Exceptional memory is the ability to have accurate and detailed
recall
Recall may refer to:
* Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop
* Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure
* ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted language learning
* Recall (memory)
* ''Recall'' (Overwatch ...
in a variety of ways, including
hyperthymesia
Hyperthymesia, also known as hyperthymestic syndrome or highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM), is a condition that leads people to be able to remember an abnormally large number of their life experiences in vivid detail. It is extraordi ...
,
eidetic memory
Eidetic memory ( ; more commonly called photographic memory or total recall) is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only onceThe terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''pho ...
,
synesthesia
Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who re ...
, and
emotional memory
Emotion can have a powerful effect on humans and animals. Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than ...
. Exceptional memory is also prevalent in those with
savant syndrome
Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...
and
mnemonist
The title mnemonist refers to an individual with the ability to remember and recall unusually long lists of data, such as unfamiliar names, lists of numbers, entries in books, etc. Some mnemonists also memorize texts such as long poems, speeches, o ...
s.
Hyperthymesia
Hyperthymesia, or hyperthymesitic syndrome, is superior
autobiographical memory
Autobiographical memory is a memory system consisting of episodes recollected from an individual's life, based on a combination of episodic (personal experiences and specific objects, people and events experienced at particular time and place) a ...
, the type of memory that forms people's life stories. The term ''thymesia'' is derived from the Greek word ''thymesis'', meaning "memory" and the Greek meaning of "hyper" means "over".
The capabilities of the affected individuals are not limited to recalling specific events from their personal experience. Hyperthymesia has both enhanced autobiographical and
episodic memory
Episodic memory is the memory of everyday events (such as times, location geography, associated emotions, and other contextual information) that can be explicitly stated or conjured. It is the collection of past personal experiences that occurred ...
There is an important characteristic of hyperthymesia: People with the syndrome have an unusual form of eidetic memory to remember as well as recall any specific personal events or trivial details, including a date, the weather, what people wore on that day, from their past, almost in an organized manner.
Unlike other people with advanced memory abilities, such as
savant syndrome
Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...
(who tend to use
calendrical calculation A calendrical calculation is a calculation concerning calendar dates. Calendrical calculations can be considered an area of applied mathematics.
Some examples of calendrical calculations:
* Converting a Julian or Gregorian calendar date to its ...
), individuals with hyperthymestic syndrome rely heavily on their personal "mental calendar",
which is an automatic and obsessive process. Moreover, individuals with hyperthymesia do not focus on practiced
mnemonic
A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding.
Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...
strategies.
For example, "AJ", who has the first documented case of hyperthymesia, has difficulty consciously applying her memory strategies to help her memorize new knowledge, making her rote memorization abilities below average. Importantly, having superior autobiographical memory does not translate to broadly superior memory; in fact across tests like a digit span, visual reproduction, and word-pair memorization, those with hyperthymesia have no statistically significant difference from a control group.
Neuroscience
Because it is a recently discovered memory capability, neuroscientific explanations of hyperthymesia are scarce. McGaugh, who coined the term, provides mostly speculation in "A Case of Unusual Autobiographical Remembering". He suggests that "AJ"'s superior autobiographical memory is largely the result of specific impairments rather than enhancements. Her sensitivity to cues that trigger her memories suggest that "AJ" has trouble inhibiting episodic-retrieval mode, which is the neurocognitive state required for present stimuli to be interpreted as memory cues. Because she is unable to "turn off" her retrieval mode, the smallest associations may bring on detailed recollections of "AJ"'s past.
Inhibition
Inhibitor or inhibition may refer to:
In biology
* Enzyme inhibitor, a substance that binds to an enzyme and decreases the enzyme's activity
* Reuptake inhibitor, a substance that increases neurotransmission by blocking the reuptake of a neurotra ...
in itself is a type of executive functioning, thought to be associated with the right inferior
frontal cortex
The frontal lobe is the largest of the four major lobes of the brain in mammals, and is located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere (in front of the parietal lobe and the temporal lobe). It is parted from the parietal lobe by a groove betwe ...
.
Although "AJ" is not autistic, McGaugh and colleagues note that she shares some of the executive-functioning deficits that occur with
autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
. These deficits, along with anomalous lateralization and "AJ"'s obsessive–compulsive tendencies, point to a neurodevelopmental frontostriatal disorder common in autism, OCD, ADHD, Tourette's syndrome, and schizophrenia. The frontostriatal system is made up of the dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex
In mammalian brain anatomy, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) covers the front part of the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex. The PFC contains the Brodmann areas BA8, BA9, BA10, BA11, BA12, BA13, BA14, BA24, BA25, BA32, BA44, BA45, BA46, ...
, lateral
orbitofrontal cortex
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a prefrontal cortex region in the frontal lobes of the brain which is involved in the cognitive process of decision-making. In non-human primates it consists of the association cortex areas Brodmann area 11, 12 ...
,
cingulate
Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra, is an order of armored New World placental mammals. Dasypodids and chlamyphorids, the armadillos, are the only surviving families in the order. Two groups of cingulates much larger than extant arm ...
, supplementary motor area, and associated
basal ganglia
The basal ganglia (BG), or basal nuclei, are a group of subcortical nuclei, of varied origin, in the brains of vertebrates. In humans, and some primates, there are some differences, mainly in the division of the globus pallidus into an extern ...
structures.
Cases
there are an estimated 61 confirmed cases of hyperthymesia worldwide. Cases of hyperthymesia differ from related cases of savant memory in that savants have an extraordinary memory for specific hobbies, and events of a narrow basis, whereas cases of confirmed hyperthymesia show surprisingly detailed memory for specific and general events.
One subject, who, given any date in history, can recall what the weather was like on said date, personal details of their life at the time, and other news events that occurred at that time. Details of what the subject recalls may be significant to them in some way, but they may not be. Personal meaning does not seem to affect the subject's memory – they simply recall everything.
In another confirmed case, the subject, when shown a photograph from his past, can recall the date it was taken, where it was taken, what they had done that day, and even more detailed information such as the temperature on said day.
Drawbacks
AJ describes her memory as a "running movie that never stops".
She views the world in "split screen", with the past constantly playing at the same time as the present. She explains that although "most have called it a gift", she calls it a "burden". AJ's superior memory does not seem to be due to a desire to apply memorizing techniques; her
memorization
Memorization is the process of committing something to memory. It is a mental process undertaken in order to store in memory for later recall visual, auditory, or tactical information.
The scientific study of memory is part of cognitive neurosc ...
of autobiographical information is
non-conscious. It is possible that AJ's memory could stem from the traumatic experience of having her family move when she was 8, at which point she began to "organize her memories" and think about the life she had left behind a great deal.
Eidetic memory
Eidetic memory
Eidetic memory ( ; more commonly called photographic memory or total recall) is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only onceThe terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''pho ...
—total recall memory—refers to the ability of an individual who can accurately recall a large number of images, sounds and objects in a seemingly unlimited volume. Eidetic has a meaning of "related extraordinarily detailed and vivid recall of visual images" in Greek.
The term eidetic memory can become more clinical when the memory experts use the picture elicitation method to detect the ability.
In the picture elicitation method, children are asked to study an image for approximately twenty to thirty minutes, and then the researchers remove the picture, it has been found that children with such ability are able to recall the image with perfect accuracy after the picture has been removed. It has been suggested that children with eidetic memory can maintain the image in their memory as vividly as if it were still there.
There are reports of different forms of eidetic memory as well as new case studies that suggest a difference between photographic and eidetic memory, although not enough scientific data exist currently from the medical community. Public documents from the APA, Yale, and Harvard suggest otherwise and that more studies are being done in order to properly stimulate the differences; all current noted forms of memory are open to the public but not meant to discriminate against the hypothesis of new types. Older studies have claimed to have observed a variety of drawbacks among those who have an apparent eidetic memory. Eidetic imagery can be so vivid as to mimic actual perception of stimuli, which can be much like a
hallucination
A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...
.
Some researchers of eidetic imagery have proposed a link between this ability and
psychosis
Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...
, such as in
schizophrenic
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
populations.
Criticism
Marvin Minsky
Marvin Lee Minsky (August 9, 1927 – January 24, 2016) was an American cognitive and computer scientist concerned largely with research of artificial intelligence (AI), co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, an ...
argued in his book ''The Society of Mind'' that the reported cases of eidetic memory should be considered as "unfounded myth
.
This view was supported by an experimental study conducted by psychologist
Adriaan de Groot
Adrianus Dingeman (Adriaan) de Groot ( Santpoort, 26 October 1914 – Schiermonnikoog, 14 August 2006) was a Dutch chess master and psychologist, who conducted some of the most famous chess experiments of all time in the 1940s-60. In 1946 h ...
. The experiment was intended to investigate chess grandmasters' ability to memorize positions of chess pieces on a chessboard.
When those chess experts were provided with arrangements that were inconsistent with a real chess game, their performance was about the same as non-experts. These results indicate that the eidetic ability of those chess grandmasters were not innate, but a learned strategy with certain types of information.
Wilding and Valentine searched for people claiming to have an eidetic or otherwise superior memory via public media. Out of the 31 people who called in, only three actually had a significantly above-average but not eidetic memory.
Further cause for skepticism is given by a non-scientific event: The
World Memory Championships
The World Memory Championships is an organized competition of memory sports in which competitors memorize as much information as possible within a given period of time. The championship has taken place annually since 1991, with the exception of 1 ...
. Held since 1991, this is an annual competition in different memory disciplines and is nearly totally based on visual tasks – nine out of ten events are displayed visually, the tenth event is presented by audio. Since the champions can win interesting prizes, it should attract people who can beat those tests easily by reproducing visual images of the presented material during the recall. But indeed, not a single memory champion has ever been reported to have an eidetic memory. Instead, without a single exception, all winners consider themselves mnemonists (see below) and rely on using
mnemonic
A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding.
Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...
strategies, mostly the
method of loci
The method of loci is a strategy for memory enhancement, which uses visualizations of familiar spatial environments in order to enhance the recall of information. The method of loci is also known as the memory journey, memory palace, journey m ...
.
Cases
Cases of eidetic memory have been reported for generations, with a 1970 study on a woman being called the most convincing documentation yet. Her memory was extraordinary in that she could see an image once and retain it in memory for years to come. The classic study of the subject's memory documents her writing out poetry in a foreign language, of which she had no prior knowledge, years after seeing the original text. This suggests that her memory retained the image of the foreign words vividly enough to recall years later. Reports also suggest that her memory was so vivid that she could obscure other parts of the present visual field with these past memories.
However, this subject remains the only person to have passed such a test, and the credibility of the findings are highly questionable, given that the researcher married his subject, and the tests have never been repeated. The study fueled strong skepticism about studies of eidetic memory for several decades thereafter. Recently there has been a renewal of interest in the area, with more careful controls, and far less spectacular results. Supposedly Hungarian mathematician
John von Neumann
John von Neumann (; hu, Neumann János Lajos, ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath. He was regarded as having perhaps the widest cove ...
could recite exactly word for word any books he had read, including page numbers and footnotes – even those of books he had read decades earlier.
Franco Magnani is a memory artist. Magnani was born in Pontito in 1934. Pontito is a small town in the hills of Tuscany which had a population of 500 people before the second world war, which decreased to just 70 people, made up of the elderly and retirees, following the war.
The small town fell into disarray when the agrarian economy had dwindled.
In 1965, this prompted the thirty-one year old Magnani to leave his childhood home of Pontito, a decision which was deeply troubling as he had decided not to return.
After making his decision, Magnani became very ill. It is unclear what this illness was exactly but, symptoms included high fever, weight loss, delirium, and possibly even seizures. For this, Magnani was placed into a sanatorium. Here he had vivid dreams of his hometown, not of his family or friends or even of events, but of the town itself. According to Magnani, the dreams were in a detail beyond anything he could consciously imagine.
After getting released from the hospital, Franco Magnani considered, but ultimately rejected medical possibilities that were suggested. These possibilities included some sort of freudian splitting of the ego which could have resulted in hypermnesia hysteria. While Magnani rejected these notions, he never allowed them to be properly explored.
Once relocating to San Francisco, Magnani picked up painting, which he had no formal training in. His first painting was of his childhood home in Pontito. Magnani painted the house in remarkable accuracy, so much so that he himself was amazed. This was especially surprising considering the fact that at this point, Magnani had not been to Pontito in over 25 years. Over time, he grew an obsession to painting the town in which he grew up in, famed psychologist Oliver Sacks noted in 1987, Magnini seemed "possessed."
That same year, photographer Susan Schwartzenberg went to Pontito to photograph the scenes of many of Magnani's paintings.
This was done as part of a study to document the astonishing accuracy of the artists work. This study would be revealed in an art exhibit on memory in 1988. This garnered much attention by researchers such as Bob Miller who suggested that this work could reveal the accuracy, distortions, and inventions of Magnani's memory. These photographs showed something interesting about Magnani's work that was not previously evident. The Exploratorium, which hosted the exhibit for which Schwartzenberg took photos for, explains this observation while examining a drawing of a church. "This drawing, looking down from a point high above the path approaching the church, shows a view that Magnani could never have seen."
Work done by Baddley and Hitch in 1974 showed the importance of the visuospatial sketchpad in their model of working memory. The VSS stores visual and spatial information as part of Short Term Memory which is used in working memory for problem solving. This is miraculous due to the fact that Magnani imagined and painted with incredible accuracy, perspectives that he couldn't have possibly ever seen. His visual sensory information was stored long term which he was able to recall more than a quarter of a century later in intricate detail. This prompted praise from Sacks, stating that this rare phenomenon made him an eidetic artist.
Sacks went on to say, "he could seemingly reproduce with almost photographic accuracy every building, every street, every stone of Pontito, far away, close up, from any possible angle."
Savants
Savant syndrome, also known as savantism, is a condition in which individuals with a
developmental disorder
Developmental disorders comprise a group of psychiatric conditions originating in childhood that involve serious impairment in different areas. There are several ways of using this term. The most narrow concept is used in the category "Specific Di ...
are exceptional in one or more areas.
Neuroscience
Autistic spectrum disorder
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
s (ASD) are characterized by difficulties in reciprocal social behaviour and communication, stereotyped patterns of behaviour, and restricted interests. They are also associated with typical and atypical functioning in memory.
Structural abnormalities have been found to affect the
hippocampus
The hippocampus (via Latin from Greek , 'seahorse') is a major component of the brain of humans and other vertebrates. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain. The hippocampus is part of the limbic system, a ...
, with the
perirhinal,
entorhinal
The entorhinal cortex (EC) is an area of the brain's allocortex, located in the medial temporal lobe, whose functions include being a widespread network hub for memory, navigation, and the perception of time.Integrating time from experience in the ...
, and
parahippocampus
The parahippocampal gyrus (or hippocampal gyrus') is a grey matter cortical region of the brain that surrounds the hippocampus and is part of the limbic system. The region plays an important role in memory encoding and retrieval. It has been inv ...
less affected (these are areas in the
medial temporal lobe
The temporal lobe is one of the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The temporal lobe is located beneath the lateral fissure on both cerebral hemispheres of the mammalian brain.
The temporal lobe is involved in proc ...
outside of the hippocampus). The hippocampus is thought to be involved in domain-general relational processes, with surrounding areas mediating more domain and item-specific and contextual processing. This is consistent with observed memory effects of ASD which shows superior low-level and item-specific processing, at a cost of having impairments in higher level relational processes.
One example found in the literature is J.S., with high functioning autism. J.S. has no
episodic memory
Episodic memory is the memory of everyday events (such as times, location geography, associated emotions, and other contextual information) that can be explicitly stated or conjured. It is the collection of past personal experiences that occurred ...
(which is highly associative or relational in nature) and must rely on memorizing facts. He will memorize entire conversations, so as to remember even general content later. He also remembers events by memorizing A-B-C predicates—item-specific memory with a memorized (specific) association connecting them.
Cases
Savant syndrome
Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...
is elaborate abilities (including memory) in specialized areas such as a hobby or event, or a certain type of information. One of the most well-known cases of savant memory is
Kim Peek
Laurence Kim Peek (November 11, 1951December 19, 2009) was an People of the United States, American savant syndrome, savant. Known as a "megasavant", he had an exceptional memory, but he also experienced social difficulties, possibly resulting fr ...
, the man on which the movie ''
Rain Man
''Rain Man'' is a 1988 American road movie, road Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive, selfish young wikt:wheeler-dealer, wheeler-dealer C ...
'' was based.
Peek had a reported savant memory for most information, not just specialized pieces, and was able to memorize large pieces of information from the age of 16 months.
Tony DeBlois and
Derek Paravicini
Derek Paravicini (born 26 July 1979) is an English autistic savant known as a musical prodigy. He resides in London.
Biography
On 26 July 1979, Paravicini was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, He was born extremely prematurely, at ...
also show superior memory for music. Deblois can play 8000 songs from memory on 20 different instruments,
and Paravicini can play a piece of music after hearing it only once.
Another case of savant memory is that of
Richard Wawro. Wawro is known for his paintings of landscapes and seascapes, all done in elaborate detail.
What is interesting about Wawro's art is that he paints from seeing a scene only once and does not use a model. His memory for the scene is so elaborate that he can also report where he drew the picture and when. Similarities across cases indicate that savant memory may be similar to eidetic memory.
Daniel Tammet is a savant with an exceptional memory for numbers. He began to associate numbers with images after experiencing an epileptic seizure at the age of four. Each digit for Tammet has color, shape, and emotion, allowing him to memorize sequences of numbers or perform large calculations within a matter of seconds. One of his most notable achievements was being able to recite Pi to 22,514 decimal places, taking him over five hours.
Savant memory varies among different savants. Similar to DeBlois and Paravicini, an autistic savant named Leslie Lemke has displayed extraordinary musical talent. Lemke lacks the capacity for abstract reasoning, but he has several abilities that coincide with his exceptional memory. Like Paravicini, he is able to replicate music perfectly after hearing a piece only once.
[Treffert, D. A. (1989). An unlikely virtuoso: Leslie Lemke and the story of savant syndrome. The Sciences, 1, 28.] Along with being developmentally disabled, he has a disorder known as echolalia, a condition that involves the rote, often meaningless, repetition of words or sentences recited by others; however, when he does recite these words of whoever he hears throughout the day, his recall is almost always perfect.
Drawbacks
Autism spectrum disorders contain criteria for diagnosis based on difficulties with social behaviour and communicating with others, amongst other debilitating criteria.
Most cases of
calendrical calculation A calendrical calculation is a calculation concerning calendar dates. Calendrical calculations can be considered an area of applied mathematics.
Some examples of calendrical calculations:
* Converting a Julian or Gregorian calendar date to its ...
involve individuals with IQs that are below average. Researchers have proposed two hypotheses to explain how autistic individuals may develop advanced skills;
the first is the obsession with constricted areas of interest (a common symptom of autism) and
central coherence. Central coherence is a style of
cognitive processing
Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of Intellect, intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attentio ...
indicative of an autistic individual, which involves a focus on local features during processing. Researchers feel that this style of processing may aid in the increase of savant skills, but this style also sacrifices global processing in the process.
Mnemonists
A
mnemonic device
A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding.
Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imagery ...
is a memory aid that is used to help an individual remember and recall information. Mnemonic devices are usually verbal, such as a special phrase, word or a short poem that individuals are familiar with.
Each individual has two types of memory, termed "natural memory" and "artificial memory".
Mnemonic strategy is said to help develop artificial memory through learning and practicing
memory techniques.
Common mnemonics for memorizing lists of words is through the use of acronym, which is the abbreviation that consists of the initial letter in a phrase or word. For example, HOMES is often used to help remember the names of the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
of North America. Most techniques for memorizing numbers involve turning the numbers into visual images that are then placed along points of an imaginary
memory journey. The mind has difficulty remembering abstract concepts like numbers but can easily remember visual images. The imaginary memory journey orders the images in the correct sequence. Two common techniques for converting numbers and playing cards into visual images are the
Mnemonic major system
The major system (also called the phonetic number system, phonetic mnemonic system, or Herigone's mnemonic system) is a mnemonic technique used to aid in memorizing numbers.
The system works by converting numbers into consonants, then into words ...
and the
Mnemonic dominic system
The Dominic system is a mnemonic system used to remember sequences of digits similar to the mnemonic major system. It was invented and used in competition by eight-time World Memory Champion Dominic O'Brien.
Differences from the major system
The ...
.
Neuroscience
No structural differences have been found in the brains of accomplished mnemonists, who have achieved superior memory with the practiced use of mnemonic devices. One study that sought to locate the neural differences between these and people with typical memory abilities using
fMRI
Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI (fMRI) measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. This technique relies on the fact that cerebral blood flow and neuronal activation are coupled. When an area o ...
, was unable to find any differences. For mnemonists, the right
cingulate cortex
The cingulate cortex is a part of the brain situated in the medial aspect of the cerebral cortex. The cingulate cortex includes the entire cingulate gyrus, which lies immediately above the corpus callosum, and the continuation of this in the ci ...
,
ventral fusiform cortex, and left posterior
inferior frontal sulcus
The inferior frontal sulcus is a sulcus between the middle frontal gyrus and the inferior frontal gyrus.
See also
* Superior frontal sulcus
Additional images
File:Inferior frontal sulcus animation small.gif, Animation. Inferior frontal sulcus ...
were more active for
digit span memorization (a feat mnemonists are often very good at).
However, all superior memory participants reported the use of
mnemonic
A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding.
Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...
s.
Cases
An interesting case of recall is of the subject S.F., who began testing with an average intelligence and average memory capabilities. With the use of mnemonic strategies (practice sessions in the laboratory) he was able to increase his digit span from 7 to 79.
Specifically, S.F. was a long-distance runner and would form small groups of the digit span into meaningful and memorable numbers for a runner (ex. Qualifying times). Using mnemonics for memory recall may also have played a part in
Akira Haraguchi __NOTOC__
(born 1946, Miyagi Prefecture), a retired Japanese engineer, is known for memorizing and reciting digits of pi.
Memorization of pi
He holds the current unofficial world record (100,000 digits) in 16 hours, starting at 9a.m. (16:28 GMT) o ...
's world record citation of mathematical pi. Cases such as these suggest that superior memory can be achieved with the proper mnemonic techniques.
Also, all competitors of the annual
World Memory Championships
The World Memory Championships is an organized competition of memory sports in which competitors memorize as much information as possible within a given period of time. The championship has taken place annually since 1991, with the exception of 1 ...
name mnemonic strategies the source for their performances, including performances like memorizing a list of more than 2000 digits in an hour, 280 words in 15 minutes or the order of a deck of cards in under 25 seconds. Chunking is another type of mnemonic device. This is a technique that involves grouping items together to improve sequential memory by having each item in mind generate a complete series of items. Many mnemonists credit chunking as their primary mnemonic device. One of the most well-known champions of memory who incorporates chunking as one of her primary memory techniques is Yanjaa Wintersoul. She was able to memorize all 328 pages of an Ikea catalogue in less than a week using mnemonics. These competitors demonstrate the power that mnemonics can have on enhancing recall and enabling the capacity for exceptional memory.
Drawbacks
Drawbacks are typically considered uncommon with the use of mnemonics since they are used as a tool to enhance memory ability, but there are qualities that can be considered negative. For example, it can take a significant amount of time to learn a mnemonic device, but this device may not be used often enough for it to be worthwhile. While mnemonics have been shown to increase recall capacity within a variety of contexts, the spatial context of mnemonics still contain the possibility of intrusion errors as well.
Synesthesia
Synesthesia, a condition in which the stimulation of one sense causes an activation or reaction of one or more senses simultaneously, can be used as a mnemonic device to enable exceptional memory. One of the most common forms of synesthesia is grapheme-color synesthesia, where an individual perceives numbers and/or letters associated with colors. Associating colors or words to letters or sounds can allow certain forms of synesthetes to learn new languages, lyrics, or detailed information quite easily. When seeking to learn novel categories, synesthetes tend to use their unusual experiences as mnemonic devices, aiding them in their memory process. Furthermore, synesthetic imagery can work as a cognitive tool in aiding those with synesthesia to memorize and store language through their own personal coding. Those with more common forms of synesthesia may experience sounds as colors or words as having tastes; in these cases the sounds and words are considered the inducers, while the colors and tastes are considered concurrent. It is important to note that not all people with synesthesia necessarily have exceptional memory, but it is most often based on how the condition is used in regard to learning. If someone has synesthesia, they are most often born with it, however, it is possible that it may develop later on in life.
Neuroscience
For grapheme-color synesthesia, studies display greater white matter connections happening between the fusiform gyrus (area responsible for processing the shape of numbers or letters) and color area V4 in brains of synesthetes. These types of synesthetes display higher functioning in the ventral visual stream, and since graphemes and words have enhanced spatial frequency as well as contrast information, greater processing of these features leads to quicker access to lexical information.
Cases
One well known case of superior recall ability through synesthesia is the case of
Solomon Shereshevskii
Solomon Veniaminovich Shereshevsky (russian: Соломон Вениаминович Шерешевский; 1886 – 1 May 1958), also known simply as 'Ш' ('Sh'), 'S.', or Luria's S was a Soviet journalist and mnemonist active in the 1920s. He w ...
also known as "S". This ability was discovered during a work meeting where Shereshvskii was scolded for not taking notes until he was able to perfectly recite the conversation.
Alexander Luria
Alexander Romanovich Luria (russian: Алекса́ндр Рома́нович Лу́рия, p=ˈlurʲɪjə; 16 July 1902 – 14 August 1977) was a Soviet neuropsychologist, often credited as a father of modern neuropsychology. He develope ...
reported that "S" had the unique ability to recall almost everything he heard or saw though did not provide detailed evidence or clearly distinguish between "natural" abilities and his use of the
method of loci
The method of loci is a strategy for memory enhancement, which uses visualizations of familiar spatial environments in order to enhance the recall of information. The method of loci is also known as the memory journey, memory palace, journey m ...
. There are several anecdotal reports of "S" recalling a speech word for word without taking notes along with his peers. It is important to note that "S" is commonly considered a mnemonist as well, given that he applied his synesthesia as an aid toward acquiring exceptional memory.
Drawbacks
Solomon Shereshevskii
Solomon Veniaminovich Shereshevsky (russian: Соломон Вениаминович Шерешевский; 1886 – 1 May 1958), also known simply as 'Ш' ('Sh'), 'S.', or Luria's S was a Soviet journalist and mnemonist active in the 1920s. He w ...
, or 'S', was viewed by peers as disorganized and unintelligent. His extreme case of synesthesia, causing highly detailed and recallable memory traces, made understanding abstract concepts not based on sensory and perceptual qualities very difficult for him.
His personal life is described as being lived in a "haze," and eventually he was confined to a
mental institution
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
because of the burden of his exceptional abilities. But S is a rare exception and drawbacks are not normally associated with the acquisition of an exceptional memory by using synesthesia mnemonically.
Emotional memory
An emotional or flashbulb memory refers to the memory of a personal significant event with distinctly vivid and long-lasting detailed information. These events are usually shocking and with photographic quality. Brown and Kulik, who coined the term, found that many highly emotional memories can be recalled with very accurate details, even when there is a delay after the event.
A Flashbulb memory is said to be less accurate and less permanent than
photographic memories, but its
forgetting curve
The forgetting curve hypothesizes the decline of memory retention in time. This curve shows how information is lost over time when there is no attempt to retain it. A related concept is the strength of memory that refers to the durability that m ...
is less affected by time in comparing to other types of memories.
One important aspect of flashbulb memory is that it involves emotional arousal when the event is being remembered. Therefore, this kind of memory does not have to be accurate, and the accuracy usually decreases during the first 3 months and goes up again at about 12 months.
An example of the errors and malleability of flashbulb memories is found in the El Al Flight 1862 crash. Despite widespread photos and videos of the effects of the crash, there is no video evidence of the crash itself. Despite this, when study participants were asked if they witnessed a video of the crash, over 60 percent claimed to have seen the video on television. Some participants were even willing to offer more information such as the angle of the crash or whether the plane was on fire, despite the lack of video.
A study conducted by Sharot et al. (2006) showed that the rating of vividness of terrorist attack on 11 September 2001, by the participants is related to the physical location of the person when the event happened.
Neuroscience
The focus of the research on
emotional memory
Emotion can have a powerful effect on humans and animals. Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than ...
is on the role of the
amygdala
The amygdala (; plural: amygdalae or amygdalas; also '; Latin from Greek, , ', 'almond', 'tonsil') is one of two almond-shaped clusters of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum in complex verteb ...
. In one study participants watched either an emotionally arousing film or a neutral film. Results of a
PET scan
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique that uses radioactive substances known as radiotracers to visualize and measure changes in metabolic processes, and in other physiological activities including blood flow, r ...
showed correlation between right
Amygdaloid Complex
Amygdaloid, derived from the ancient Greek for almond, may refer to:
* The amygdala in the brain
* Any shape resembling an almond nut
* Amygdule
Amygdules or amygdales () form when the vesicles (pores from gas bubbles in lava) of a volcanic ...
(AC) activity and recall for emotional elements of the film when participants were asked to remember the film a few weeks later.
Although this study demonstrates the involvement of the AC, it offers no insight as to the specific role of the amygdala.
McGaugh and colleagues posit that although electrical and pharmaceutical stimulation directly to the amygdala can enhance or decrease memory, the amygdala is not the main site for any
long-term memory
Long-term memory (LTM) is the stage of the Atkinson–Shiffrin memory model in which informative knowledge is held indefinitely. It is defined in contrast to short-term and working memory, which persist for only about 18 to 30 seconds. Long-t ...
storage. Rather, the amygdala acts as a modulator for storage processes occurring in other areas of the brain. Long-term memories are not created automatically, they must be consolidated over time. Research indicates that it is this consolidation process in which the AC plays an assisting role (there is no evidence that it aids in retrieval). Specifically, McGaugh suggests that emotional arousal activates the amygdala, which regulates the strength of a memory, lending to enhanced memory for emotionally charged events.
The amygdala itself is a collection of
nuclei with distinct functions, the basolateral AC the most involved with memory.
The BL projects into the hippocampus and
entorhinal cortex
The entorhinal cortex (EC) is an area of the brain's allocortex, located in the medial temporal lobe, whose functions include being a widespread network hub for memory, navigation, and the perception of time.Integrating time from experience in the ...
and stimulation of the AC functioning activates both of these areas.
Further indication that the amygdala works to modulate other areas of the brain is supported by the fact that AC stimulation is mediated by the
stria terminalis
The stria terminalis (or terminal stria) is a structure in the brain consisting of a band of fibers running along the lateral margin of the ventricular surface of the thalamus. Serving as a major output pathway of the amygdala, the stria termina ...
(ST), a major AC pathway. Lesions of the ST block AC stimulation effects.
AC and ST lesions also appear to block
hormonal
A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are required fo ...
and
adrenaline
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...
enhancements.
Stress hormones
Stress hormones are secreted by endocrine glands to modify one's internal environment during times of stress. By performing various functions such as mobilizing energy sources, increasing heart rate, and downregulating metabolic processes which a ...
produced by emotional situations influence memory storage. Memory can also be selectively enhanced by post-training administration of drugs and hormones. It is also well known that emotional situations produce an "
adrenaline rush". This adrenaline, as well as
cortisol
Cortisol is a steroid hormone, in the glucocorticoid class of hormones. When used as a medication, it is known as hydrocortisone.
It is produced in many animals, mainly by the ''zona fasciculata'' of the adrenal cortex in the adrenal gland ...
(adrenocortical hormone) serve to influence an organism's response to stress, but also may aid future responding by enhancing declarative memory of them.
Negative emotional experiences may be remembered better than positive experiences.
Goddard Goddard may refer to:
People
* Goddard (given name)
* Goddard (surname)
Places in the United States
*Goddard, Kansas
*Goddard, Kentucky
*Goddard, Maryland
*Goddard College, a low-residency college with campuses in Vermont and Washington
*Goddar ...
found that retention was disrupted with electrical stimulation of AC after aversive learning, but not with appetitively motivated learning.
Drawbacks
An experience must be very arousing to an individual for it to be consolidated as an
emotional memory
Emotion can have a powerful effect on humans and animals. Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than ...
, and this arousal can be negative, thus causing a negative memory to be strongly retained.
Having a long-lasting extremely vivid and detailed memory for negative events can cause a great deal of
anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
, as seen in
post traumatic stress disorders. Individuals with
PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...
endure
flashbacks to traumatic events, with much clarity.
Many forms of
psychopathology
Psychopathology is the study of abnormal cognition, behaviour, and experiences which differs according to social norms and rests upon a number of constructs that are deemed to be the social norm at any particular era.
Biological psychopatholo ...
show a tendency to maintain emotional experiences, especially negative emotional experiences, such as
depression and
generalized anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive, uncontrollable and often irrational worry about events or activities. Worry often interferes with daily function ...
.
Patients with
phobias
A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avoi ...
are unable to cognitively control their emotional response to the feared stimuli.
Although, not having the ability to use emotional memories for guiding future behaviours can be detrimental, as has been hypothesized as a potential cause to the lack of goal oriented behaviours in
schizophrenic
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
individuals.
See also
*
Art of memory
The art of memory (Latin: ''ars memoriae'') is any of a number of loosely associated mnemonic principles and techniques used to organize memory impressions, improve recall, and assist in the combination and 'invention' of ideas. An alternative ...
*
Memory sport
Memory sport, sometimes referred to as competitive memory or the mind sport of memory, refers to competitions in which participants attempt to memorize then recall different forms of information, under certain guidelines. The sport has been formal ...
*
Method of loci
The method of loci is a strategy for memory enhancement, which uses visualizations of familiar spatial environments in order to enhance the recall of information. The method of loci is also known as the memory journey, memory palace, journey m ...
*
Omniscience
Omniscience () is the capacity to know everything. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, this is an God#General conceptions, attribute of God. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any individual can eventually attain. In B ...
*
World Memory Championships
The World Memory Championships is an organized competition of memory sports in which competitors memorize as much information as possible within a given period of time. The championship has taken place annually since 1991, with the exception of 1 ...
References
{{Memory
Exceptional memory
Mnemonics