Memory Health Article

Memory

The abilities to recall what has been experienced or learned. Memory refers to the abilities to store and retrieve information for later use. How memories are stored and then recalled is not fully understood by scientists, although new evidence is helping them to develop theories. Researchers believe that regions in the temporal and frontal cortex, and the hippocampus are critical for various forms of memory.

It is now believed that (1) conscious recall of facts, called declarative memory, (2) memory of the time and place of an event, called episodic memory, and (3) memory of a previously learned motor habit, called procedural memory, involve different mechanisms. In addition, implicit memory, which is not conscious, involves recognition of prior experience. Further, the duration of a memory trace is important. Working memory, popularly referred to as short-term memory, lasts for about 20-30 seconds. Working memory is the moment-to-moment memory function—the brain's ability to keep track of two activities at once, such as opening the mail while talking on the phone. Researchers have found that working memory deteriorates noticeably for most people in their 40s, but cannot explain why. Amnesia, or damage to the memory, is caused by any number of factors, including viral infection, head injury, near drowning or suffocation, or any other event that deprives the brain of oxygen for a period of time.