In the study of vision, visual short-term memory (VSTM) is one of three broad memory systems including iconic memory and long-term memory. VSTM is a type of short-term memory, but one limited to information within the visual domain.
The term VSTM refers in a theory-neutral manner to the non-permanent storage of visual information over an extended period of time. The Visuospatial Sketchpad is a VSTM subcomponent within the theoretical model of working memory proposed by Alan Baddeley. Whereas iconic memories are fragile, decay rapidly, and are unable to be actively maintained, visual short-term memories are robust to subsequent stimuli and last over many seconds. VSTM is distinguished from long-term memory, on the other hand, primarily by its very limited capacity.
Read more about Visual Short-term Memory: Overview, Set-size Effects in VSTM, Psychophysical Models, Intermediate Visual Store, The Function of Visual Short-term Memory Representations
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