It is known since the times of ancient Greeks and Romans that our memory can be improved and enhanced. To improve our abilities to memorize and remember things we simply need to keep our mind challenged and active. It is, actually, very important to improve our memory and keep it well-operating in order not to face some disorders of memory. Frequently such disorders of memory, like lapses or slips, are caused by age or occur after some biological changes in organism. Also they can be a result of some serious diseases, like dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
The best examples of developing and strengthening our LTM include using some supportive techniques when learning some new material. For example, in order to memorize the material better, it is always very useful to make some notes when studying. Such writing down gives time to repeat and get concentrated on the piece of the material more precisely.
Repeating the things is also useful for improving of our STM. For example, when we need to keep in mind 6 or 7 digit telephone number, it is better repeat it couple of times in mind or aloud (to make our audio memory work). But the best trainings to develop our memory, especially LTM, are special mind games and memory exercises, like solving crosswords, puzzles, etc. Nowadays new logic-based games of Japanese origin like “sudoku” or “kakuro” became very popular. This game is very helpful for improving human memory and logic.
It is remarkable that some specialists underline importance of normal regular sleep for good operation of LTM. There is an interesting theory, which was developed by Dr. Eugene Tarnow in 2003 by using some previous findings of specialists, like Penfield and Rasmussen. The theory describes the relation between our dreams and LTM. According to it, information is stored in our LTM in “dream-like” format. And our dreams at night are composed from some random pieces of information, which we store in our LTM.
But, of course, STM and LTM are closely related between each other; because both of them (operating together) form our memory and allow us enjoy all its advantages. First of all, all the received information, which is kept in STM and used by our working memory for some urgent needs, sooner or later is transferred to LTM and gets stored there in order to be recalled in the future when necessary.
Modern specialists differentiate several principal types of LTM. Declarative (or explicit) memory is connected with our abilities to remember some facts and events, which are available in our memory. All the processes, connected with this type of LTM, take place in cortex. Declarative memory includes some sub-types, like episodic memory (connected with time intervals), prospective memory (connected with our future prospects), or semantic memory (understanding of general concepts and meanings).
Memory is one of the most important functions of human brain. Memory is our ability to keep in mind and recall different types of information, which we receive from the outside world during out lifetime. Human memory depends on specific abilities of an individual, and also on the types of information, which has to be remembered. Biochemical structure and processes, which make human memory work, are very complex. Therefore, a number of memory related issues still remain not very clear for modern scientists.