Wiktionary
n. The brief storage of information (in memory) brought in through the senses; typically only lasts up to a few seconds.
Wikipedia
During every moment of an organism's life, sensory information is being taken in by sensory receptors and processed by the nervous system. Sensory information is stored in sensory memory just long enough to be transferred to short-term memory. Humans have five main senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch. Sensory memory (SM) allows individuals to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimulus has ceased. A common demonstration of SM is a child's ability to write letters and make circles by twirling a sparkler at night. When the sparkler is spun fast enough, it appears to leave a trail which forms a continuous image. This "light trail" is the image that is represented in the visual sensory store known as iconic memory. The other two types of SM that have been most extensively studied are echoic memory, and haptic memory; however, it is reasonable to assume that each physiological sense has a corresponding memory store. Children for example have been shown to remember specific "sweet" tastes during incidental learning trials but the nature of this gustatory store is still unclear.
Usage examples of "sensory memory".
My body convulsed against the bed, my spine bowing, hands clawing at the sheets, a moan tore from my throat, before my body stole all the breath from me, and I bucked against the bed, caught in a sensory memory.
Susannah felt as if every cell in her body was electrified by sensory memory.
The sensory memory brought it back to me, pushed some of the glow of power away.
I could feel the thick softness of his fur under my fingertips like a sensory memory that would haunt me.
The sensory memory poured through me, and overwhelmed all my careful control.
But under it all the sensory memory stink of blood and gore remained.