Forgetting
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Forgetting (retention loss) is a spontaneous or gradual process in which old memories are deleted from the memory storage. It is subject to delicately balanced optimization that ensures that only the least relevant memories are deleted as well as it is a security process ensuring that dangerous information will not harm ourselves. Forgetting can be prevented by repetition and/or evaluation of the information. As we are examining this part of mind, this function of mind, we shouldn't forget that this is still not an exactly explained property of mind.
Forgetting can, after all, have very different causes than simply removal of stored content as well. Forgetting can mean access problems, availability problems or can have other reasons such as amnesia caused by an accident for example.
Availability Problems
There are two reasons why memory could not be available. The first is that special information has never reached the long-term memory (supposing we work with the multi-store model) because it had either be censored out due to processing limitations of the short-term memory or (supposing we work with the levels of processing model) it had only been processed at a very shallow level and has therefore not persisted for a long time.
The second reason is that information has been stored but was then permanently lost. As every information, to be able to permanently access our nervous system, needs a certain amount of time so biochemical changes can occur; if this amount of time is not given due to a disruption (for example accident) the information is lost. Disruption can be caused by accidents, brain surgery, certain drugs, etc. and will cause the loss of the long-term memory during the disruption. (Example: a football player involved in a major injury could remember exactly what had happened immediately after the incident, yet they could not remember it twenty minutes later.)
A debatable yet popular concept is also the trace decay which can occur in both short and long-term memory. This theory, applying mostly to short-term memory, is whatsoever shattered by people that can ride a bike even after not having done so for decades. It is believed that certain trays decay while others don't. Nevertheless one thing is certain: sleep right after the memorisation process can not stop trace decay totally but it can at least make it less strongly (which is the reason why it is good to study shortly before sleep).
Accessibility Problems
to be written