Long-Term and Short-Term Memory - Essay Example

Your first and sur Your Due Human Memory The human memory is akin to the hard drive and RAM of a computer, just like the most powerful CPU would be futile with memory, so also human intelligence would be futile without memory to remember and retrieve information. Not only would studying pose a problem but also tasks such as talking to somebody or doing something hold no relevance since you wouldn't remember what you were talking about or doing. Memory is the most vital function of the human brain. All human actions, thoughts, interactions and perceptions are based on memory, Even a person deprived of sensory input that most of us take for granted- a blind and a deaf person is entirely capable of living a fulfilling life. In contrast, as is attested by anyone who knows a person ravaged by Alzheimer's disease, even with normal sensory input, lack of memory is profoundly debilitating (Smith 267). Earlier work in the study of memory was confined to association between stimulus and response. However, current studies emphasize cognitive or mental processes over stimulus response association ( Morgan 184). Thus the three aspects in the study of memory are 1. The three stages of memory 2. Usage of different memories to store information for the long and short tem 3. Usage of different memories to store different types of information. How does the brain memorize information In order to answer this question, one must study the three stages of memory- encoding, storage and retrieval. Suppose you saw a parakeet for the first time in your life when your friend showed you one in the park last week. Subsequently when you went to the bird sanctuary today and saw a similar bird you immediately recognized it as a parakeet. This simple act actually entailed three steps; when your friend showed you the parakeet, you transformed the information that this bird is called a parakeet( the sound input) and that's what it looks like (the visual input); which are physical inputs into the kind of code that your memory would accept. This stage is called the encoding stage. The storing of this information for a week was the storage phase and when you retrieved the information to recognize the bird this morning; that was the retrieval stage. Memory can fail you at any one of these stages. Recent studies have shown that while encoding most of the activated brain regions are in the left hemisphere and during retrieval in the right hemisphere. Long Term and Short Term Memory. When a friend gives you his or her phone number verbally, its relatively easy to repeat it immediately. However recalling it after a day becomes difficult. Repeating the number immediately is an example of short term memory while recalling it after a day is constitutes long term memory. Experiments on small mammals and observation of people with damage to some parts of the brain have shown that the hippocampus a brain structure beneath the cortex is responsible for short term memory; whereas, the front of the cortex is responsible for long term memory (Atkinson 258). Usage Of Different Memories For Different Types Of Information Recent evidence has indicated that that different types of memories are used to store two different types of information; a fact such as the name of the current president- this uses explicit memory and a skill such as playing a piano- this uses implicit memory ( Atkinson 259; Smith 269) Even though short term memory involves recall of information in a few seconds it still goes through the three stages of encoding, storage and retrieval. To encode information we must first attend to it. Most issues with memory lapses can be attributed to a lack of attention. Since we are selective about what we attend to; only that memory will be encoded and can later be retrieved. The three types of coding used are- visual when the input or representation is visual such as a picture, acoustic when the information is verbal, such as somebody saying something, and semantic when the information is meaningful. The storage of visual code involves activity in the left hemisphere and the storage of acoustic code involves activity in the right hemisphere. Short term memory can be equated to RAM in a computer, just like RAM, the storage of short term memory has limited capacity. Most adults can store/remember between 5-9 items at a time. When we forget pieces of information; it's because with the limited storage capacity that short term memory has either they are replaced or they decay over time (Atkinson et all, 1996).A good way of improving short term memory is chunking. This is when pieces of information are grouped into clusters which can then be connected to items in the long term memory. "Experiments have shown the more the number of items in short term memory the slower the retrieval becomes" (Atkinson 263). Short term memory is also used as the problem solving and thought memory. When consciously trying to solve problems we use the short term memory as a working space, where information can be intermittently stored. However language understanding takes a different memory called language memory and the short term memory just serves as a reserve for lengthy sentences. The Memory Registers The chronology of transfer on information from short term memory to long term memory is as follows- the information received through the sensory organs (visual, auditory and touch) is stored in the sensory registers where its only stored for a few seconds. If we attend to this information while it's in the sensory register it moves up to short term memory if it's rehearsed its transferred further to long term memory. Long Term Memory Long term memory comes into play when information has to be stored for a minimum of few minutes to a maximum of a lifetime. The preferred way of encoding verbal information in long term memory is semantic ( in terms of meaning); however other codes such as visual, auditory, tastes and smells are also used. Sometimes even though the things to be remembered are meaningful its difficult to remember them. Forming real or artificial links between items helps to improve memory in such a situation. Forgetting information from long term memory happens more due to loss of access to this information rather than loss of information ( Atkinson 267). Emotions are another factor responsible for memory lapses. Providing retrieval clues is an excellent way to enhance long term memory retrieval. However associating too many items with one retrieval cue will increase the retrieval time. The critical brain areas involved in the storage of long term memory are the hippocampus and the cortex surrounding the hippocampus. Three other ways of increasing the chances of successful retrieval are 1. Elaboration during encoding- elaborating on a topic or item will create more retrieval cues leading to that item and hence will improve long term memory retrieval. 2. Organization- if many pieces of information are arranged into separate categories it's easier to retrieve them. 3. Context- Since most of the long term memory information is not lost but just hard to retrieve, if you are in the same context while retrieving it as you were when you encoded it , the retrieval cue thus created is very strong. Most people who are keen on studying about memory want to do so in because they are interested in improving their memory. There are lots of programs and literature in the market that aid in improving memory. Most of them use the following techniques to improve memory. 1. Chunking - Even though we can only remember between 5-9 items chunking them into familiar groups will increase our ability to remember them; for instance chunking a couple of numbers based on the birthdates of loved ones. 2. Imagery and Encoding- the famous mnemonic trick of memory improvement is based on this technique. It involved associating items with mental images of familiar things. This technique is being used quite successfully to learn languages. The study of memory has helped not only in devising techniques that improve retention and recall of information but also in developing preventative measure against diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Works Cited Atkinson,Rita L, et. al.Introduction to Psychology.Florida:Harcourt Brace & Company,1996,1993,1990,1987,1983,1979,1975,1971,1967,1962,1957. Morgan ,Clifford T, et. al. Introduction to Psychology.New York:Mcgraw - Hill, Inc,1986,1979,1975,1966,1961,1956. Smith,Edward E, et. al. Introduction to Psychology.Thomson Learning Inc,2003. Read More