Our ability to recall

By Elizza Miriam Mathew

Did you leave the stove on today? If you’re retracing your steps you can take comfort with the fact that your memory is working long and hard to reassure you that you did not, in fact, even use the stove today!

One of the many fascinating functions of our brain is our memory! As humans, we have this magnificent ability to retain different types of memories for varying lengths of time, and this data is differentiated into three categories. Up first is our short-term memory which can hold information from seconds to even hours. The next, my personal favorite, the long-term memory which has the extraordinary ability to hold information for years. Then we have the working memory, which lets us keep something in our minds for a limited time by repeating it. For example, when you tell yourself you didn’t leave the stove on over and over to remember it, you're using your working memory.

Another way to categorize memories is based on whether you are consciously aware of the memory itself, this is split into two types. Declarative memory, or explicit memory, is used to refer to memories that you are aware of. These memories can be facts such as I have a stove. Other times it can be events you have experienced in the past, like the day your parents, or you, bought the stove.

On the other hand, nondeclarative memory, or implicit memory, is formed unconsciously by your brain. Some of these memories are used by your body to remember skills you may have learned. Cooking, playing instruments, or driving a car are all examples of procedural memories at work. That’s not all, these memories also play a part in your body's involuntary responses, such as salivating when you smell delicious food.

Our memories are another wonder found within our brains, and although how it operates may appear straightforward there are still so many unanswered aspects still leaving us scratching our heads like how we gain access to this library of information stored in our memories.

References

Greshko, M. (2019, March 4). The human memory—facts and information. National Geographic. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/human-memory