Hyperthymesia

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Hyperthymesia or hyperthymestic syndrome is a condition where the affected individual has a superior[1] autobiographical memory. "Thymesia" comes from the Greek word "thymesis" meaning "memory" (Citation Needed). As first described in the Neurocase article "A case of unusual autobiographical remembering," the two defining characteristics of hyperthymesia are "1) the person spends an abnormally large amount of time thinking about his or her personal past, and 2) the person has an extraordinary capacity to recall specific events from their personal past".[2]

Contents

[edit] Capabilities

Individuals with hyperthymesia are able to recall events they have personally experienced. A hyperthymestic person can be asked a date, and describe the events that occurred that day, what the weather was like, and many seemingly trivial details that most people would not be able to recall. They often can recall what day of the week the date fell on, but are not calendrical calculators as people with autism or savant syndrome sometimes are; the recall is limited to days on a personal "mental calendar".[2] The mental calendar association occurs automatically and obsessively. Unlike some other individuals with superior memory, hyperthymestic individuals do not rely on practiced mnemonic strategies.

[edit] Cases

Four cases of hyperthymesia have been confirmed.[3][4][5] Researchers from University of California, Irvine, Elizabeth Parker, Larry Cahill and James McGaugh have studied the condition in a woman identified only by initials "AJ" (who revealed her identity as Jill Price, of Los Angeles, in a book published May 9, 2008[6]), whose memory they characterize as "nonstop, uncontrollable, and automatic".[2] AJ became aware of basic changes in her memory in 1974, when she was eight. From 1980 on she apparently can recall every day.

After the study was published in 2006 in journal Neurocase, more people came forward claiming that they had this ability. So far two other cases are considered to be genuine: a Wisconsin man named Brad Williams[7][8][9][10], and Rick Baron[11] of Ohio. A fourth case has identified himself to researchers.[12]

A similar condition was documented by the Russian psychologist Aleksandr Luria whose book, The Mind of a Mnemonist: A Little Book About A Vast Memory, documented the case of a young Russian man by the name of Shereshevskii who could forget only by an act of will. Shereshevskii, AKA 'S.' in the classic style of case studies, reportedly had trouble analysing his memories and making sense of their content in retrospect. This does not apparently plague Jill Price and her cohort, though the basic inability to engage in what is commonly called 'ordinary forgetting'--whereby experiences or propositions that are not recalled or connected to other events fail to be stored in long-term memory even though they were initially encoded--is clearly held in common. Solomon Shereshevskii was also famous as an interesting case of synaesthesia. He had a number of different types of synaesthesia. Luria's work was influential for a number of psychologists and theorists in memory, most famously Oliver Sacks.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hyperthymesia: Total Recall, Totally Overwhelming, Netcetera March 16, 2009
  2. ^ a b c Parker ES, Cahill L, McGaugh JL (February 2006). "A case of unusual autobiographical remembering". Neurocase 12 (1): 35–49. doi:10.1080/13554790500473680. PMID 16517514. 
  3. ^ "Woman With Perfect Memory Baffles Scientists". ABC News. March 20, 2006. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1738881&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312. 
  4. ^ "Woman's Long-Term Memory Astonishes Scientists". National Public Radio. April 20, 2006. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5350362.  (Part 2 includes "AJ" in her own words.)
  5. ^ "The man who remembers every moment of his life". MiD DAY News. March 25, 2009. http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/mar/250309-American-Bob-Petrella-Los-angeles-hyperthymestia-overdeveloped-memory-diagnosed.htm. 
  6. ^ Life: Remembering every day of your life|Page 2 | says, memory, brain, called, one - OCRegister.com
  7. ^ "Local "Memory Man" appears on Good Morning America". WXOW ABC 19. January 15, 2008. http://www.wxow.com/News/index.php?ID=16317. 
  8. ^ David Martin (cnn). "Man's rare ability may unlock secret of memory". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/05/07/miraculous.memory/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-19. 
  9. ^ Associated Press. "Amazing memory man never forgets". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/02/22/memory.man.ap/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-23. 
  10. ^ David S. Martin. "Man's rare ability may unlock secret of memory". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/05/07/miraculous.memory/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-16. 
  11. ^ USAToday article on Rick Baron
  12. ^ MRIs have identified the caudate nuclei and a part of the temporal lobe which stores facts, dates, and events
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