a glowing coal to a cartwheel and rotated the wheel at increasing speed until an unbroken circle of light was perceived by the observer. He calculated that the glowing coal needed to make a complete circle in under 100ms to achieve this effect which he determined was the duration of this visual memory store. Segner's estimate of the duration of iconic memory is not far off of what George Sperling found over 100 years later using his famous partial report paradigm.[8] [edit] Echoic memory Echoic memory represents SM for the auditory sense of hearing. Auditory information travels as sound waves which are sensed by hair cells in the ears. Information is sent to and processed in the temporal lobe. The first studies of echoic memory came shortly after Sperling investigated iconic memory using an adapted partial report paradigm.[9] Today, characteristics of echoic memory have been found mainly using a Mismatch Negativity (MMN) paradigm which utilizes EEG and MEG recordings.[10] MMN has been used to identify some of the key roles of echoic memory such as change detection and language acquisition. Change detection, or the ability to detect an unusual or possibly dangerous change in the environment independent of attention, is key to the survival of an organism. [11] With regards to language, a characteristic of children who begin speaking late in development is reduced duration of echoic memory.[12] [edit] Haptic memory Haptic memory represents SM for the tactile sense of touch. Sensory receptors all over the body detect sensations such as pressure, itching, and pain. Information from receptors travel through afferent neurons in the spinal cord to the postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe in the brain. This pathway comprises the somatosensory system. Evidence for haptic memory has only recently been identified resulting in a small body of research regarding its role, capacity, and duration.[13]. Already however, fMRI studies have revealed that

specific neurons in the prefrontal cortex are involved in both SM, and motor preparation which provides a crucial link to haptic memory and its role in motor responses.[14]

[edit] Relationship with other memory systems SM is not involved in higher cognitive functions such as consolidation of memory traces or comparison of information.[15] Likewise, the capacity and duration of SM cannot be influenced by top-down control; a person cannot consciously think or choose what information is stored in SM, or how long it will be stored for.[3] The role of SM is to provide a detailed representation of our entire sensory experience for which relevant pieces of information can be extracted by short-term memory (STM) and processed by working memory (WM).[1] STM is capable of storing information for 10-15 seconds without rehearsal while working memory actively processes, manipulates, and controls the information. Information from STM can then be consolidated into long-term memory where memories can last a lifetime. The transfer of SM to STM is the first step in the AtkinsonShiffrin memory model which proposes a structure of memory.