Stages of fact based memory storage
What are the different stages of fact based memory storage such as recalling a list of words?
Clinically, memory can be conceptualized in a three-stage model. Registration (sensory) memory holds large amounts of incoming information briefly in sensory stores, such as the visual or auditory cortex.
This information is then transferred to “working memory,” also called short-term memory, in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which holds memory from seconds until we change our “train of thought.”
Working memory functions by holding information, internalizing it, and using it to guide behavior. It can be tested with instruments such as the digit span. It remains intact in pure amnesia, such as early Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Short-term memory is then converted to long-term memory, in the process of “consolidation,” which sends memory to the cortex for long-term storage.
