Glossary

Memory Memory refers to the storage, retention and recall of information including past experiences, knowledge and thoughts. Memory for specific information can vary greatly according to the individual and the individual's state of mind. It can also vary according to the content of the information itself; thus information which is novel or exciting tends to be better remembered than information which is uninteresting or ordinary. Failure of memory can normally result from failure to adequately store the memory in the first place, failure to retain the information (forgetting), and failure to retrieve the information later. The precise biological mechanisms of memory are not fully understood, but most scientists believe that memory results from changes in connections or connection strengths between neurons in the brain. One possible mechanism is long-term potentiation (LTP). Roughly stated, LTP refers to a process whereby if two neurons are usually active together, the connection between them will be strengthened; over time, this means that activity in one neuron will tend to produce activity in the other neuron. Categories of Memory Systems Psychologists and memory researchers often divide memory into categories defined by the duration for which the memory is expected to last. Sensory memory refers to the fact that, after experiencing a stimulus, information about that stimulus is briefly held in memory in the exact form it was received, until it can be further processed. Typically, sensory memories may last only a few seconds before decaying -- or being overwritten by new, incoming information. But, while they last, sensory memories contains detailed information: almost like an internal "copy" of the stimulus, in perfect detail. For example, psychologists have assumed that there is a memory area (called a "buffer") where incoming visual information is stored as a picture or icon. This is sometimes called iconic memory. While visual information remains in iconic memory, an individual can answer detailed questions, such as what is the third row of numbers in a numerical display. Psychologists have assumed that there is also an echoic memory for auditory information (stored as an echo) and other buffers for information related to the other senses: taste, smell and touch. Short-term memory refers to memories which last for a few minutes. Unlike sensory memory, which is stored in the exact form it was experienced, short-term memory has received some processing; thus, "A" is stored not as a visual stimulus, but as an abstract concept of the letter "A". Short-term memory is of limited capacity, usually 5-9 items ("7-plus-or-minus-two"). Beyond this capacity, new information can "bump" out other items from short-term memory. This is one form of forgetting. Objects in short-term memory can be of indefinite complexity: thus short-term memory can hold several numbers, or several words, or several complex concepts simultaneously. Thus, while an individual may only be able to remember seven random digits, it may be possible to remember more digits if they are "chunked" into meaningful objects: thus, "1776-2001-1941" represents twelve separate digits -- well beyond most people's capacity -- but only three easily-remembered chunks. Items can be maintained indefinitely in short-term memory by rehearsal: e.g. by repeating the information over and over again. An example would be a seven-digit phone number, which is maintained in short-term memory by repetition until the number is dialed, and then fades from shortterm memory once the conversation starts. Repetition may also increase the probability that items in short-term memory will enter permanent storage in long-term memory. Intermediate-term or working memory is sometimes considered a synonym for short-term memory. However, memory researchers often consider this a specialized term referring for information about the current task. Thus, even though a specific phone number may occupy short-term memory, working memory contains the information that lets you remember that you are in the process of phoning the gas company to complain about a recent billing error. Long-term memory is memory that lasts for years or longer. It contains everything we know about the

world, including semantic and factual information as well as autobiographical experience. In general, long-term memory is organized so that it is easy to reach a stored item by a number of routes. For example, the concept "umbrella" may be retrieved by seeing an umbrella, experiencing a rainstorm, hearing the words to the song "Let a smile be your umbrella," and so on. Retrieval of an item also facilitates other related items: so that retrieving information about a cat can lead to retrieval of information about dogs, lions, specific instances of cats (Grandmother's tabby), the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, and so on. NOTE: Clinicians (e.g. neurologists) often use a slightly different classification, in which short-term memory is memory for events which occurred recently (e.g. a few days or weeks ago) and long-term memory is memory for events which occurred in the distant past (e.g. childhood). Kinds of Long-term Memory There are several different ways to classify long-term memories according to their content. Declarative memory is a term for information which is available to conscious recollection and verbal retrieval (i.e., it can be "declared"). Two subclasses of declarative memory are episodic memory, which is autobiographical information, and semantic memory, which is factual information about the world (vocabulary items, knowledge of what a hammer is used for, memory of multiplication tables, etc.). Brain Structures involved in Long-Term Memory Most types of memory appear to be stored in the cortex. Different areas of cortex specialize in different kinds of information, so that visual information about the Statue of Liberty may be stored in one location (e.g., the inferior temporal cortex), while information about its associations to liberty and immigration might be stored in another (e.g., the frontal cortex). High linkage between these two areas means that seeing a picture of the Statue of Liberty can retrieve memory about its associations. At the same time, damage to specific areas of cortex can produce specific memory deficits. For example, damage to a specific region within the temporal lobe can produce a memory deficit in which the patient loses knowledge about "living things" (e.g. dogs, lions, birds) but maintains knowledge about other categories (e.g. inanimate objects such as furniture and utensils). Formation of new declarative memories depends on the hippocampus and related structures in themedial temporal lobe. When these structures are damaged, a condition of anterograde amnesiacan result, in which older declarative memories are largely spared, but few if any new declarative memories are acquired. At this point, the process whereby the hippocampus and other medial temporal lobe structures contribute to long-term memory formation is still incompletely understood. Some researchers believe that the hippocampus acts as a temporary store for new information, which is then gradually transferred to permanent storage in the cortex. Other researchers believe that the hippocampus never actually stores information itself, but is needed by the cortex in the process of developing new memories. Another important structure is the amygdala, which lies near the hippocampus in the medial temporal lobes. The amygdala is critically involved in emotional memory; an individual with damage to the amygdala may remember the details of a traumatic (or joyful) event but not the emotional content of that event. Pathology of Memory Memory can be impaired by various injuries and diseases. Damage to the medial temporal lobe and hippocampus can devastate the ability to acquire new declarative memory; damage to the storage areas in cortex can disrupt retrieval of old memories and interfere with acquisition of new memories -simply because there is nowhere to put them. Another critical factor is attention. Items are more likely to be remembered if they are attended to in the first place; this is why novel or exciting items are more likely to be remembered than dull or ordinary

ones. Damage to the frontal lobes, which disrupts attention, may affect memory. Various psychiatric disorders such as paranoia and schizophrenia may affect memory adversely, either by disrupting attention or by disrupting the biological bases of memory, or both. Alzheimer's disease causes memory impairments from the early stages, probably because of cell death in the basal forebrain, an area that produces the chemical acetylcholine which facilitatesplasticity (learning). Recent memories tend to be poorly remembered, while there may be good memory for long-ago events. Other conditions such as viral infections, depression and use of drugs (including medication) can affect memory by disrupting brain chemicals as well. Although a mild memory impairment is a common feature of old age, there is currently much debate over whether memory loss is inevitable with aging, or whether it is a by-product of conditions (such as Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease) which are more common in old age than in youth. (See also: Age-associated Memory Impairment.) Further reading: L. Squire & E. Kandel (2000). Memory: From Mind to Molecules. New York: Scientific American Library; R. Klatzky (1980). Human Memory: Structures and Processes, 2nd Edition. New York: WH Freeman. by Catherine E. Myers. Copyright 2006 Memory Loss and the Brain

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Short-Term Memory Problems

Short-term memory problems are, by and large, attention problems. Attention involves both the ability to keep focused on the information you want to keep active, and the ability to not be distracted by competing and irrelevant stimuli. You need to actively attend to keep information active, particularly as you get older. Many of us over-estimate how much information we can keep active at one time. Many people, particularly as they get older, have concerns about short-term memory problems: going to another room to do something and then forgetting why youre there; deciding to do something, becoming distracted by another task, and then forgetting the original intention; uncertainty about whether you have just performed a routine task; forgetting things youve said or done seconds after having said or done them; thinking of something you want to say during a conversation, then forgetting what it was by the time its your turn to speak, and so on. This is clearly an issue for many of us. Part of the reason, I believe, is simply that we expect too much from ourselves. For example, research has shown that even a very, very short delay between recalling an intention and being able to carry it out is sufficient to dramatically reduce the likelihood that you will remember to do the intended action we are talking about a delay of only 10 seconds!

The problem is exacerbated by age (Im not talking about advanced age Im afraid certain aspects of cognitive processing begin to decline as early as the 30s). Part of the problem is also that we tend to believe that we dont need to do anything to maintain a thought, particularly when it has popped into our minds easily. But current estimates are that unrehearsed information lingers in working memory for less than two seconds! Some of these problems are dealt with in my article on action slips(these problems are not, strictly speaking, a failure of memory, but a failure in attention), and in my e-book on Remembering intentions. But in this article I want to talk about another aspect: the relationship between working memory, and attention (and, as it happens, intelligence!). In my article on working memory and intelligence I talk about the difference between crystallized and fluid intelligence that fluid intelligence is probably a better measure of what we think of as intelligence, and that working memory capacity is often used synonymously with fluid intelligence. A new theory is that the relationship between working memory and fluid intelligence is due to the ability to control attention. This theory emphasizes the role of attention in keeping information active (i.e. in working memory), and argues that working memory capacity is not, as usually thought, about the number of items or amount of information that can be held at one time. Instead, it reflects the extent to which a person can control attention, particularly in situations where there is competing information / demands. I have to say that this makes an awful lot of sense to me. I cant, in the space I have here, go into all the evidence for and against the theory, but heres one situation which is interesting. The cocktail party phenomenon is a well-known method in psychology, whereby people are given two streams of audio, one for each ear, and instructed to listen only to one. At some point, the persons name is spoken into the unattended stream, and about a third of people pick that up. In a recent take of that classic study, researchers compared the performance of people as a function of their working memory capacity. Only 20% of those with a high capacity heard their name in the unattended channel compared to 65% of low-capacity people. The point being that a critical aspect of good attentional control is the ability to block our irrelevant information. This ability is one that we already know is worsened by increasing age. The message from all this, I guess, is that:

short-term memory problems are, by and large, attention problems. attention involves both the ability to keep focused on the information you want to keep active, and the ability to not be distracted by competing and irrelevant stimuli. you need to actively attend to keep information active, particularly as you get older.

many of us over-estimate how much information we can keep active at one time.

And if you want strategies to help you keep more information active, I suggest you look at improving your ability to chunk, condense and label information. If you can reduce a chunk of information to a single label quickly, all you need to do is remember the label. (I explain all this at length in my book The Memory Key, but Im afraid it needs far too much explanation to go into here). Anyway, I hope this helps those of you (most of us!) with short-term memory problems.

This article originally appeared in the April 2005 newsletter. References: 1. Heitz, R.P., Unsworth, N. & Engle, R.W. 2004. Working memory capacity, attention control, and fluid intelligence. In O. Wilhelm & R,W. Engle (eds.) Handbook of Understanding and Measuring Intelligence. London: Sage Publication http://www.memory-

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