Where does information get stored? How long does the memory last for? How much can be stored at any period? What kind of memory is apprehended? There are lots of questions about the aspect of memory storage and between short and long term memory. Duration and the way we store information affects the way we retrieve it. Most people can store between 5 and 9 pieces in their short-term memory where as long term memory storage is believed to be unlimited. Long-term memories are not stored in just one part of the brain but are widely dispersed throughout the cortex. After merging, long-term memories are stored throughout the brain as groups of neurons that are prepared to release together in the same arrangement that created the original experience, and each component of a memory is stored in the brain area that initiated it. There may even be encoded memories that have been encoded several times, in different parts of the cortex, so if one memory trace is wiped out, there are duplicated or alternative pathways in various places which the memory can still be retrieved. When anterograde and retrograde amnesia occurs it means the brain is unable to transfer or retrieve information acquired at a point.
Sensory storage holds sensory information for few seconds or less. We have more than one sense meaning we have more than one kind of sensory memory. Iconic memory is a fast decaying store of visual information. Echoic memory is a fast decaying store of auditory information. These different sensory information storage spaces make it easier for our brains to transport memory to our awareness.
Short-term memory is a non-sensory storage, which holds information for less than a minute. If 15 to 20 seconds isn’t long enough and we need the information for a while longer, we use a trick to extend the natural limitations of our short-term memory. Rehearsal is the process of keeping information in short-term memory by mentally repeating it. Chunking allows use to bring small pieces of information into larger clusters so we can remember more than 7 things at a time in our short-term memory storage. Memory storage is a very complex idea and really aids in how our brains work towards remembering all sorts of data.
Works cited: "Memory & the Brain - The Human Memory." Memory & the Brain - The Human Memory. http://www.humanmemory.net/brain.html Schacter, Daniel L., and Daniel Todd Gilbert. Introducing Psychology. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Worth, 2013. Print.