All You Need to Know About the Different Types of Memory and the Factors Affecting Them

Memory is the ability to remember things, people, and events, and it is the prerequisite for any behavior. It controls current and future behavior based on the experience of impressions and past experiences. In this article, you will read everything you need to know about the different types of memory (short and long-term memory, semantic memory, etc.) and the factors affecting them.

What are the types of memory?

Memory can be counted as an electronic disk through which humans can store and retrieve information later. Memory is divided into different categories related to the length of time during which the contents of memory can be recalled.

1. Very short memory:

Immediate memory is often referred to as very short memory or sensory memory whose content is retained from a few milliseconds to a maximum of two seconds. This is the shortest period in which information and sensations remain minimally present to enable initial information processing.

For example, a new phone number you hear and then insert into the phone ends up in a very short-term memory (or sensory memory). Newly arrived information quickly displaces the previous content in the instantaneous memory, and only a small fraction of the information is transferred from the sensory memory to the short-term memory.

2. Short-term memory:

Short-term memory allows data to be stored for a few seconds to a few minutes. For example, you can remember the number you are looking for briefly before typing it, and in the first stage, after the memory contents are absorbed into the short-term memory, it is not stored stably.

For example, a concussion in an accident can cause memory loss from seconds to several hours before the event occurs because it is only stored in short-term memory.

3. Long-term memory:

All the important information that deserves to be kept that would cause short-term memory to be "erased" is stored in long-term memory. This form of memory is generally intended when discussing memory, and the extent of long-term memory varies greatly from person to person. It includes the mother tongue's active vocabulary and all the memories, data, facts, knowledge acquired, and vocabulary acquired for foreign languages. Anything that we need in the long term in the event of repetition or strong emotional content is stored in long-term memory.

What are the types of long-term memory?

Doctors refer to the part that stores explicit content, conscious content that is linguistically retrievable as identifying memory (explicit memory), which is further subdivided into

1. Episodic Memory:

Curriculum vitae knowledge; i.e. self-knowledge and personal experiences.

2. Semantic Memory:

school or factual knowledge about the world regardless of the individual's experience.

3. Non-identifying Memory:

It is also called implicit memory, which stores the implicit content and is not directly accessible to consciousness, and therefore cannot be called verbal. These include for example, complex skills, such as driving, cycling, skiing or shoe lacing (procedural memory).

How does the brain choose information worth storing?

About 10 million signals from the sensory organs reach our brain every second, but not all of them are worth storing and remembering later, which is why a selection of signals that divide impressions into different categories are stored. The distinction is first made between the categories "known" and "unknown," and then our brain decides whether the impressions or signals are worth remembering and recalling later.

Does the brain have a specific structure for storing memories?

There is no clearly defined structure in the brain for memory. Still, there is a network of neurons that stretches through different areas of the brain responsible for memory, so different areas of the brain are activated at the same time during memory processes or memory storage.

For example, basal nuclei are responsible for procedural memory, the amygdala and hippocampus are important for semantic memory and episodic content, and the amygdala stores emotional memories.

Long-term memory, identity, and life experiences:

Long-term memory is where we store up everything we've experienced so far and everything we've learned in life: facts about the world (Germany's capital is Berlin, monkeys are mammals), events and moments you've experienced yourself (first kiss, your mother doesn't like olives, first trip with friends) as well as learned skills and movements like being able to ride a bike.

Long-term memory is the doorway to each person's experiences, the knowledge one acquires throughout one's life, and the abilities and skills one learns, in which the memory of the first kiss is stored in the same way that we store our abilities to make complex movements such as somersault. Through memory, we have an identity and know who we are, where we came from, and what made us who we are now.

What do you know about declarative memory?

Declarative memory is also called explicit or conscious memory because the stored content can be clearly described. It can be accessed consciously and is divided into episodic and semantic memory, and there is one thing they have in common is the flexible association of memories. For example, the memory of your wedding or the wedding ceremony in which you were. So, if you are shown a picture of the event, you recognize the memory and the details by declarative memory.

What is episodic memory?

Episodic memory stores memories of autobiographical events, including situations you've experienced yourself that you have a high level of detailed knowledge about and can remember information about places and times. Think about an important event in your life. Perhaps, you can remember where it happened, who was there, and almost when it happened.

But there are biographical memories that can no longer be remembered well, especially when facing similar situations repeatedly, such as parking. You may not remember every situation in which you parked your car because of the repetition, and perhaps the accompanying similarity and the low importance of the process weaken these memories. However, once you stop your car and see a celebrity in the parking lot, this memory will certainly emerge from other parking memories, and you will remember this situation well.

What do you know about semantic memory?

The contents of semantic memory can also be described with factual knowledge, including knowledge of concepts, things, and facts, so we know that Berlin is the capital of Germany and that the ripe banana is yellow. The facts may usually be stored without frames, which means that we no longer know when and where we learned this; of course, there can be exceptions. This type of knowledge usually requires repetition until the information is stored. If we want to memorize the vocabulary list, we have to repeat individual words several times to remember them, but there is an exception here as well. If one piece of information is interesting or important, especially for us, we may remember it even after learning it once.

What are the three processes that contribute to memory formation?

There are three important processes involved in forming memories:

1. Encoding:

Encoding or encryption is the translation of information from the outside world or the body into a neural code so that the brain can read that information, which also means that the information is represented in memory, but not stored permanently.

2. Installation:

Installation refers to the brain processes that lead to the permanent storage of information, and the connections between neurons that process information belonging to the mental loop are strengthened. As a result, networks of neurons that store information belonging to memory are formed.

For example, if we learn the vocabulary and repeat it an hour later and then the next day, the connections between the neurons responsible for processing this information are strengthened. The networks between similar neural memories are connected if similar information is added.

3. Retrieval:

The stored information can be retrieved from memory consciously or unconsciously. If you are asked about the capital of France and the answer is "Paris," this is a conscious request. If a signal such as the Eiffel Tower image makes you think about Paris, it is an unconscious retrieval process, and this indicates the link between the image of the Eiffel Tower and the French capital is very strong.

What factors influence the stages of memory formation?

Encryption processes affect the retention and retrieval of acquired information, and information is better stored when it is meaningful. If we include a word to be learned in a story, it will be easy to remember later.

New information can be linked to previously learned knowledge to be able to retrieve it more easily, especially if you combine it with self-knowledge or think about the meaning of the information to be learned, as this is more effective than parrot repetition.

In addition, retrieval improves when the general conditions of learning are similar to the conditions of retrieval, and this applies to both the physical context such as the environment or the position of the body, and to the form in which the information appears (words, images, etc.), and this phenomenon is called the specificity of encoding.

In conclusion:

After all the research and studies that have been done on human memory, it remains mired in mystery and what is known about it is much less unknown until this moment, so researchers still find a lot of pleasure in the study of memory.