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1. General term for the recollection of that which was once experienced or learned. 2. The mental information processing system that receives (registers), modifies, stores, and retrieves informational stimuli; composed of three stages: encoding, storage, and retrieval. [L. memoria]
- long-term m. (LTM) that phase of the m. process considered the permanent storehouse of information which has been registered, encoded, passed into the short-term m., coded, rehearsed, and finally transferred and stored for future retrieval; material and information retained in LTM underlies cognitive abilities.
- remote m. m. for events of long ago as opposed to recent events.
- screen m. in psychoanalysis, a consciously tolerable m. that unwittingly serves as a cover for another associated m. which would be emotionally painful if recalled.
- selective m. reception or retrieval of only some of the events in an experience.
- senile m. m. that is good for remote events, often in contrast to current events; characteristically seen in aged or demented persons.
- short-term m. (STM) that phase of the m. process in which stimuli that have been recognized and registered are stored briefly; decay occurs rapidly, sometimes within seconds, but may be held indefinitely by using rehearsal as a holding process by which to recycle material over and over through STM. SYN: temporary m..
- subconscious m. information not immediately available for recall.
- temporary m. SYN: short-term m..
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1 a) the power or process of reproducing or recalling what has been learned and retained esp. through associative mechanisms
b) the store of things learned and retained from an organism's activity or experience as indicated by modification of structure or behavior or by recall and recognition
2) a capacity for showing effects as the result of past treatment or for returning to a former condition used esp. of a material (as metal or plastic)
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mem·o·ry (memґə-re) [L. memoria] the mental faculty by which sensations, impressions, and ideas are recalled.Medical dictionary. 2011.