Modularity in Sensory Auditory Memory

Abstract

The goal of this paper was to review various experimental and neuropsychological studies that support the modular conception of auditory sensory memory or auditory short-term memory. Based on initial findings demonstrating that verbal sensory memory system can be dissociated from a general auditory memory store at the functional and anatomical levels. we reported a series of studies that provided evidence in favor of multiple auditory sensory stores specialized in retaining either pitch, loudness, timbre or possibly modulated amplitude sounds. Finally, we also presented human data indicating the existence of a dissociation between auditory sensory memory for spatial and non spatial information. All these findings are consistent with multiple storage systems that are, to some extent, independent from one another.