The Role of Short-term Consolidation in Memory Persistence

Timothy J. Ricker; Timothy J. Ricker

doi:10.3934/Neuroscience.2015.4.259

AIMS Neuroscience

2015, Volume 2, Issue 4: 259-279. doi: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2015.4.259

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Research article Recurring Topics

The Role of Short-term Consolidation in Memory Persistence

Timothy J. Ricker ^,

The Memory and Decision Making Laboratory, Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island, City University of New York, Staten Island, NY, United States of America

Received: 18 August 2015 Accepted: 10 November 2015 Published: 12 November 2015

Short-term memory, often described as working memory, is one of the most fundamental information processing systems of the human brain. Short-term memory function is necessary for language, spatial navigation, problem solving, and many other daily activities. Given its importance to cognitive function, understanding the architecture of short-term memory is of crucial importance to understanding human behavior. Recent work from several laboratories investigating the entry of information into short-term memory has uncovered a dissociation between encoding processes, those that register information into short-term memory, and consolidation processes, those that solidify the representation within short-term memory. Here I describe the key differences between short-term encoding and consolidation and briefly review what is known about the short-term consolidation process itself. Cognitive function, plausible neural instantiation, and open questions are addressed.
- short-term memory,
- working memory,
- consolidation,
- encoding,
- forgetting
Citation: Timothy J. Ricker. The Role of Short-term Consolidation in Memory Persistence[J]. AIMS Neuroscience, 2015, 2(4): 259-279. doi: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2015.4.259

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Abstract

Short-term memory, often described as working memory, is one of the most fundamental information processing systems of the human brain. Short-term memory function is necessary for language, spatial navigation, problem solving, and many other daily activities. Given its importance to cognitive function, understanding the architecture of short-term memory is of crucial importance to understanding human behavior. Recent work from several laboratories investigating the entry of information into short-term memory has uncovered a dissociation between encoding processes, those that register information into short-term memory, and consolidation processes, those that solidify the representation within short-term memory. Here I describe the key differences between short-term encoding and consolidation and briefly review what is known about the short-term consolidation process itself. Cognitive function, plausible neural instantiation, and open questions are addressed.

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