Short-term memory (STM) refers to the cognitive ability to temporarily hold and manipulate information over brief intervals (typically seconds) without long-term consolidation. Memory is the ability to recall past events at conscious or unconscious level. It is relatively permanent retention and storage of learned information¹. The functioning of working memory declines with advancing age^2,3,4. Memory is currently viewed as a mental process using several storage buffers of differing capacity and duration. It aids in the learning process by focusing the task at hand, inhibiting irrelevant information and integrating information from several sources such as long term memory⁵.  Immediate (short-term or primary) memory has a duration of about half a minute and a limited capacity of approximately 5 to 10 items. It is often tested at the bedside by asking the patient to recall several digits forward and backward. Recent, or secondary, memory has been called both "short-term" and "long term." It has a duration of minutes to weeks and exhibits a larger storage capacity than immediate memory. Recent memory is commonly tested in the clinical setting by asking a patient to recall three words after 3 to 5 minutes. Memory function includes registration acquisition), retention (encoding (storage or or consolidation), stabilization, and retrieval (decoding or recall). Registration and retrieval are conscious processes⁶. Therefore the present study was undertaken to observe normal short term memory status in young adults.

The present study was conducted in Department of Physiology, Government medical college, Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh .

Inclusion criteria : Fifty (50) young healthy adults of either gender of age group of 18 to 24 years in Kadapa were volunteers for this study.

Exclusion criteria :

The subjects with known history of any cognitive or psychiatric disorder and/or taking drugs which could affect the cognitive ability were excluded from the study. The subjects were asked to refrain from intake of tea, coffee or any cognitive stimulants one day prior to the study.

After detailed explanation of the purpose and method of conducting this study to all the subjects, written consent was taken. The short term memory or working memory was evaluated in 3 sessions of words & objects.

In First session we displayed three words and picture of three objects was shown to subjects for 15 seconds.

In second session we displayed six words and picture of six objects was shown to subjects for 20 seconds.

In third session we displayed nine words and picture of nine objects was shown to subjects. Numbers of the correct items recalled were measured in percentage. After 20 minutes of rest we used same tests which repeated with different sets of words and picture of objects after asking them to applying some standard methods like chunking method, linking method and by saying it louds for enhancing short term memory.

Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics included computation of percentages, means and standard deviations. Level of significance was set at P≤0.05.

Table 1 memory status before and after applying of memory enhancing methods in word and object test.

In the above study while comparison of memory status before and after applying of memory enhancing methods in Word test it was found highly significant, while in Object test the results were very significant in the present study.

Short term memory status for object test was significantly greater than word test.. Our study is supporting the research work of Zeba A et al. (2017)⁷ the mean+ SEM of memory status in all the subjects was 68.41+14.47%. Ansari S et al (2019)⁸ found the memory status in all the subjects to be increased and was statistically highly significant (p<0.001) when compared to memory status before application of memory improvement methods. There was significant improvement in memory status after applying of memory enhancing methods.  The present assessment evaluated short-term memory performance in young adults using standardized memory tasks. The results indicate that most participants demonstrated adequate short-term memory capacity, with the ability to temporarily store and recall information over brief intervals. Minor variations in performance were observed among individuals, which may be influenced by factors such as attention, stress levels, cognitive strategies, and environmental distractions.

Overall, the findings suggest that young adults generally possess well-developed short-term memory abilities that support daily cognitive functioning, including learning, problem-solving, and information processing. The assessment also highlights the importance of attention and rehearsal strategies in improving recall performance.

In conclusion, the study provides insight into the functioning of short-term memory in young adults and emphasizes the role of cognitive and environmental factors in influencing memory performance. Further research with larger samples and varied memory tasks may help to better understand individual differences and factors that enhance or impair short-term memory.

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