Memory consolidation is the process of reducing perceptual data for long-term storage.
There are three types of memory consolidation:
- Thresholding, or digitizing, reduces memory data to a binary “yes” or “no” value
- Compression is when a set of related memory data is reduced to a summary value (e.g., average, proportion/frequency of each type of data)
- Temporal discounts produce a weighted average by prioritizing recent data over more temporally distant data
People with hyperthymesia perform no consolidation of memories. This allows them have near-perfect episodic memories, since they store all of their original perceptual data.
Memory consolidation is different from memory deletion, also known as forgetting.
Consolidation has several potential advantages:
- Data uses less of limited storage
- Easier detection of abstract patterns and trends in the environment
- Easier searching, since behaviorally irrelevant data is reduced
- Improves recognition and Generalization