What is memory?

Memory retrieval is a significant event that takes place within the human brain. It is a skill unique to humans and it is vital to the way we function and operate in society and in our daily lives. Retrieval of information within the human brain is critical for learning and therefore being able to normally function within the confines of daily life. If you’re struggling to remember or recall information, you’re going to have a hard time completing tasks that you need to complete, no matter how small. Let’s consider a simple example. You visit the store and you need to buy groceries. When you get to the checkout, you can’t remember your password or pin number for your bank account so you can’t purchase your groceries. Even worse, you can’t remember what groceries you need to buy! This disaster of a trip ends with you forgetting where you parked. You see, the retrieval of information in the brain is necessary to complete the most basic of tasks.

Attention to detail and a working memory are vital not only to the retrieval of information but also to the process of learning new information and storing it inside the brain. Attention is the process through which information is gathered into the brain and memory is how it is processed and accessed. Many people who struggle with information processing have difficulty in one or both of these areas and it can make their lives very difficult. We can also describe attention, or focus, as being the immediate processing of information within the brain. Long term memory is the phase of memory responsible for storage of information for an extended period of time.

How does memory work?

Memory works by processing information in the brain and encoding it, much the same as a computer would. The information that is stored is located in different parts of the brain depending on the function of this information and there are three main processes that determine how memory works. These processes are known as encoding, recall, and storage. When the amount of memory in a human brain is limited, the amount of information that can be processed is also limited. So, in order to process information, we need a bigger brain, right? Wrong! We need to change the way we use our brain so that we can process information more effectively.