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From ear to brain: How does your echoic memory work?
Echoic memory is a special kind of sensory memory, specially used to record auditory information (sound). When a sound stimulus is heard, it is stored in memory for subsequent processing and understanding. Unlike visual memory, in which stimuli can be reviewed over and over again through self-selection, auditory stimuli are usually short-lived and cannot be re-evaluated.
Echoic memory is known as a "scratch pool" in which unprocessed sounds are held until the next sound appears; only after the next sound is heard can the previous sound be given meaning.
This special sensory storage can maintain a large amount of auditory information, but only for a short 3 to 4 seconds. These echoing sounds reverberate in the mind and are replayed briefly shortly after listening. Echoic memory encodes only moderately primitive features of a stimulus, such as pitch, which helps localize information to unconnected areas of the brain.
Overview
Shortly after George Sparling's partial report on visual sensory memory storage, researchers began exploring its auditory counterpart. In 1967, Ulrich Neisser first proposed the term "echoic memory" to describe this brief representation of sound information. The researchers used a partial reporting paradigm similar to that used by Sparling for the earlier study. Modern neuropsychological techniques make it possible to speculate on the capacity, duration, and location of echogenic memory storage.
Research shows that echoic memory can retain information for up to 4 seconds. However, there are different views on the specific length of time that echoic memory retains information.
For example, Gutmann and Juerz suggested that the preservation time might be on the order of one second or less, while Erikson and Johnson suggested that it could be as long as 10 seconds.
Early work
Baddeley's model of working memory includes a visuospatial sketchpad associated with visual memory and a phonological loop focused on auditory information processing. Speech storage can be divided into two parts. The first part is the storage of words we hear, which can hold information for 3-4 seconds, which is much longer than the visual memory of the past.
These memory models fall short in delineating the relationship between initial sensory input and subsequent memory processes.
A short-term memory model proposed by Nelson Cowan attempts to describe the input and storage of language sensory memory in more depth, pointing out that a pre-attentive sensory storage system can maintain a large amount of accurate information in a short period of time.
Test method
Partial and full reports
Future researchers tested auditory sensory storage, inspired by Sparling's visual memory tasks. Measures of echoic memory involve behavioral tasks in which participants repeat presented tones, words, or syllables, often requiring attention and motivation. In the best-known partial reporting task, participants hear audio stimuli delivered simultaneously to the left, right, or both ears and are then required to report the spatial location and category name of each stimulus.
The results show that recall of spatial location is easier than semantic information, which is consistent with the results of visual memory.
Performance in the partial report condition was significantly better than that in the full report condition, and as the stimulus interval increased, the effectiveness of recall showed a downward trend.
Auditory backward recognition masking
Auditory backward discrimination masking is a successful task in studying hearing. The task involves presenting participants with a brief target stimulus, followed by a second stimulus (a masker tone) some time later. At this time, the retention of audio information in memory is related to the stimulus interval time.
Neural basis
Storage of auditory sensory memory is found in the primary auditory cortex opposite the presenting ear. Many of the brain areas involved in this storage are located in the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive control and attention management. The phonological storage and recall system appears to be a left hemisphere-based memory system.
Mainly involved areas include the left posterior ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, left motor cortex, and left posterior parietal cortex.
There has been no specific localization study on the cortical areas of auditory sensory memory, but studies have shown relatively active levels in the lateral superior temporal gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus.
Development
Research shows that the activity of neural structures required for echoic memory increases with age, showing that as age increases, the ability to process auditory sensory information also increases. As age increases, the duration of echo memory in young children also gradually increases.
Question
Children with auditory memory deficits often present with developmental language disorders, and assessment of these problems is often difficult. This is not only related to memory problems, but may also be related to the ability to understand the task. A study of patients with right-sided cortical damage after stroke showed that their echomic memory abilities were significantly affected. These studies have emphasized the role of music, and listening to music or audiobook training can help improve memory ability in damaged brain functions.
How does the auditory information transmitted from the ears to the brain affect our memory ability in daily life?
