What Is Sensory Memory?: Brain Then Processes 2016 Articletrusted Source

What is sensory memory?
Sensory memory is a very short-term, but large capacity memory source. One way to think of
this memory type is like the start of your memory. It’s when you take in everything around you
before transmitting a portion of what you see to short-term memory.
A common analogy for sensory memory is that the memories are your “raw data” that your brain
then processes to make sense and order.
Doctors estimate that sensory memory lasts a few hundred milliseconds, according to a 2016
articleTrusted Source.
During this time, the brain is receiving signals from multiple sensory signals, which include what
you see, smell, and hear. However, even with all the stimulation, your brain is able to attend to
and target most of the aspects you want to focus on.
Unfortunately, sensory memory starts to decline as a person ages. Doctors think the time the
brain takes to process sensory information starts to slow down, according to an article in the
journal Frontiers in Aging NeuroscienceTrusted Source. As a result, the brain takes in or
computes less sensory information.
The knowledge of how sensory memory affects us is important in the study of memory and
aging. Because sensory memory is a first input that helps to build a person’s short- and long-term
memories, knowing that it slows down with aging can help to understand why and where
memory starts to decline.
Types of sensory memory

Sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound — these are the five senses that help you process the world
around you. In terms of sensory memory, researchers have mostly studied three aspects:
Visual memory
Doctors call visual sensory memory iconic memory. Researchers have conducted lots of studies
about this type and found the eyes aren’t able to transmit some objects in motion to memory.
This means for visual sensory memory to work well, you and the object you’re observing must
be still.
So what if the object (or you) isn’t still? In this case, your brain won’t transmit the signals
clearly. Think of it like taking a picture that ends up blurry. Your brain can’t transmit the images
well enough to fully commit them to memory.
An example is an experiment that helped researchers first identify visual memory. A researcher
would show an image, quickly followed by a flash of light. Most participants couldn’t identify or
recall the image due to the flash. Researchers concluded the brain didn’t have time to enter and
interpret the sensory image.
If your sensory memory can’t capture these memories well, why are you still able to remember
things when you’re moving? The good news is you have other methods of creating memories
other than visual sensory memory. It’s just one of the tools at your disposal.
Auditory memory
Auditory sensory memory is when a person uses the things they hear to create memories.
Doctors also call auditory sensory memory echoic memory. An example could be listening to
and recalling a list of items. Auditory and visual sensory memory have some interesting
differences.
For auditory sensory memory, when a person hears a list, they tend to remember the first and last
words spoken the most, according to an article in the journal Frontiers in Aging
NeuroscienceTrusted Source.
However, this isn’t the same for visual memories. If a person sees a list of items, they’re more
likely to remember the first items and not always the last ones.
Another example of the power of auditory memory is an older study from 1986 published in
the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. Participants were
read a list but asked not to remember the last item on the list.
The researchers first read the list in the same voice tone the entire time. Then, they read the list
again but made their voices sound different for the last item that a person wasn’t supposed to
remember.
The researchers found people were more easily able to remember the list when the last word
sounded different. They concluded the brain is better able to process memories when there are
differences in sensation.
However, when the researchers read the list more slowly with a different tone, people weren’t
able to recall the list as effectively. To the researchers, this illustrated how quickly sensory
memory works and also how fast it can go away.
Touch memory
Doctors also call touch memory haptic memory. The field of haptic memory research is newer but
promising. One example of how haptic memory may work is a study published in the
journal Psychological Science.
Researchers in the study asked participants to hold an object in their hands for 10 seconds.
They’d then hand the person two similar objects, such as two pens, and ask the person to identify
the pen they previously held.
If they asked this question almost immediately after a person had held the first object, 94 percent
of people could identify the first object they held.
Examples of Sensory Memory

Iconic memory examples. Iconic memories are visual. When you flip a light
switch, the brief image in your memory that remains of what you saw before
you turned off the lights is an iconic memory.‌
Or imagine that you’re riding in a car and see cows grazing in a field. After you
pass the field, the short memory that remains of the cows is an iconic
memory. If you pass a row of businesses on a road, your short memory of
which businesses were there and what their signs looked like is also an iconic
memory.
Echoic memory examples. The ability to listen to a song and recognize it
involves echoic memory. Your echoic memory records each note and helps
your brain connect the tones, allowing you to recognize it as a song.‌
Another example is the ability to understand language. A similar process
happens with speech and echoic memory. This form of memory records each
syllable or sound and connects it to the next syllables, helping your brain
recognize words and sentences that you can understand.‌
Haptic memory examples. Anything that uses the sensation of touch also
uses your haptic memory. For example, when you feel a raindrop on your skin,
your haptic memory records that sensation, helping you recognize what ‘s
happening.
Haptic memory is also involved when you play a musical instrument. It helps
you sense where your fingers are so you can play the right notes. Similarly,
haptic memory helps you find the right keys when you’re typing on a
computer.
Olfactory memory examples. Your olfactory memory plays a role in taste,
but it can also conjure up old memories and emotions. For example, when you
smell something from your childhood, it helps your brain bring up other
memories associated with that smell. This sense can also convey emotions.
When you smell a candle and it reminds you of a peaceful feeling, your
olfactory memory is at play.
Gustatory memory examples. Similar to smells, tastes can help you recall
old memories. For instance, if you eat something that once made you sick to
your stomach, you may have nausea the next time you eat that food. This is
an evolutionary advantage that helps you avoid poisonous foods by
remembering things that may be harmful.

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What is sensory memory?

Types of sensory memory

Examples of Sensory Memory

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