The Different Types of Memory

The Different Types of Memory

Memory is one of the most puzzling parts of the brain. How can our brain store

more information and thoughts than an encyclopedia and weigh less then three pounds? The brain gives us the ability to act on our own. To think, say, and do things we want to do all occur because of our brain. The brain controls our movement, our thoughts, and our memory. Memory, the process of storing and retrieving information in the brain, consists of three main types, short-term, long-term, and ancestral all which can be comparred between genders.

Memory is the process of storing and retrieving information in the brain. It has

three main functions: recording, storing, and recalling. One records information in the brain by permanently putting it into memory for later retrieval. Most people decide what is important to record and what is not. Storing information in the brain is conducted so information can be retrieved and compacted for later use. Recalling is remembering the stored information. Memory adapts to peoples needs and is a necessary for our way of life (Yesavag 21). Memory decides how long to store something depending on the event.

The information it stores is called traces or chunks and is stored in the deep temporal lobe, mid-brain, medial temporal lobe and other various places. Later these traces or chunks are remembered.

There are four types of remembering. Recall, recollection, recognition, and relearning.

Recall is remembering something from the past. Recollection involves reconstruction of events based on cues that serve as reminders. Recognition is remembering that refers to the ability to correctly identify previous encountered stimuli as familar. And relearning is material learned a second time. Relearning is the best evidence of memory because when something is learned again it is familiar and seems like it was known before. Relearning is having the information retaught to you a second time.

A type of memory that doesn’t have recall, recollection, recognition, or relearning is Short-term memory. Short-term memory is memory that is “in use” and “active” and located in the deep temporal lobe. Short-term memory is the ability to retain a limited amount of information called chunks for seconds to a minute and to remember it for up to an hour. Short-term memory has a limited amount of room to store chunks an...

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...ckslaps, hugs and the way we open doors.

Since memory is a puzzling part in the brain, it has been studied over the years.

Cyril Burt did a test between males and females seeing which gender had a better

short-term memory and long-term. After the testing, the results showed that the males had a better short-term memory. For the test on long-term, the females ended up having a better one. He only tested fifty males and fifty females. Burt also didn’t take notes on how he did the experiment. He died in 1970.

W.H. is the initials of a man who had brain surgery in the 1980’s. He was having

constant seizures that were located in his temporal lobe. To stop the seizures, surgeons removed his temporal lobe. After the surgery, he couldn’t remember any thing he had done after it. Often forgetting where he was. But he could remember events that happened before the surgery. This all happened because the temporal lobe controls short-term memory. And since its removed he would never have any memories of what happened after the surgery since he cant transfer any thing to his long-term memory. This surgery proves that short-term memory is real and is located in the temporal lobe.