ABSTRACT
Memory covers many different mental functions. It is also used in connection with the process of acquiring knowledge—that is, the process of learning or memorizing. The physiology of short-term memory is not very well understood, but neuroscientists agree that it differs radically from that of long-term memory. Short-term memory appears to involve reverberating circuits—groups of interconnected cells firing together in closed loops. Consolidation is perhaps best conceptualized as an aspect of the encoding stage of the memory process that continues into the storage stage. Memories are continually being consolidated to deeper and deeper levels of storage. The mechanism of consolidation continues the sifting process within the memory-storage systems themselves. Three stages in the processing of memory are frequently referred to in the specialist literature. The acquiring of new information is called encoding, retaining the information is described as storage, and bringing the information back to mind is retrieval.
