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Related Concept Videos

Working Memory01:24

Working Memory

Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this information.
System of Memory01:23

System of Memory

Memory is categorized into three major systems: sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). These systems differ in their capacity and the duration for which they can hold information. Sensory memory captures raw sensory input from the environment, holding it for just a few seconds or less. For example, on hearing a brief, loud sound, like a car horn honking, the sound seems to linger in the mind for a moment even after it stops. This is an instance of sensory memory...
Long-Term Memory01:18

Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory is a relatively permanent type of memory, capable of storing vast amounts of information over extended periods. Its storage capacity is generally considered unlimited.
Long-term memory can be categorized into two primary types: explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory, also known as declarative memory, involves the conscious recollection of information that we deliberately try to remember, recall, and articulate. This type of memory encompasses specific facts, events, and...
Sensory Memory01:14

Sensory Memory

Sensory memory captures information from the environment in its original form for a very brief duration, just long enough to be exposed to visual, auditory, and other senses. This type of memory is detailed and rich but quickly lost unless certain strategies are employed to transfer it into short-term or long-term memory. Sensory information is continuously bombarding the human brain, yet only a small fraction is absorbed, as most of it does not significantly impact daily life. For instance,...
Eyewitness Memory01:22

Eyewitness Memory

Eyewitness memory refers to the recollection of events by someone who has directly witnessed them, often serving as critical evidence in legal settings. This type of memory is commonly used in criminal cases where a witness describes details like a suspect's appearance, clothing, or behavior during a crime. However, despite its perceived reliability, eyewitness memory is prone to significant errors.
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function like a...
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory01:26

Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory

Memory is one of the most vital higher mental functions of the brain. Memory is closely related to learning because it enables us to retain information and experiences from our past to use them in our present life. It also helps us to remember facts, events, and skills, such as riding a bike or swimming. There are two types of memory — declarative memory, which involves memorizing facts or events, and procedural memory, which enables us to remember how to do something like writing or playing an...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Eye Movement Monitoring of Memory
08:06

Eye Movement Monitoring of Memory

Published on: August 15, 2010

Visual long-term memory has the same limit on fidelity as visual working memory.

Timothy F Brady1, Talia Konkle, Jonathan Gill

  • 1Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. tbrady@wjh.harvard.edu

Psychological Science
|May 1, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Visual long-term memory retains color details with surprising fidelity, comparable to working memory. This suggests a shared limit on the precision of retrieved memory representations.

Keywords:
long-term memoryshort-term memoryvisual memory

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 11, 2026

Eye Movement Monitoring of Memory
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Published on: August 15, 2010

A Real-world What-Where-When Memory Test
09:13

A Real-world What-Where-When Memory Test

Published on: May 16, 2017

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
09:05

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

Published on: June 12, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Visual perception

Background:

  • Visual long-term memory (LTM) stores vast amounts of object information with high detail.
  • Quantifying the precise fidelity of visual representations in LTM remains a challenge.
  • Understanding LTM fidelity is crucial for cognitive models of memory.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the precision of color information stored in visual long-term memory.
  • To compare the fidelity of color representations in LTM versus working memory (WM).
  • To investigate potential shared constraints between LTM and WM.

Main Methods:

  • Participants viewed real-world objects presented with random colors.
  • Color recall accuracy was measured after a delay period.
  • Performance metrics included color representation variability (fidelity) and forgetting probability.

Main Results:

  • The fidelity of color information in LTM was found to be surprisingly high.
  • LTM color fidelity was comparable to the asymptotic precision achieved in WM.
  • Forgetting probability was also a key factor in recall performance.

Conclusions:

  • Visual LTM exhibits remarkable fidelity, particularly for color information.
  • LTM and WM may share common limitations on the precision of memory retrieval.
  • These findings inform theories about the underlying mechanisms of memory storage and retrieval.