How the Brain Processes Information: The Information Processing Model

Now that we have learnt the different parts of the brain and their function (here) and the structure of a brain cell or neuron (here), this post is intended to explain a model of how the brain processes new information. By knowing this process, you will be able to know how to manage and optimise your learning.

The brain receives information from the environment. The environment around us has stimulus. For example someone talking to us is a stimulus. A book that we read is a stimulus. Our senses such as hearing and sight receive these stimuli from the environment and pass them on to the brain. Different parts of the brain process these information in seconds and also simultaneously. But during this processing some information is lost, some is retained and stored. So what happens between receiving the information from the environment through to losing and/or retaining it.

Before I explain each part the information is passed through, scan this image and note the path of the information from the environment to the senses, then to the immediate memory, over to the working memory and finally to the long term storage.

The information passes through hurdles such as cognitive overloads and some is lost, some is retained and stored. I will explain each station in this model below.

The senses constantly collect tens of thousands of bits of information from the environment every second, even while we sleep. For instance, the nerve endings on your skin detect the clothes you are wearing. Your ears pick up sounds around you. Your eyes are reacting to this reading as you move across the lines. Put all these data together and it becomes huge each second that the brain has to deal with. The information detected by our senses is passed along the neural path in the form of electrical impulses to the brain. This is called sensory register and the information stays here very briefly - less than a second. It is called sensory memory.

The sense memory is between the senses and the brain stem (here). Sensory register takes place in the brain stem. The stem passes this information to the thalamus which quickly screens all these data and determines their importance and filters the incoming information. Some information deemed important is passed on to other relevant parts of the brain for due process, while unimportant information is dropped out and is forgotten. But how is the important and unimportant information sorted?

Deciding on which information is important or unimportant depends on the 1) relevancy of the information, 2) the need of the information and/or 3) the link to the previously stored information. If you have previous knowledge of the information, it means the information is strongly linked with your previous experience and likely to be retained. Similarly if the person needs to learn the information to apply it on something, it is more likely important. However if the information is irrelevant or makes no sense (no previous experience/information) then that is unimportant and is likely to be forgotten in seconds.

Your sensory register can also block some information from even registering. For example if you are in a room studying and a noisy construction work is outside, initially you will notice it but will start ignoring it. This is because the sense blocks that stimulus consciously and your brain focuses on the more important work that is study. The sensory register is now blocking the impulses from reaching to your consciousness.

Information that the senses have registered to the central part of the brain, if important becomes part of the immediate memory. Immediate memory operates subconsciously or consciously and holds data for about 30 seconds. In the model it is shown as a clip board which means that the information is put here very briefly until a decision is made either to pass it further or dispose it off. Within this time frame if the information is not important is dropped out of the processing system. For instance you can remember a phone number for as long as you need it. When you make the call and don’t need it anymore, you forget it. This is immediate memory.

When something reaches to working memory that means it is important and we focus it and pay attention to it. The working memory is most important to understand a topic or concepts. The working memory structures and processes the information by working on it. It is like a working table (as shown in the model). Here we can build, or break down or rework ideas. Working memory works in coordination with the immediate and the long term memory. Information is processed and stays in the working memory for different time depending on your age. For preadolescents it is about 5-10min, for adolescent and adult about 10-20 minutes. However sometime we have question in the working memory which remains unresolved for days and the brain keeps working on it seeking a solution. If this unresolved information is important, it interrupts with our processing of other information. It is generally called preoccupation. When a person is not able to listen properly or understand your instructions that means the person’s brain is preoccupied with something unresolved.

Working memory has limited capacity. That means that working memory can handle only a few items at a time. But the capacity increases with age. Children have smaller capacity than adults. For instance preschool kids can deal with only 1-2 item at once, adolescents from 3-5 items, adults 3-9 items. However this is not as simple. Having previous knowledge about a topic can greatly increase the capacity of the working knowledge. The environment, interest in the topic and grooming effects handling information here.  

Once the information is well worked with in the working memory, it is passed onto long term memory. Now, and again, all information from the working memory is not passed on, rather some are forgotten. What information goes out? Well, when the information is too complicated for you; when you cannot link it to the long term memory (lack of previous information); or when there are more items one can handle at a time – this is called cognitive overload. The capacity of working memory can be increased with strategies like chunking or breaking down information into simple and smaller pieces - it is called scaffolding in teaching. In scaffolding, information is made more easily associated with each other to avoid confusion. Working memory has a very important role in teaching and learning. Its implications for teaching and learning will be discussed in a new post.

So information that has gained value and understanding is stored. When it is stored, that mean the information made sense and gives meaning. In the picture long term storage is represented with file cabinets – places where information is kept in some type of order. Piaget (a great psychologist – details post later) calls these files schemata or packs of information. If we receive some information form the environment and it relates to our schemata, it makes sense quickly. However we need to be careful that all memories are not so neatly grouped, some memories can overlap or spread all over the place.

In the brain, it is the hippocampus we discussed (here) that is responsible to work on the information and send it to one or more long-term storage area. The encoding process is time consuming and it usually takes place during deep sleep. It is a good idea to revise the important information while you are in bed trying to sleep. One, it will put you into sleep and second, it will store the information in the long term memory. Information storage does not take place immediately after a lesson. Research shows that great loss of newly acquired information or skill takes place within the first 18-24 hours’ time. So it is better idea to take test after 24 hours have passed. If you are unable to recall the information after one day, the probability is that it is not stored in the long term memory.

Long term memory is not a closed cabinet. It is a moving memory, dynamic and interactive. It interacts with the working memory and the sense registry. It is open to changes and stimulus from the environment. That’s what is called growth mindset (read about growth mindset here). Hence information from the environment received by our senses is passed onto immediate memory, then to the working memory and finally the long term memory but during this process some information is lost and can’t reach to the long term memory.

Robert Stahl of Arizona State University presented this model in the early 1980s. Although the model is a very simple system of processing information, the brain’s work is more complex. Many information are processed quickly and simultaneously taking different pathways. The brain is open system continuously interacting with the physical and social world around it.  The electrical patterns change corresponding with the new learning. The cells also behave unpredictable.  Each neuron is active and is altered by experiences. As you read this post, your neurons are interacting with each other, forming, re-forming and sometimes dissolving storage sites. Emotions play an important role in information processing, comprehension and creativity as well. Hence the brain information processing is more complex than this model shows. Nevertheless, this is one model among many and is one piece of the puzzle of the complex activity of the brain and by knowing this information, you can improve your learning. The next post will discuss the implication of information process model for teaching.