Tests for short-term memory | Short term memory

Tests for short-term memory

If you really suspect that something is wrong with your short-term memory or mental performance, you can test it medically. One of the most common tests for the presence of dementia is the so-called Mini Mental Status Test. Here, the patient is asked various questions and tasks, for example about time and place or simple arithmetical tasks, memorizing three terms and later reproducing them or drawing figures according to the instructions.

One point is awarded for each correct result, a maximum of 30 points can be achieved. This method provides a rough overview of a person’s mental state, especially with regard to memory and other essential mental abilities, and is also suitable for controlling the course of dementia. However, it should be noted that care should be taken to ensure an environment free of disturbing factors in order to interpret the test as objectively as possible.

Difference to long-term memory

Long-term memory is more complex than short-term memory and is also not easy to assign anatomically. It is assumed that long-term memory is a performance of the entire cerebral cortex. However, implicit memory content in particular is stored via connections with various parts of the brain.

Sporting skills or action sequences are closely linked to the cerebellum, whereas emotional memories run through the so-called amygdala. Depending on the type of memory, virtually any part of the brain can be involved. Even the olfactory brain is relevant, since some memories are linked to a certain smell and can be evoked again with this smell.

During memory consolidation (i.e. the transfer from short-term to long-term memory), information is sent through a specific loop in the brain, the so-called Papez neuron circuit. This is mainly explicit memory content. Repeatedly passing through this neuron loop ensures that memory is consolidated in the brain and includes the hippocampus and thalamus as the main switching points, among other structures.

If the connections in this loop are destroyed, for example by a stroke, operation or tumor in this area, memory is permanently impaired. Memories prior to this damage continue to exist, the short-term memory as such functions in the same way, but no information can be transferred to the long-term memory.