Our brains are incredible constantly working mass storage devices and our memories are like disorganized card indexes or diaries, methodically placed at random for later retrieval. We don't remember days unless there was a moment attached, we remember months because there was a celebration and we remember a year because of a major event.
Everyday we make little sometimes big entries into our memory and they are stored away for later retrieval if we need them. It is surprising how much of our memory is built around the unnoticed things or things that seemed irrelevant or trivial you didn't really give much thought to, but were stored away. These items get placed in the diary that's stored away in the dusty trunk in the attic, but they are there and can be retrieved when needed.
Asked a mother when her child was born and she can give you every detail down to the minute and seconds of it's birth and will remember that the rest of her life. Ask her what she did on the child's sixth birthday and she probably could recall it but the details would be sketchy. Usually we take pictures, this helps us recall those special times and usually once we look at those pictures the memories start to flow in. Those are the little details and items we stored in that dusty trunk, we didn't loose them we just needed a little help in retrieving them.
Our memories and our minds process information and images, the brain does a sort of encoding of information, much like a computer needs a description or file name for placement, otherwise it just gets put anywhere. Once it gets encoded and placed in storage or memory, it gets placed in areas where it can be retrieve over a period of time. This encoding does many things, like attaching files from the physical aspects, the visual or from any of our senses. In this way we recall many different aspects of a specific memory. Like the smell we will remember from a burning house, or being able to mentally see the image of the house burning. Our brains will locate this information and return it to our consciousness.
From an information processing perspective there are three main stages in the formation and retrieval of memory:
Encoding or registration - Receiving, processing and combining.
Storage - Creation of a permanent record.
Retrieval - Recalling the information from some response to a cue.
Asked a mother when her child was born and she can give you every detail down to the minute and seconds of it's birth and will remember that the rest of her life. Ask her what she did on the child's sixth birthday and she probably could recall it but the details would be sketchy. Usually we take pictures, this helps us recall those special times and usually once we look at those pictures the memories start to flow in. Those are the little details and items we stored in that dusty trunk, we didn't loose them we just needed a little help in retrieving them.
Our memories and our minds process information and images, the brain does a sort of encoding of information, much like a computer needs a description or file name for placement, otherwise it just gets put anywhere. Once it gets encoded and placed in storage or memory, it gets placed in areas where it can be retrieve over a period of time. This encoding does many things, like attaching files from the physical aspects, the visual or from any of our senses. In this way we recall many different aspects of a specific memory. Like the smell we will remember from a burning house, or being able to mentally see the image of the house burning. Our brains will locate this information and return it to our consciousness.
From an information processing perspective there are three main stages in the formation and retrieval of memory:
Encoding or registration - Receiving, processing and combining.
Storage - Creation of a permanent record.
Retrieval - Recalling the information from some response to a cue.
There is actually a field of study called: cognitive psychology, which is basically an approach to human thinking and how our minds process information much like a computer does. Some information will be effortless to retrieve, where as other information may be much more difficult because things like descriptions, file names or sensory information wasn't attached to them. Sensory memory only holds sensory information for about a second after being looked at, smelled or heard if it was just a quick observation. Our memories need longer durations of observation or a specific type of moment for longer term memory. Short-term memory allows recall for a period of several seconds to a minute without rehearsal or memorization. But Its capacity is also very limited.
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In both sensory memory and short-term memory information is not retained indefinitely. Long-term memory is where we store large quantities of information and will be retained for sometimes our whole lives. Like the mother we mentioned above and remembering every detail of a child's birth, she probably even remembers the smells, the sounds, the room, the people there everything, because it was also a traumatic event. Traumatic events generally go into long term memory and have almost instant retrieval.
Both our sensory and short term memories are not lost completely right away if associated with some other input, but normally over time these memories are lost. If something of a short duration observations was recalled on a regular basis over years this information sometimes will get moved to our long term memory. This would be similar to seeing a very colorful bird on the side of the road and you didn't give it much thought. But then you see one a few months later on the internet and then you discussed it with someone, this information the colors and various other information would then go into long term memory.
As we get older most of us will experience some memory loss and there are several disorders associated with memory loss like Alzheimer's disease. However, memory loss is quit different in normal aging from the kind of memory loss associated with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Most older people who read regularly, eat right, exercise and do things that challenge them mentally will have a much slower degeneration.
Much of the current knowledge we have about our memory has come from studying memory disorders, particularly amnesia. Amnesia is normally a result from extensive damage to the brain, but can also be caused by, traumatic events (example: seeing something devastating to the mind), physical deficiencies, and also by the use of various sedatives and hypnotic drugs.
"Memory is a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things." - Pierce Harris
We've all got our good ole days' stored away inside our hearts and our minds, we can return to them in our dreams or our conscious mind while relaxing in our favorite recliner. A trip to the nostalgic now and then is good for the spirit, as long as we don't set up housekeeping.
Essentials of Human Memory above is available through Amazon, click on the image you will be redirected to Amazon. Most books on this site are available on Kindle, don't have a Kindle, click on the link below.
Both our sensory and short term memories are not lost completely right away if associated with some other input, but normally over time these memories are lost. If something of a short duration observations was recalled on a regular basis over years this information sometimes will get moved to our long term memory. This would be similar to seeing a very colorful bird on the side of the road and you didn't give it much thought. But then you see one a few months later on the internet and then you discussed it with someone, this information the colors and various other information would then go into long term memory.
As we get older most of us will experience some memory loss and there are several disorders associated with memory loss like Alzheimer's disease. However, memory loss is quit different in normal aging from the kind of memory loss associated with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Most older people who read regularly, eat right, exercise and do things that challenge them mentally will have a much slower degeneration.
Much of the current knowledge we have about our memory has come from studying memory disorders, particularly amnesia. Amnesia is normally a result from extensive damage to the brain, but can also be caused by, traumatic events (example: seeing something devastating to the mind), physical deficiencies, and also by the use of various sedatives and hypnotic drugs.
"Memory is a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things." - Pierce Harris
We've all got our good ole days' stored away inside our hearts and our minds, we can return to them in our dreams or our conscious mind while relaxing in our favorite recliner. A trip to the nostalgic now and then is good for the spirit, as long as we don't set up housekeeping.
Essentials of Human Memory above is available through Amazon, click on the image you will be redirected to Amazon. Most books on this site are available on Kindle, don't have a Kindle, click on the link below.
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