View source for Stabilization

'''Memory stabilization''' (abbreviated ''SInc'' for ''stability increase'') is the increase in [[memory stability]] as a result of the retrieval of a memory (e.g. in [[review]]). '''Stabilization''' may also be a result of [[memory optimization]] in sleep.

The higher the [[stability]], the lesser the [[stability increase]] at [[review]] (see: [[Stabilization decay]]). As the name implies, the memory tends to ''stabilize'' in the long-term storage.

In addition, the increase in memory stability at retrieval depends on [[retrievability]] and [[memory complexity]]. The lower the retrievability, the higher the average increase in stability. Expected increase in stability described by the ''consolidation curve'', and probabilistically modulated by the prospect of a memory [[lapse]], peaks at different levels of the [[forgetting index]] (usually at [[retrievability]] in the range of 30-80%).

[[Complexity]] is a confounding component in memory research. For atomic memories, stability can be modelled (e.g. as in [[Algorithm SM-17]]). Stability gradually loses its meaning with the increase in memory complexity. For example, if we consider a memory of a book, its stability increase cannot be measured because a book cannot be recalled verbatim. The memory imprint of a book is a complex constellation of memories whose stabilities may span ranges from short-term to ''[[permastore]]''.

In [[Algorithm SM-17]], the matrix of stability increase (''SInc[]''), can be considered an extension of the matrix of [[optimum factor|O-Factors]] (from older [[SuperMemo]]s) into the dimension of [[retrievability]]. That extension was essential for making the algorithm universal for all imaginable repetition schedules (delays in [[review]] correspond with lower [[retrievability]]).

See also: 
* [[Two component model of long-term memory]]
* [[Search for a universal memory formula]]
* [[Stabilization curve]]
* [[Stabilization decay]]
* [[Structural and molecular mechanisms of the spacing effect]]
* [[SuperMemo Algorithm: 30-year-long labor]]
* [[Algorithm SM-17]]
* [[Post-lapse stability]]

{{:GlossarySuperMemo}}

[[File:Stability increase function.png|500px|thumb|center|Stability increase function]]
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[[File:Approximation of memory stabilization.png|500px|thumb|center|Approximation of the memory stabilization due to review]]
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[[File:Stability increase function approximation.jpg|500px|thumb|center|Approximation of memory consolidation (expected stabilization)]]
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[[File:Memory stabilization curve.png|500px|thumb|center|Memory stabilization curve in SuperMemo]]
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[[File:Stabilization_decay.png|500px|thumb|center|Stabilization decay in SuperMemo for Windows]]
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[[File:Uncertain_course_of_the_stabilization_of_complex_memories.png|400px|center|Uncertain course of stabilization in complex memories]]
{{:File:Uncertain_course_of_the_stabilization_of_complex_memories.png}}