How Does Memory Work?

2056 Words5 Pages

“I have a terrible memory”. How often have you heard a person say this statement? A human’s memory is an amazing and interesting hidden wonder that has been a major topic neuroscientists have been studying for many years. One of the first to propose an idea on how memory works was Plato. “Plato proposed that impressions are made upon the brain much as a stylus marks a wax tablet” (Yepsen 148). Karl Lashley, a neuropsychologist, has more recently searched for proof by picking apart rats’ brains. He had stated that memories were electrical impressions that had been stored. Even more recently than Lashley’s theory, it was theorized that memories are placed in the brain as three-dimensional structures. Even though there is not one specific agreement on what memory is, experts have seemed to come to a consensus on why memories are either chosen for withholding or allowed to fade. The consensus was that a fragment of information has to go through three stages for it to be stored over a long period of time (Yepsen 148). The three different stages are sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory (“Memory Storage”). After many years of medical research and a large number of theories, the question still remains on how the memory works (Yepsen 147). Even though the exact answer cannot be given on how memory works, researchers have found some answers by studying the neurologic aspects, sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory, and how a person can improve their memory.
The study of the brain is called neurobiology. The prefix neuro- applies to the nervous system. The study has two branches, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure of the brain and neurophysiology is th...

... middle of paper ...

...ored for a long period of time (Yepsen 148). The stages of this process are sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory (“Memory Storage”). It has also been proven that there are ways humans can improve their memories. For a better memory, people should try to relieve their stress, get enough sleep, and try not to multi-task. A diet containing many natural antioxidants and vitamins E, D, C, and B12 can also improve memory. People should also get their vision and hearing checked because senses that are sharp tend to lead to better encoding of information. Keeping track of side-effects of medication, managing fatigue, and exercising are all good ways to help improve memory (LaDeroute). The human memory is a fascinating, intriguing, and perplexing piece that still has many experts researching and experimenting to figure out this natural phenomenon.

More about How Does Memory Work?

Open Document