Know the different types of memory and their classification

An incredible function of our body, and specifically our brain, is the ability to store information and buy an essay online. In fact, its main function is to be able to remember events that help our survival. However, it should be noted that there are different types of memory. In this regard, William James (1890) was a pioneer in formulating the distinction between these, as he concluded that primary memory and secondary memory existed.

Later the so-called multistore theory of Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin appeared, which understands that information goes through different memory stores as it is processed. According to the theory, we have three different types of memory: sensory memory, the short - term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM) . James's primary and secondary memoirs would refer to the MCP and MLP respectively.

Sensory memory

The sensory memory, which comes to us through the senses, is a very short memory (lasts between 200 and 300 milliseconds) and immediately disappears or is transmitted to the short-term memory.

The information remains the time necessary for it to be attended to selectively and identified in order to be able to process it later. Thus, its usefulness has to do with the here and now, everything that happens in the present moment, and to what you have to react in real-time. The information can be visual (iconic), auditory (echoic), olfactory, etc.

Short term memory

When information has been selected and attended to in sensory memory, it is transferred to short-term memory, also called operative memory or working memory. Its capacity is limited (7 + -2 elements), and it performs two functions. On the one hand, it keeps information in mind, such information not being present. On the other hand, it can manipulate that information allowing it to intervene in other higher cognitive processes, and therefore, it is not a mere “memory drawer”.

Baddeley and Hitch, in 1974, instead of calling it "short-term memory", called it working memory because of its functional importance in cognitive processing, since it allows the fulfillment of cognitive tasks such as reasoning, understanding, and problem-solving. Through this concept, the idea that long-term memory depends on short-term memory is abandoned, and this type of memory is fragmented into four subcomponents:

• Phonological loop: it is a specialized system that operates with verbal information, and allows maintaining internal speech that is involved in short-term memory. The phonological loop would intervene in reading or learning a telephone number.
• Visuospatial agenda: it operates in a similar way to the phonological loop, but its function is the active maintenance of information, but in this case with a visuospatial image format. The visuospatial agenda would intervene, for example, or in the learning of an itinerary.
• Episodic warehouse: This system integrates information from a variety of sources, in such a way that a multimodal (visual, spatial, and verbal) and temporal representation of the current situation is created.
• Executive system: Its function is the control and regulation of the entire operating memory system.

Long term memory

Long-term memory can store information permanently and can be classified into implicit and explicit memory.

Implicit memory

The implicit memory (also called procedural ) is stored unconsciously. It is involved in the learning of various skills and is activated automatically. Riding a bike or driving a car would not be possible without this kind of memory.

Explicit memory

The explicit or declarative memory is associated with consciousness or, at the least, conscious perception. It includes objective knowledge of people, places, and things and what this means. Therefore, two types are distinguished: semantic and episodic memory.

• Semantic memory: It refers to the information that we have accumulated throughout our lives. They are the knowledge about the outside world (historical, geographical, or scientific) the names of people and things, and their meaning, that we have been learning throughout our lives. This type of memory is necessary for the use of language. Knowing that Madrid is the capital of Spain is an example of this type of memory.
• Episodic memory: It is the autobiographical memory that allows you to remember specific events or personal experiences, such as the first day of school, the birthday of 18 years, or the first day of university.