What term describes the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information?

The term that describes the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information is sensory memory. Sensory memory acts as a short-lived storage system that holds vast amounts of sensory stimuli for a few seconds at most, capturing everything we perceive from our environment, such as sights, sounds, and smells.

This initial stage of memory allows the brain to process and interpret sensory input before it either fades away or moves on to further stages of memory formation, such as short-term memory or long-term memory. Sensory memory includes iconic memory, which pertains to visual stimuli, and echoic memory, which relates to auditory stimuli, each retaining information just long enough for the brain to focus on what is important.

In this context, options related to longer-term processes, such as short-term memory, long-term memory, and working memory, do not pertain to the immediate and fleeting nature of sensory memory. Each of those other types serves different functions and retains information for longer durations or in different cognitive contexts.