Memory 101

Memory is a gift of nature, the ability of living organisms to retain and to utilize acquired information or knowledge. . . .

Owners of biological memory systems are capable of behaving more appropriately at a later time because of their experiences at an earlier time, a feat not possible for organisms without memory.

Memory / The portion of cognition that represents identity and holds proof to one’s existence is produced as the direct sequel of a three staged process: encoding, storing and retrieval. When the body receives a sensory input interpretation also known as encoding where the information content is code cracked and then stored. Once stored it is retrieved whenever the need for the information arise.

Humans are composed of a sensory memory store, a short term memory store and a long term memory store all composed of varying storage capacities and duration's. Memory is the out math of the subsequent interactions between these three memory stores.

With the transitory of time , countless models proposed by various significant individuals attempted to uncover the functioning memory. Several include the multi store model of memory , the information processing model of memory.

Atkinson and Shiffrin viewed memory as the outcome of the collaborative effort of the sensory, short term and long term memory stores. Sensory input distinguished significant by the sensory store based on the provided attention is passed to the short term memory store where they are stored. Unless aided by rehearsal its storage is brief. The information then moves to the long term storage where it is permanent. In the model, short term storage is the key for moving information into and out of the long term store and is the ‘workplace’ for manipulating information.

Though the theory behind the model is quite elite, a meticulous look would point out the catch. Based on the connection between the long term memory store and the short term memory, a deficit in the short term store would mean the long term store will suffer an impairment and cause damage to one’s ability to do complex tasks, when in reality investigational data deny them. A report by shallice and Warrington hold records of a patient with extreme deficit in short term memory but has a flawless unaffected long term memory . Another report had patients with short term memory deficit but was capable of performing complex cognitive tasks like taxi driving . All pointing out the multi store model was simple and needed change.

The second model, the information processing model of memory, involves the sensory memory, the short term memory and the long term memory working collaboratively to produce memory. When the body receives a sensory input the sensory store registers it .It has a large capacity along with a duration of about 1 second and has an iconic memory which registers all visual information and echoic memory which registers all auditory information. If enough attention is given to the sensory information which arrive into the sensory memory the memory will move to the short term memory store. The second type, the short term memory, is capable of holding seven plus or minus 2 items at a given time and has a duration of around thirty seconds.

Anything remembered for longer than this time is classified as long term memory. The storage is temporary and the memories can be renewed or replaced by new ones at any given time. Items placed in this store can be modified and altered whenever possible. Memories in the short term memory, if provided with attention over the attention threshold, moves into the third type of memory called the long term memory store. The long term memory is permanent along with a large capacity. Stored information cannot be modified unless retrieved completely. Information stored in the long term store in categorized into explicit memory and implicit memory based on whether they are conscious or unconscious. Explicit memory is further subdivided into episodic memory and semantic memory. Episodic memory contains conscious memory that is related to or triggers emotions while semantic memory contains conscious memory that is related to factual concepts and information.

Memory can be considered a very important part of life, but it can also be devious and misleading. One such scenario is false memory. False memory is the phenomena where a memory become interfered and altered by the memories experienced later or before .This concept was first introduced by Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus who studied the legal case of a man named Steve Titus who met a tragic end victimized to a false memory.

The occurrence of the phenomena is quite common in eye witness testimonies. After receiving new information about the same incident, people make errors when reporting what they saw. Loftus conducted experiments that involved showing stimulated crimes and accidents and asking them questions about what they remember. In one ,people were exposed to a stimulated accident .The witnesses ,in two groups, were asked how fast the cars were going when they hit each other and how fats the cars were going when they smashed into each other. The group asked the leading smash question caused people to mention broken glasses when there weren’t any broken glasses at all. In another, with aid from family members , a false memory of getting lost in the shopping mall at the age of five was implanted in the participants .At the meeting a few weeks later ,the participants were fully convinced they once got lost in the mall and presented some ironic details about the experience. Once told that the memory was in fact false, they had trouble believing it.

Similar to misleading instances like false memory, another problem with memory are memory disorders .A memory disorder is a deficit in the way memory functions usually caused by aging, neurological changes, physiological damage etc. Some common examples are Alzheimer’s, dementia, amnesia. Memory disorders make it hard for people to carry out cognitive tasks, people have trouble retrieving and making memories plus some people experience severe memory loss to the extent they forget themselves.

Memory is an important part in existence. People cherish it. Know that it represents identity who they are, where they come from. (Loftus, 2013) An absence of it would leave emptiness and loss. Though it does have both complications and simplicities it forms the framework for human existence and connetion.

Reference

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