Encoding (memory): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:28, 22 July 2020

Revision as of 12:25, 19 August 2020

Line 19:

There are many types of mental encoding that are used, such as visual, elaborative, organizational, acoustic, and semantic. However, this is not an extensive list

===Visual Encodingencoding===

Visual encoding is the process of converting images and visual sensory information to memory stored in the brain. This means that people can convert the new information that they stored into mental pictures (Harrison, C., Semin, A.,(2009). Psychology. New York p.&nbsp;222) Visual sensory information is temporarily stored within our [[iconic memory]]<ref name="text">Baddeley, A., Eysenck, M.W., & Anderson, M.C. (2009). Memory. London: Psychology Press. p. 27, 44-59</ref> and [[working memory]] before being encoded into permanent long-term storage.<ref name="sperling63">Sperling, G. (1963). A model for visual memory tasks. Human Factors, 5, 19-31.</ref><ref name="sperling67">Sperling, G. (1967). Successive approximations to a model for short term memory. Acta Psychologica, 27, 285-292.</ref> [[Baddeley's model of working memory]] suggests that visual information is stored in the visuo-spatial sketchpad.<ref name="text"/>

The visuo-spatial sketchpad is connected to the central executive, which is a key area of working memory. The [[amygdala]] is another complex structure that has an important role in visual encoding. It accepts visual input in addition to input, from other systems, and encodes the positive or negative values of conditioned stimuli.<ref name="Belova">Belova, M.A., Morrison, S.E., Paton, J.J., & Salzman, C.D. (2006). The primate amygdala represents the positive and negative value of visual stimuli during learning. Nature; 439(7078): 865-870.</ref>

===Elaborative Encodingencoding===

{{main|Elaborative encoding}}

Elaborative encoding is the process of actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory. Memories are a combination of old and new information, so the nature of any particular memory depends as much on the old information already in our memories as it does on the new information coming in through our senses.<ref>{{Cite book|title=An introduction to cognitive psychology : processes and disorders|last=Groome, David, 1946-|publisher=|year=2013|isbn=978-1-317-97609-7|edition=Third|___location=Hove, East Sussex|pages=176–177|oclc=867050087}}</ref> In other words, how we remember something depends on how we think about it at the time. Many studies have shown that long-term retention is greatly enhanced by elaborative encoding.<ref>Brown and Craik (2000)</ref>

===Semantic Encodingencoding===

Semantic encoding is the processing and encoding of sensory input that has particular meaning or can be applied to a context. Various strategies can be applied such as [[Chunking (psychology)|chunking]] and [[mnemonic]]s to aid in encoding, and in some cases, allow deep processing, and optimizing retrieval.

Words studied in semantic or deep encoding conditions are better recalled as compared to both easy and hard groupings of nonsemantic or shallow encoding conditions with response time being the deciding variable.<ref name="Demb">Demb, JB., Desmond, JE., Gabrieli, JD., Glover, GH., Vaidya, CJ., & Wagner, AD. Semantic encoding and retrieval in the left inferior prefrontal cortex: a functional MRI study of task difficulty and process specificity. The Journal of Neuroscience; 15, 5870-5878.</ref> [[Brodmann area|Brodmann's areas]] 45, 46, and 47 (the left inferior prefrontal cortex or LIPC) showed significantly more activation during semantic encoding conditions compared to nonsemantic encoding conditions regardless of the difficulty of the nonsemantic encoding task presented. The same area showing increased activation during initial semantic encoding will also display decreasing activation with repetitive semantic encoding of the same words. This suggests the decrease in activation with repetition is process specific occurring when words are semantically reprocessed but not when they are nonsemantically reprocessed.<ref name="Demb" /> Lesion and neuroimaging studies suggest that the [[orbitofrontal cortex]] is responsible for initial encoding and that activity in the left lateral prefrontal cortex correlates with the semantic organization of encoded information.<ref name="Frey, Stephen, and Michael Petrides. 2002">Frey, S., & Petrides, M. (2002). Orbitofrontal cortex and memory formation. Neuron, 36(1), 171-176.</ref>

===Acoustic Encodingencoding===

Acoustic encoding is the encoding of auditory impulses. According to Baddeley, processing of auditory information is aided by the concept of the phonological loop, which allows input within our echoic memory to be sub vocally rehearsed in order to facilitate remembering.<ref name="text"/>

When we hear any word, we do so by hearing individual sounds, one at a time. Hence the memory of the beginning of a new word is stored in our echoic memory until the whole sound has been perceived and recognized as a word.<ref>{{cite book|last=Carlson and Heth(2010)|title=Psychology the Science of Behaviour 4e|publisher=Pearson Education Canada|___location=Chapter 8|page=233}}</ref>

Studies indicate that lexical, semantic and phonological factors interact in verbal working memory. The phonological similarity effect (PSE), is modified by word concreteness. This emphasizes that verbal working memory performance cannot exclusively be attributed to phonological or acoustic representation but also includes an interaction of linguistic representation.<ref name="Acheson">Acheson, D.J., MacDonald, M.C., & Postle, B.R. (2010). The Interaction of Concreteness and Phonological Similarity in Verbal Working Memory. Journal of Experimental Psychogy: Learning, Memory and Cognition; 36:1, 17-36.</ref> What remains to be seen is whether linguistic representation is expressed at the time of recall or whether the representational methods used (such as recordings, videos, symbols, etc.) participate in a more fundamental role in encoding and preservation of information in memory.<ref name="Acheson"/> The brain relies primarily on acoustic, rather than semantic, encoding for use in short term storage.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hughes|first1=Robert W.|last2=Chamberland|first2=Cindy|last3=Tremblay|first3=Sébastien|last4=Jones|first4=Dylan M.|date=October 2016|title=Perceptual-motor determinants of auditory-verbal serial short-term memory|journal=Journal of Memory and Language|language=en|volume=90|pages=126–146|doi=10.1016/j.jml.2016.04.006|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Other Sensessenses===

Tactile encoding is the processing and encoding of how something feels, normally through touch. Neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) react to vibrotactile stimuli by activating in synchronization with each series of vibrations.<ref name="Crawley">Crawley, AP., Davis, KD., Mikulis. DJ. & Kwan, CL. (1998). Function MRI study of thalamic and cortical activation evoked by cutaneous heat, cold, and tactile stimuli. Journal of Neurophysiology: 80 (3): 1533–46</ref> Odors and tastes may also lead to encode.