Multi-store memory model

• Multi-store model of memory (MSM)


  The multi-store model (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968) describes memory as flowing through three sequential stores:

  1. Sensory memory temporarily holds brief sensory information (e.g., visual images, sounds)
  2. Short-term memory (STM) stores limited information for about 20 seconds unless rehearsed
  3. Long-term memory (LTM) maintains unlimited information over long periods
• Sensory memory


  • Holds sensory information from our senses (e.g., visual, auditory) for a very brief period
  • Information in sensory memory quickly decays if not attended to or transferred to STM
• Short-term Memory (STM)


  • Temporary store for information we pay attention to or actively rehearse
  • Has limited capacity and a relatively short duration unless information is rehearsed
  • Rehearsal is essential for transferring information from STM to LTM
• Long-term Memory (LTM)


  • Permanent store where information is stored if it is rehearsed and encoded
  • Has a large capacity and potentially unlimited duration
  • Information stored in LTM can be retrieved and used when needed
• Process of memory transfer

  1. Information is initially registered in sensory memory, then selectively attended to and transferred to STM if it is rehearsed

  2. Through further rehearsal, information can be encoded and stored in LTM for long-term retention

  3. When remembering something, information is retrieved from LTM back into STM for use
• Types of memory


  • Declarative memory (knowing what)
  • Procedural memory (knowing how)
• Declarative memory


  • Episodic memory
  • Semantic memory
• Multi-Store Model of Memory: The Crucial Role of the Hippocampus in the HM Case Study


  • The Multi-Store Model of Memory posits that memory consists of different stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
  • The HM case study, involving a patient with hippocampal damage, highlighted the crucial role of the hippocampus in transferring memories from short-term memory to long-term memory.
  • Damage to the hippocampus resulted in severe memory deficits, providing evidence for the vital role of the hippocampus in the formation and consolidation of long-term memories.
• MSM or MODELS OF MEMORY

  HM provides biological evidence for the model of memory called MSM because it shows that memory must be divided into different stores (in this case STM and LTM at least). Since HM’s short term memory was ok, but he could not transfer this information from short-term to long term memory (due to lack of a hippocampus), this means that those functions are different.