subject: Making Sense Of Short Term Memory [print this page] Don't you hate it when you have to learn something quickly and just when you need to use it...it is gone from your memory? This is usually known as short term memory loss. You would be surprised at how much your life could improve when you improve your store of memories. Let's discuss how memories are made and exactly what short term memory is. It could provide you with a greater understanding of why you can remember some things and forget others.
Why do some people have difficulty with short term memory? There are a lot of things that can affect your memory. Some people do have difficulty processing information and storing it in their short term memories. The reasons are many and could range from brain damage to certain illnesses. Even something like depression can affect your long term and short term memory. There are also genetic conditions that can affect how you process information. If your ability to process information is hampered then your short term memories will be affected as well.
Are there certain illnesses or diseases that affect short term memory? There are illnesses and diseases that do affect not only your short term memory but your long term memory as well. The frontal lobe of your brain is very important in the formation of memory. If any damage occurs there, the information you receive and process is not stored in the same way. The frontal lobe is responsible for your attention. Thus it follows: if you are unable to pay attention to what is being presented or given to you, you cannot store it in any memory bank. But there are other ways your memory can become impaired as well. Dementia is something that happens to everyone as they age. You are bound to forget things because you have had a lifetime of accumulative memories. As you get older and the dementia spreads, whether due to Alzheimer's disease or from medications, you begin to stop forming active memories. It is why many elderly are able to remember something from their childhood but cannot remember something from five minutes prior.
How does short term memory become converted into long term memory? Short term memory is the initial stage of converting something to long term memory. Without your active memory you would not be able to retain any information. You would see something and then instantly forget it. The process of converting from active (short term) to long term is through memorization or repetition. You train your brain over time to assimilate information and store it. You may not be able to instantly recite back someone's new phone number but you probably could recite your parents' phone number from childhood. The mind is still a huge mystery to scientists and researchers. No one really knows what it is capable of and why it acts the way it does. Some believe that it is our other senses that help short term memories make the transition to long term.
Why do we need short term memory? Short term memory is vital because it leads to long term memory storage. Granted it is not the same thing as working memory but it still plays a vital role. When you are given information it comes across your short term memory banks. From there if it is repeated or you have committed it to memory, it goes into long term storage. You can think of your active memory as the front door to the rest of your mind. Information has to come through it in order to be let into the rest of the house.
