{"id":10678,"date":"2023-10-25T22:52:43","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T22:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/?p=10678"},"modified":"2023-12-19T16:42:02","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T16:42:02","slug":"how-the-memory-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/how-the-memory-works\/","title":{"rendered":"Memories are made of this – How the memory works"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tim Webster takes a walk down memory lane and visits the three stages of the memory process.<\/h2>\n

A while ago, the head of physiotherapy at a leading university visited one of my cancer classes. This is a lady I know very well but, as she stood there waiting for me to introduce her to the group, it dawned on me that I had completely forgotten her name. Our collective discomfort was only alleviated when she took charge and introduced herself. Let me tell you, when something like that happens, it will get you Googling Alzheimer\u2019s faster than you can say Jack Robinson1<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

This was the latest iteration of a condition that has beset me since my mid-fifties. It\u2019s normal age-related memory loss (for the moment at least) but every time I lose my phone, forget a name or leave the house with no trousers on, I wonder if it\u2019s escalating into something more serious.<\/p>\n

Anyway, let\u2019s go for a wander down memory lane (with trousers on).<\/p>\n

If the brain retained all the information it received from our senses, one\u2019s head would explode shortly after waking up in the morning. In order to avoid the mess, the brain employs a filter called attention.<\/p>\n

Hands up if you\u2019ve ever forgotten someone\u2019s name immediately after being introduced. Thought so. This is usually because you weren\u2019t paying attention in the first place, which told the brain the name wasn\u2019t important and could thus be discarded to make room for stuff that was important. In short, we don\u2019t remember what we don\u2019t pay attention to.<\/p>\n

Models of memory<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In 1968, Atkinson and Shiffrin developed the multi-store model2<\/sup>, which defined memory as a three-stage process. The multi-store model has since been challenged, updated and amended, not least by Baddeley and Hitch (1974 and 2000), who introduced the concept of working memory. For the purposes of this article, we\u2019ll go with memory as a three-stage process in which the short-term memory is subsumed into the working memory to form stage two.<\/p>\n

Stage one<\/strong><\/p>\n

Information from the senses \u2013 sight, smell, touch and so on \u2013 is held briefly in the sensory memory before either being discarded or making it through to the next stage. Each sense has its own memory with its own characteristics: iconic memory for sight, echoic memory for sound, haptic memory for touch, olfactory memory for smell and gustatory memory for taste. Stage one can best be described as the capture of all this information \u2013 much of which is discarded, some of which is passed to stage two.<\/p>\n

Stage two<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is where the short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) store and manipulate information. Conventional wisdom says the STM stores 7 +\/- 2 pieces of information at any given time and it can hold that information for around 20-30 seconds. During this time, the information is either processed and manipulated by the WM for real-time use (like mental arithmetic), or it\u2019s encoded for long-term storage, or it\u2019s discarded.<\/p>\n

Encoding<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Encoding is the act of getting information into our memory system. Some information is automatically encoded. For example, you can probably recall where you had lunch yesterday but I\u2019m guessing you didn\u2019t make a conscious effort to remember it. Of course, we have no control over automatic encoding, but we do have some control over effortful encoding, like learning someone\u2019s name (see paragraph entitled mnemonics). The degree to which we are able to exert that control will, to a large extent, dictate how well we are able to manage our memory.<\/p>\n

There are a variety of ways in which information can be encoded but, generally, acoustic encoding (sound) is the dominant method for processing information stored in the STM; we hold a phone number in our head by repeating it. Semantic encoding (attaching meaning) is used for storing and retrieving information in the LTM. You might remember a name by connecting it to someone of the same name you already know.<\/p>\n

Stage three<\/strong><\/p>\n

The LTM is where information that has made it through stages one and two is stored, pending retrieval at a later date. How easily and accurately this information is retrieved is another matter.<\/p>\n

Rumours<\/strong><\/h3>\n

According to George Santayana, \u201cMemories rarely return with their original clarity; they return as \u2018rumours\u2019 of the original event, often in the form of slips, ambiguities and downright lies.\u201d4<\/sup> There are several theories around why this happens:<\/p>\n