THE FUNCTIONS OF MEMORY Memory is the ability to remember past events, images, ideas, or previously learned information or skills. Memory is also the storage system that allows a person to retain and retrieve previously learned information. There are three key processes to memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Each of the three stages in memory-sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory focuses on encoding, storage, and retrieval. Sensory memory performs initial encoding and provides brief storage. Semsory memory can change a visual, auditory, or chemical stimulus into a form the brain can interpret, like