Each Memory type Has its own operation, although all of them cooperate to carry out a complete process of memorization. This is complex, and is divided into coding, consolidation, storage and retrieval. The purpose of memory is to conserve information over time.
Authors who have investigated the types of memory usually differentiate them by several criteria. For example, the time the information is kept in our mind. This is where the two main groups of memory are best known, which are short-term memory and Long-term memory .
They are also often classified according to whether their process is conscious or unconscious, or the type of information that is remembered.
In addition, the authors sometimes differ in the exact meaning of each type of memory. However, the most widespread and accepted definitions will be included.
You can then find out which types of memory Classified according to different aspects. Keep in mind that there are souvenirs that may belong to more than one category. For example, remembering past events like your previous birthday is a kind of long-term, explicit and autobiographical memory at the same time.
Classification of memory types
According to its duration
The information we receive may remain in our brain From a few seconds to years. It all depends on how important that information is to us or our effort to remember it.
Depending on the amount of time the data remains available to us, and therefore likely to be retrieved, the memory can be:
- Sensory memory
It is the shortest type of memory. It consists of the ability to retain perceptions of sensory information once the stimulus has disappeared.
Continuously a lot of information is bombarding us. They can be auditory, visual, olfactory, taste or touch data. Our body can not attend to all the stimuli at the same time because the energy is limited, therefore, it makes a filtration. This ignores some data and detects others. The latter are those which form part of the Sensory memory .
Sensory memory of visual stimuli is often called Iconic memory . If they are auditory stimuli, it is known as echoica; And if they are tactile, haptic.
This type of memory does not require conscious attention, in fact, it is usually involuntary. It is characterized by fading very quickly, approximately after 200-500 milliseconds after perceiving an element. Although the sensory memory echoica or auditory can last a little more, at most 3 or 4 seconds.
The duration of this memory is so small that it is usually considered part of a process for perception, although it is an indispensable step for the content to be stored in short-term memory.
In order for the information Sensory memory Pass to the memory in the short term, the attention process should be given. That is, to concentrate voluntarily on one stimulus ignoring others.
- Short-term memory and working memory
Short-term memory acts by temporarily recovering the information being processed. Its capacity is limited, and goes from a few seconds to a minute.
This type of memory is what helps us to understand what the text is reading, because while reading a sentence we still remember the previous one.
It seems that the limit of elements that fit in the short term memory are about 4 or 5. However, this capacity can be increased with training or with the technique"chunking". This technique consists of grouping the items. For example, if we want to learn a phone number, we can group the numbers three in three to remember it much better.
On the other hand, the information will not move to a longer storage (that is, to long-term memory), if we do not make a conscious effort to retain it.
In order for the data to move from the short-term to the long-term, they must be repeated and / or search for a meaning or association with other data that we already know. Just as we must be motivated and interested in remembering them.
As for the working memory, there are authors who use this term and the short-term memory indifferently, while others do not.
Some argue that work memory , Also called operative, includes the Short term memory , But has other added functions.
For example, it seems that working memory not only keeps in mind the data that are no longer present, but allows the manipulation of that data to intervene in Superior cognitive processes (Such as language and reasoning)
Working memory has also been associated with executive functions, those that allow us to plan, take decisions , Reflect, inhibit, etc.
- Long-term memory
The memories that are in the memory in the long term can get to stay there the rest of our life. It deteriorates very little over time, and can store an unlimited amount of information.
However, not all memories of this store have the same strength, nor do they all remain static. From time to time, our memories are reviewed and"updated"if necessary. Therefore, the information that we memorize is not strictly constant or reliable.
So that the memories pass to the Long-term memory , It is necessary a consolidation process in which through complex neural mechanisms the information is fixed in our brain.
It seems that much of the consolidation of memories occurs during sleep, so, and for many other reasons, it is so important to rest correctly.
Within the long-term memory, distinctions such as implicit memory, explicit memory, episodic memory, semantics... which we will see below.
According to whether it is conscious or unconscious
- Explicit memory
The Declarative memory , Is one that requires a conscious thought. For example, try to remember what you had dinner last night or name objects you can find in a stationery.
Usually it is associative, that is, our mind links new memories to others that we already have and that have certain common aspects.
- Implicit memory
These are those memories that are not conscious. That is, perceptive and motor habits that depend on our experience.
It is the knowledge we have about how things are done that we normally do. We run them automatically and are difficult to express with words.
For example, playing an instrument, riding a bicycle, writing, avoid getting scared with loud noises that we are already accustomed to hear, quickly recognize our relatives and friends, etc.
Within this type of memory, Procedural memory , Which you will find later.
According to its content
- Autobiographical or episodic memory
It is a type of explicit memory, which many consider as the first thing that occurs to you when you think of"memory."
It consists of a set of important memories of our life, such as our personal experiences, important events, events of great emotional load, etc.
Obviously, we remember much better those facts that have been relevant to us and, above all, those who have been accompanied by strong feelings. We also memorized in more detail the first few times we have experienced something. For example, your first day of school, a trip you did alone, the wedding of a relative, etc.
Within this type of memory there are authors who frame the"flash memory". They are autobiographical memories that recover in great detail and very vividly, from the moment in which a transcendental and surprising or emotionally charged news was heard. They are characterized by being very resistant to forgetting. An example would be the September 11 terrorist attack.
When an episodic type memory is coded, a brain structure called the hippocampus is activated. Subsequently, the memories are consolidated in different parts of the neocortex. Each element is stored where it corresponds, in the areas of the brain dedicated to smell, hearing, vision...
- Semantic memory
The Semantic memory Is the one that stores the general and conscious knowledge, like that which they taught us in the school or in the university.
It includes concepts, facts, meanings, and other knowledge about the external world that we have been acquiring. It is shared with others and independent of personal experience, the environment, and the moment in which it was acquired.
Some examples are capitals, functions of objects, social mores, the meaning of words, mathematical compression, etc.
Semantic memory also has different degrees, which can range from strong memory to weaker familiarity.
As for the cerebral bases, it seems that in the semantic memory the temporal and frontal cortexes are activated.
- Instrumental or procedural memory
It is a type of implicit memory, as it is difficult to verbalize and its steps are carried out automatically and non-consciously.
They are those motor patterns that we have already acquired and reproduce with ease. It is perfected through practice and they constitute faithful and lasting memories.
For example, climbing stairs, playing the piano, skating, swimming, etc.
In order to acquire this type of memory, it is fundamental the motor learning that is sustained mainly in the basal ganglia and in the cerebellum .
- Topographic memory
When we want to speak specifically of those memories associated with spatial orientation, we refer to topographical memory.
It is the capacity to orient ourselves, to recognize a path and to cross it, to remember keys of a familiar environment, etc.
Space memory is closely linked to hippocampus , Especially to the right side, where there are so-called" Cells Of place"that are responsible for creating a mental map of space.
- Incidental Memory or Priming
It is a subtype of implicit memory, which is characterized by an increase in the ability to identify or process a given element as a consequence of the previous presentation of that object.
It depends on our experience, for example, if you have heard a word more recently or more frequently than any other, it is more likely to come to your memory faster.
According to the temporary address
- Retrospective
Retrospective memory consists of remembering facts, people, words that belong to the past. The remembered elements can be semantic, episodic, autobiographical, declarative, explicit, implicit, etc.
We may think that almost all types of memory belong to this, however, there is also prospective memory, which carries another temporal direction.
- Prospective
Prospective memory consists of"remembering that we must remember". That is, it occurs when information has to be remembered in the future and we are aware of it.
Thus, we will know that in the future we have to remember that we have a medical appointment at a certain time, that we have to send an email, or where we have been with our friend.
It may seem obvious that there are two totally independent memory types, since certain aspects of retrospective memory are required for prospective to work. However, according to several studies, it appears that these two types of memory trigger separate processes. For example, cases of patients with alterations in the prospective memory but not in the retrospective or the reverse.
Whether the information is recognized or recovered
Researchers on memory processes distinguish between recognition and retrieval depending on how the stored information is accessed.
- Report of recognition
Occurs when we can identify if that element is familiar to us and why. For example, a test type academic test in which you have several options of answer and you have to mark one, is a task of recognition.
The correct answers are written, and you should launch your recognition memory to choose the true option.
- Recovery memory
In this case, the information must be rescued from our memory without clues or clues. An example comparable to the previous one is an open-ended questionnaire in which the answers have to be written.
Types of memory out of the ordinary
Some cases have been found in which there are ways of memorizing that are more accentuated and accurate than normal. This is called hypermnesia.
Within this category you can include:
- Eidetic Memory
The Eidetic memory , Also called photographic memory, which precedes short-term memory, and is remembered as the exposure to the stored element is very brief.
In some children, this sensory memory capacity is especially pronounced, especially if they are visual elements. Memories are extremely sharp and detailed, so that in the most special cases, people can remember almost anything they have seen or heard, even once.
- Higher Autobiographical Memory
It is a condition described in 2006 by neurobiologist James McGaugh. It is about memorizing experiences from the past, but in an extraordinarily detailed and precise, with great luxury of details. For now, only about 20 people with this condition have been diagnosed.
Refers Of
- Eidetic. (S.f.). Retrieved on November 7, 2016, from Wikipedia.
- Espejo Saavedra Roca, J.M. And Taravillo Folgueras, B. (2012). Psychobiology. Neuropsychology. Memory. CEDE Manual: Madrid.
- Memory. (S.f.). Retrieved on November 7, 2016, from Wikipedia.
- Morgado Bernal, I. (19 December 2006). Psychobiology of Learning and Memory (1st part): Nature and Classification. Obtained from Percepnet.
- Types of memory. (S.f.). Retrieved on November 7, 2016, from The human memory.
- Types of memory. (S.f.). Retrieved on November 7, 2016, from Brain HQ.
- Zimmermann, K. (February 27, 2014). Memory Definition & Types of Memory. Retrieved from Livescience.