Memory - Three Information Processing Systems

Three information processing systems

Most researchers divide memory's information processing operations into the stages of acquisition, consolidation, storage, and retrieval. Acquisition refers to the process the brain and the sensory organs use to bring information into the memory system. Consolidation is the process of organizing information to facilitate its storage in long-term memory. Storage describes the forming of a potentially permanent representation of information in the brain. Retrieval is the process of bringing stored information to consciousness. These processes are thought to occur within three largely accepted divisions of the memory processing system that are distinguished by the length of time information can be held, the amount of information that can be held, and the different processes that occur in each. The three stages are called sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. It should be noted that these systems are not presumed to occupy specific physical spaces within the brain. They are, more accurately, hypothesized systems distinguished by their varying characteristics.