Short-Term vs Long-Term Memory

By: Tram Huynh

“You have to begin to lose your memory, if only in bits and pieces, to realize that memory is what makes our lives. Life without memory is no life at all… Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling even our action. Without it, we are nothing.” – Luis Bunuel

Short-Term Memory

Memory is the mechanism that allows us to retain and retrieve information over time.

Encoding is the term used for the various processes by which information is transformed into a memory representation.

Rehearsal is the term for the role of repetition in the retention of memories.

Short-Term Memory Capacity

As it’s name implies, our Short-Term Memory allows us to retain information for only a brief period of time.

But how much information can STM hold? Memory Span Across Age Level

Age (In Years) Memory Span (for digits)2468101218

2345667

How Long does Information Last in STM? Without rehearsal, STM can store information for about 15-20 seconds. Another way to help recall a larger amount of information is chunking. 1 4 9 2 9 0 2 1 0 7 1 4 If you can take a “chunk” of information and used it to activate memory in your long-

term memory storage: 1492 (Year Columbus discovered America), 90210 (Title of TV show), 714 (Area code of

Orange County, California)

The Brown-Peterson Task shows that the number of items that can be kept in STM rapidly decays throughout the passage of time, and if the more information there is the more likely you are to confuse it.

Why do we forget facts held in Short-Term Memory? Trace Decay Theory of Forgetting This explanation of forgetting in STM assumes that memories leave a

trace in the brain. This theory suggests STM can only hold information between 15 and

30 seconds unless it is rehearsed. After this the information trace decays and fades away.

Long-Term Memory

Long-Term Memory is data that can be stored for long periods of time.

While short-term memory and working memory persists for around 20 seconds, information can remain in long-term memory indefinitely.

Long-term Memory is often broken down into Episodic, Semantic, Autobiographical, and Implicit Memories.

Episodic Memory

Episodic Memory refers to memory for specific events in time, as well as supporting their formation and retrieval.

An example would be your 7th birthday party. You might remember who was there, what gifts you got, and

other associated emotions.

Semantic Memory

Semantic Memory refers to the knowledge about factual information.

This information can include the meanings of words, answers to math problems, what color the sky is.

Most information in Semantic memory is independent information such as information you study for a test.

Autobiographical Memory

Autobiographical memory refers to knowledge about person events and experience from one’s own life.

A traumatic car accident, winning a prize, getting an A on your final test and a first kiss are all examples of this type of memory.

Implicit Memory

Also known as procedural memory, or muscle memory. Refers to use of movement of the body. Riding a bike, driving a car, playing a sport or even walking all use

this type of memory.

Why do we forget information in Long-Term Memory? Minor everyday memory slips are very common, however there can be very

major problems with memory due to brain trauma or neurodegenerative disease(s).

These diseases include things such as: Dementia Huntington's Disease Parkinson’s Disease Schizophrenia Multiple Sclerosis

How to improve the memory?

1. Play brain games2. Eat the right foods3. Quit multitasking4. Get more sleep5. Hit the gym