2 - The Original Memory Model

Abstract

This chapter discusses the historical trends in normal memory and amnesia research at the end of 1960s. Research exploring the functional differences among the three memory systems concentrated largely upon differences in each system's capacity to retain information and also upon the mechanisms responsible for the loss of information from each of these storage systems. One further area of investigation came specifically from the study of amnesia, namely, the study of the physiological independence of the memory systems. Evidence from each of these areas of concentration supported the division of memory into the three component systems of long-term, short-term, and sensory memory. Most models of compartmentalized memory postulated that the capacity of long-term memory (LTM) was potentially infinite. Short-term memory (STM), on the other hand, was felt to be limited to about 7 plus or minus 2 items of information, although this number could be extended by chunking or some other form of combining items. Physiological evidence for the separation of memory stores has largely centered upon the distinction between STM and LTM, with little or no research being performed on sensory memory. Evidence from studies of amnesic patients has often been cited as being the most substantial support for the classical distinction between LTM and STM.