Short Term Memory:

For the purpose of a discussion on memory loss, short term memory is equivalent to very recent memories, usually measured in minutes-to-days. Examples of short term memory include where you parked your car this morning, what you had for lunch yesterday, and remembering details from a book that you read a few days ago.

When people are concerned about “short term memory loss”, they are typically referring to real or perceived impairments in the ability to form new episodic and semantic memories.

Long Term Memory:

For the purpose of a discussion on memory loss, long term memory is equivalent to more distant memories, usually measured in months-to-years-to-decades.

Examples of long term memory include recollection of an important day in the distant past (early birthday, graduation, wedding, etc), and work skills you learned in your first job out of school.

Long term memory is generally well preserved in early and mid-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Brain regions responsible for healthy memory function include the temporal lobe and the hippocampus, a brain region under the temporal lobe:

Isuues related to Short-term memory

Short-term memory, typically, requires concentrated effort on the part of the individual concerned. If they become distracted by environmental factors then that concentration can be broken and the content of short-term memory may be lost. For instance, even a momentary distraction can cause a user to forget the name of a file or of a password that they havent used before.

Isuues related to Long-term memory

Long-term memory, typically, it is less easy to remember information that has passed from short-term to long-term memory. In consequence, a greater source of distraction or disruption would be required to impair their memory. A, typically, example is that even expert computer users may make mistakes if they attempt to perform two familiar tasks in parallel. Both may draw upon long-term memory but there can be interference effects.