{"id":20751,"date":"2023-12-28T09:54:28","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T14:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencebeta.com\/?p=20751"},"modified":"2023-12-31T08:43:35","modified_gmt":"2023-12-31T13:43:35","slug":"echoic-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciencebeta.com\/echoic-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Echoic Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"
Echoic memory is a sensory memory that stores auditory information (sounds). After hearing an auditory stimuli, it is stored in memory<\/a> so that it can be processed and interpreted.<\/p>\n Unlike most visual memories, where a person may choose how long to observe a stimulus and reassess it multiple times, aural stimuli are usually ephemeral and cannot be reassessed. Echoic memories are remembered for somewhat longer lengths of time than iconic memories (visual memories) since they are only heard once. Before the ear can process and interpret them, it must first receive each auditory impulse one at a time.<\/p>\n The echoic memory can be thought of as a “holding tank,” where a sound is unprocessed (or held back) until the next sound is heard, and only then can it be made meaningful. This sensory store can hold a large amount of auditory information for a short period of time (3-4 seconds).<\/p>\n Echoic sound resonates in the mind and is replayed for this small period of time after hearing it. Echoic memory encodes just the most basic features of inputs, such as pitch, which specifies localization to non-association brain regions.<\/p>\n Auditory sensory memory has been determined to be stored in the primary auditory cortex<\/a>, which is located contralateral to the presenting ear. Because of the various processes it is involved in, echoic memory storage involves numerous different brain locations.<\/p>\n The greatest number of brain regions implicated are concentrated in the prefrontal cortex<\/a>, which houses executive function<\/a> and is in charge of attentional control. The phonological store and rehearsal system appear to be left-hemisphere memory systems, based on increased brain activity in these locations.<\/p>\n The major regions involved are the left posterior ventrolateral prefrontal cortex<\/a>, the left premotor cortex, and the left posterior parietal cortex.<\/p>\n Broca’s region is the primary site in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex involved for verbal rehearsal and the articulatory process. The dorsal premotor cortex is involved in rhythmic organization and rehearsal, whereas the posterior parietal cortex<\/a> is involved in object localization in space.<\/p>\n The precise localization of the cortical regions in the brain that are thought to be implicated in auditory sensory memory, as evidenced by the mismatch negativity response, remain unknown. However, findings have indicated that the superior temporal gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus exhibit comparable levels of activation.<\/p>\n Scholars initiated an inquiry into the auditory domain’s equivalent of the visual sensory memory store shortly after George Sperling’s fragmentary report studies of it. 1967 saw the introduction of the term “echoic memory” by Ulric Neisser to denote this concise representation of acoustic data.<\/p>\n Initially, it was investigated employing partial report paradigms comparable to those utilized by Sperling. Contemporary neuropsychological techniques have facilitated the construction of approximations regarding the echoic memory store’s capacity, duration, and location.<\/p>\n Researchers continue to adapt Sperling’s findings to the auditory sensory storage using partial and whole report tests, utilizing Sperling’s model as an analogue. They observed that echoic memory can hold memories for up to 4 seconds.<\/p>\n However, varied lengths for how long the echoic memory maintains the information after it is heard have been proposed. Guttman and Julesz suggested that it may last approximately one second or less, while Eriksen and Johnson suggested that it can take up to 10 seconds.<\/p>\n Baddeley’s model of working memory<\/a> consists of a visuospatial sketchpad, which is related to iconic memory, and a phonological loop, which attends to auditory information processing in two ways. The phonological storage is divided into two portions.<\/p>\n The first is the storage of words that we hear, which has the capacity to keep information for 3-4 seconds before decay, which is far longer than iconic memory (which has a lifespan of less than 1000ms).<\/p>\n The second is a sub-vocal rehearsal technique that uses one’s “inner voice” to keep the memory trace<\/a> fresh. In our minds, the words repeat in a loop. This model, however, falls short of providing a detailed description of the relationship between initial sensory input and subsequent memory processes.<\/p>\n Auditory memory problems in children have been linked to developmental language disorders. These issues are difficult to detect since poor performance may be due to an inability to understand a certain task rather than a difficulty with memory.<\/p>\n The mismatch negativity test was used to assess people who had suffered unilateral damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and temporal-parietal cortex following a stroke. The mismatch negative amplitude was greatest in the right hemisphere for the control group, regardless of whether the tone was provided in the right or left ear<\/a>.<\/p>\nNeuroscience of Echoic Memory<\/h2>\n
Discovery Timeline<\/h2>\n
Deficit Impacts<\/h2>\n