Memory span

I may be a little slow to the podcast game, but I blame my extremely short attention span. In no way am I a “books on tape” kind of girl, because then I become “daydream-look at the window –miss half the chapter” kind of girl. So years ago, when my husband suggested I download these podcasts, I dismissed him. Like I smiled and nodded my head and thought about puppies, ice cream cones, and sunshine while he listed a bunch of podcasts I would like. I lumped them together with my attempts to…

Almost any time when you watch a Hollywood action movie, or play an action videogame, you will most likely meet a character suffering from memory loss. This phenomena of memory loss, also known as amnesia, is a complicated neurological mechanism, hiding behind a seemingly simple facade. Amnesia is extremely widespread worldwide, because, unlike popular belief, it can be triggered not only by a head trauma, but also by a number of other factors. So, what exactly is amnesia? Doctors usually use…

Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V). The areas of cognitive processing ability measured include crystallized intelligence, short-term memory, visual-spatial processing, reasoning ability, and processing speed. The subtest measure different cognitive processing abilities combine to form five index scores: Verbal Comprehension, Visual-Spatial, Fluid Reasoning, Working Memory and Processing Speed which all together make up the Full Scale IQ score. Daniel obtained a score of 99 (47th…

Alzheimer’s is a form a dementia where the brain begins to deteriorate, causing the decline of memory in middle to older aged individuals. Although there are treatments that slow the progression of Alzheimer’s and soften the symptoms of the disease, there are still no cure. Alzheimer’s only continues to worsen as a person diagnosed with the disease continues to grow older. Approximately 4.5 million Americans are affected by Alzheimer’s disease at the current date (Alzheimer 's Disease Center).…

Memory is a complex system that constantly collects new stimuli and preserves previous experiences. This procedure consists of several multiplex steps to allow us to retain information over time. The method our brain uses to enhance our memories is through encoding, storage, and retrieval. Each level is extremely intricate and requires a plethora of attention. If a fault occurs within any of these processes, particular memories can be hindered. To prevent omissions, there are certain strategies…

briefly discussed. Anterograde amnesia is “a severe loss of the ability to form new episodic and semantic memories” (Gluck, Mercado, Myers, 2014). It is the most noticeable amnesia present in patient H.M. Hippocampal region damage results in difficulty learning new information – especially episodic learning of events and facts (Gluck, Mercado,…

Psychological Processing Strengths: Various processing areas were assessed using a variety of measures related to cognition and memory, executive functioning and behavior and academic performance. Jasmine’s WISC-V processing speed index score fell along the low average range. Jasmine showed strengths with using her short-term visual memory. She was able to quickly, visually, scan a page and match corresponding symbols to their assigned numbers, as well as, visually discriminate whether or not…

person has experienced some degree of brief memory failure in their lifetime. Being quite an inconvenience, memory failure can span from a few seconds to multiple years. Memory is a key component of everyday life and would be near impossible to live without. Unfortunately, many problems can interfere with even the sharpest of memories. There are many potential consequences of memory failure that can affect not only ourselves, but others as well. The human memory has no limited capacity; how does…

As people become older, they experience “mental difficulties”, “a dwindling attention span”, and they begin to forget even the simplist of things (Barrett). However, some people, known as “superagers”, are able to keep their memory sharp and remain as attentive as a 25 year old. The question now is, what differentiates the two groups of people? Using magnetic resonance imaging, a study was done that identifies a “set of brain regions that distinguished the two groups” where the regular agers…

out unnecessary stimulus. Sohlberg and Mateer (1987) describe five levels of attention. In order, these are: Focused attention, is our response to a specific single environment stimulus. Sustained attention is more commonly known as our “attention span”, the ability to focus on a task or object without losing focus. Selective attention, the level of attention in which we can focus on a selected stimulus whilst other distracting stimuli compete for attention. Alternating attention refers to our…