Understanding the Brain's Memory Process: Encoding to Retrieval

How can the brain achieve to remember everything or perceive the world without failing? And it keeps them so orderly and separately over time. The successful process of memory can be achieved by encoding, which is followed by consolidation and retrieval (Paller, et al., 1987). This procedure is necessary to be done securing all information for a long time. Therefore, retrieval is the way to remember something, and it depends on recollection (Donaldson & Rugg, 1998; Rugg & Wilding, 2000). Additionally, there are three kinds of a memory system which is a sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory (Dew & Cabeza, 2011; Moutinho, et al., 2014). Sensory memory controls the information which gathered by sensory perceptions, and it keeps

In addition, source memory sometimes plays a critical role in the following episode, and it supplies the related knowledge and identifies details about the specific event or otherwise; it helps to find out when and how particular knowledge of is obtained (Slotnick, et al., 2003; Addante, et al., 2002). Another point is explained by Cansino, et al. (2002) and Allan et al. (1998), if the information is encoded properly, it will strengthen the source of memory which suggested for episodic memory as well and facilitate access to these resources when requested. Moreover, source memory can be better with recollection and not familiarity (Mollison, & Curran, 2012) and Johansson et al., (2002) claim that source memory is not shaped by experiences. Furthermore, many studies have reported that source of memory is located in the right prefrontal area which helps to bring back episodic information from exact location to be able to use it again (Cansino, et al., 2002; Rugg, et al., 1999; Allan et al., 1998). Accordingly, many studies have mentioned that any damage to the frontal cortex will cause losing episodic memory and source memory (Petten, et al., 2000; Rugg, et al.,

Therefore, the shape of the EEG waves is connected to the brain’s physiological and psychological conditions and can be formed according to the cognitive, sensory and motor events, but EEG brain's spontaneous activity that is itself (Luck, 2014). Luck (2014) explains this process like that; electrical activity is recorded by electrodes, which are placed on the scalp over multiple areas of the brain, on the contrary; ERP is created by postsynaptic potential which coming out after a specific event which is the general name given to the events associated with the electrical response. ERP determines the form of some situations, which are the amplitude, latency, and scalp distribution to understand the neural process (Friedman & Johnson, 2000). The amplitude helps to explain the peak of ERP, which is generated by conditions, and it can help to compare the length of the waveform which occurs as a result of the response, on the other hand; latency is reaction time and shows that when the response occurs (Friedman & Johnson, 2000). Scalp distribution on topography is activated by stimuli, which can tell about which area of the brain used (Luck, 2014). One of the advantages of ERP is to make short time records; it allows examining every detail of brain waves and helps to find out differences or