Editing Visual memory (section)

== Current theories ==

=== Visuo-spatial sketch pad ===
The visuo-spatial sketchpad is part of [[Baddeley's model of working memory|Baddeley and Hitch's model]] of [[working memory]]. It is responsible for temporarily storing [[Visual perception|visual]] and spatial information, which is currently being used or [[Encoding (memory)|encoded]]. It is thought of as a three-dimensional [[cognitive map]], which contains spatial features about where the person is and visual images of the area, or an object being [[Flow (psychology)|concentrated]] on.<ref name="mental">Logie, R.H., & Marchetti, C. (1991). [[Mental image]]s in human [[cognition]]. Elsevier Science Publishers. Pg. 105-113</ref> It is used in tasks such as [[mental image]] manipulation where a person [[Imagination|imagines]] how a real object would look if it were changed in some way (rotated, flipped, moved, change of colour, etc.). It is also responsible for representing how vivid an image is. A vivid image is one which you have a high potential for [[Recall (memory)|retrieving]] its sensory details. The visuo-spatial sketchpad is responsible for holding onto the visual and spatial qualities of a vivid image in your working memory, and the degree of vividness is directly affected by the limits of the sketchpad.<ref name="Memory2">{{cite journal | last1 = Oh | first1 = S. H. | last2 = Kim | first2 = M. | year = 2004 | title = The role of spatial working memory in visual search efficiency | journal =  Psychonomic Bulletin & Review| volume = 11 | issue = 2| pages = 275–281 | doi=10.3758/bf03196570| pmid = 15260193 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

=== Eidetic and photographic memories ===
{{Main|Eidetic memory}}

Eidetic memory is an ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with high precision for a few minutes without using mnemonics. It occurs in a small number of children and generally is not found in adults.<ref name="Slate 2006">{{cite web |last=Foer |first=Joshua |title=Kaavya Syndrome |url=https://slate.com/technology/2006/04/no-one-has-a-photographic-memory.html |website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=2006-04-27 |access-date=2022-02-07 }}</ref>

The popular culture concept of photographic memory—where, for example, someone can briefly look at a page of text and then recite it perfectly from memory—is not the same as seeing eidetic images, and photographic memory has never been demonstrated to exist.<ref name="Slate 2006" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Does Photographic Memory Exist? |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/i-developed-what-appears-to-be-a-ph/ |website=Scientific American |date=2003-01-01 |access-date=2022-02-07 }}</ref>

=== Iconic memory ===
{{Main|Iconic memory}}
[[Iconic memory]] is the [[Visual perception|visual]] part of the sensory [[memory system]]. [[Iconic memory]] is responsible for [[Priming (psychology)#Perceptual and conceptual priming|visual priming]], because it works very quickly and [[unconscious mind|unconsciously]]. Iconic memory [[Decay theory|decays]] very quickly, but contains a very vivid image of the surrounding stimuli.<ref name="Memory1">{{cite journal | last1 = Della Sala | first1 = S. | last2 = Gray | first2 = C. | last3 = Baddeley | first3 = A. | last4 = Allamano | first4 = N. | last5 = Wilson | first5 = L. | year = 1999 | title = Pattern span: a means of unwelding visuo-spatial memory | journal = Neuropsychologia | volume = 37 | issue = 10| pages = 1189–1199 | doi=10.1016/s0028-3932(98)00159-6| pmid = 10509840 | s2cid = 1894333 }}</ref>

=== Spatial memory ===
[[Spatial memory]] is a person's knowledge of the space around them, and their whereabouts in it. It also encompasses all memories of areas and places, and how to get to and from them. Spatial memory is distinct from object memory and involves different parts of the [[brain]]. Spatial memory involves the dorsal parts of the brain and more specifically the [[hippocampus]]. However, both types of memory are often used together, such as when trying to remember where you put a lost object. A classic test of spatial memory is the [[Methods used to study memory#Corsi block tapping|Corsi block-tapping task]], where an instructor taps a series of blocks in a [[Randomness|random order]] and the participant attempts to [[Imitation|imitate]] them. The number of blocks they can tap before performance breaks down on [[average]] is called their Corsi span. Spatial memory is always being used whenever a person is moving any part of their body; therefore it is generally more [[Vulnerability|vulnerable]] to [[Decay theory|decay]] than object memory is.<ref name="Memory2"/>

=== Object memory ===
<!-- [[Object memory]] redirects here. -->
Object memory involves [[Cognitive process|processing]] features of an object or material such as [[Texture (visual arts)|texture]], color, size, and [[Orientation (geometry)|orientation]]. It is processed mainly in the [[List of regions in the human brain|ventral regions]] of the [[brain]]. A few studies have shown that on average most people can recall up to four items each with a set of four different [[Visual perception|visual]] qualities. It is a separate system from [[spatial memory]] and is not affected by [[Interference theory|interference]] from spatial tasks.<ref name="BaddeleyEysenck2014">{{cite book|author1=Alan Baddeley|author2=Michael W. Eysenck|author3=Michael C. Anderson|title=Memory|date=7 November 2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-84872-184-5|pages=33–34}}</ref>