Every now and then we hear stories of amazing memory skills like those who can remember so many digits of pi or miraculous people capable of recalling what they were doing at an exact time many years ago. If you’ve read my previous blog on sleep and memory, you’d know this is a skill I am far from having, so there is a lot of envy here. However, in Andrew’s (2013) recent article, “People with Superhuman Memory Are as Fallible as the Rest of Us”, it is discussed that this rare human power could be somewhat of a fraud. People with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, or HSAM, are said to be a very small fraction of our population and possess crazy memory skills (Andrew, 2013).
In Cleary’s (2013) article, research has been done on those with HSAM and how their ability to recall such fine details of every day came to be. She said it’s easy enough to assume those with HSAM were lucky enough to be born with differently put together brains than the norm, but could it be something else? The strange thing was that it was found that these special brains were only enhanced in autobiographical memory but nowhere else. Though a lot more research on this subject is still needed, it was believed that they found an improved connection, or transferring of information, in the neural pathways, leading to a stronger hold of information. The idea that maybe these HSAM persons could have actually developed this change in neural activity came about, though. Looking at those who are musical protégés, we usually see they started out young, and their brains’ activities work differently than the average person. Using this idea of training from a young age, an actress with HSAM was asked about what she did during her childhood, and she said she’d play a memory game with herself, trying to remember events of every day, every week, and so on. Training the brain from a young age could be playing a role in setting us up for a stronger, more efficient memory (Cleary, 2013).
Here is Part 1 of a 60-Minute video on HSAM (This part is under 14 minutes long.): http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/endless-memory-part-1/
If people having extraordinary memory are supported, then why did I mention these they could be faulty? In the past, there have been false memories that led to injustice. There are situations where detailed information is needed, such as recalling important events from a murder case; these can depend on witnesses. Can we trust others’ memories? Granted, while numerous peoples’ recollections are taken into account and compared, and we often have no other option than to question witnesses and check for DNA, but sometimes we strongly rely on those eyes and ears when DNA testing fails to produce helpful results.
Patihis et al. (2013) pointed out that in the past, those with HSAM were rumored to not be as inclined to false memories like the rest of us normies. In other words, normal people can forget what happened three Tuesdays ago, but if asked, we may make something up, believing it to be true. Suggestions can make us forget the exact event. So if I told you to remember what happened at that party three weeks ago (assuming you weren’t drunk), and you took a minute to think as I snuck in something about a fire starting, you, out of lack of memory, might agree there was a fire and add to this hot story. I might know there was never a fire at that party, though. So if someone with the incredible memory power such as those with HSAM can recall events so well, can they be just as influenced by suggestion? How do they pull information out so easily? Patihis et al. (2013) took a group of HSAM participants and a control group without this memory skill and put them through three tests: a false-memory associative word list task, a misinformation task, and a nonexistent news-footage task. In the false-memory associative word list task, they were given 20 lists, each 15 long and relating to a main word or event they never physically saw. As it turned out, both the control and the HSAM groups were equally likely to be distracted by unrelated words, though the HSAM group was a slightly more likely to get more hits on recognizing the correct words. In the misinformation task, in two slide shows of two events, there were 50 images each. Later, participants saw two narratives, each with 50 sentences – six sentences being misinformation and unrelated to the true events. Those with HSAM had a similar result of false memory to the control, perhaps even a tad bit higher but not significantly. In the nonexistent news-footage task, the crash of United 93 in Pennsylvania was the event used. Participants were told that there was footage of the event out there, and a detailed interview was given to see if they could recall seeing the footage that doesn’t really exist. Of the HSAM participants on the computer questionnaire, 20% said they saw this footage, and 29% from the control group said they saw it. In the actually interview, only 10% of HSAM participants said they saw it, and 18% from the control said they saw it. There was not a significant difference between the HSAM and control group’s false memories, showing that HSAM is just as susceptible to false memory as anyone else. Patihis et al. (2013) did also state that the word-list task demonstrated an associative grouping HSAM individuals use to reconstruct their memories, and they add information that happened after the event in the process as well. They are still just as vulnerable to memory distortion during this reconstructive process as we are (Patihis et al., 2013).
These reconstructive processes, which involve numerous actions of perception and processing, such as experience, emotion, semantic memory, etc., are important for those with HSAM. These sorts of information are important for all of us, really, as far as memory goes. I’ve learned in my Introduction to Biological Psychology course that the Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex are very active during the making of a memory, there are different types of memory, REM sleep is important for filtering out unimportant information to aid in learning a.k.a. important memories, memories are stored across the brain and really have no specific area that holds all of them, and there is a lot of reactivation of neurons involved to create long-term memories. Honestly, though, we are not so different, rather I believe we take in information differently in the sense that some people choose to focus on creating memories. Basically, I’m agreeing with the hypothesis that we change how our brain works from events in our youth. What do you guys think? Do you agree with that idea? We already know our brains can change; I mean, how do you think we learn? But can we train our brain to change its design to help us gain superhuman memory? If they are just as susceptible to false memory as us, should we focus on their recollection of events? I mean, they do still have a greater memory, but is it always accurate?
References
Andrews, B. (November 19, 2013). People with superhuman memory are as fallible as the rest of us. Discover. Retrieved from http://discovermagazine.com/
Cleary, A.M. (January 9, 2013). People with extraordinary autobiographical memory. Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/
Patihis, L., Frenda, S.J., LePort, A.K.R., Petersen, N., Nicholas, R.M., Stark, C.E.L., . . . Loftus, E.F. (2013). False memories in highly superior autobiographical memory individuals. PNAS. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1314373110
Kate 
Hyperthymesia can have a harmful consequence on a person. The continuous, unmanageable torrent of memories can be a source of significant disruption in a person life. I have read that people with this ability have defined it as a weight on them. People with this ability are predisposed to losing themselves in remembering things.
Yeah I can see how this could actually be a bad thing. It seems like an interesting idea to train a young mind using the memory game the actress used, as mentioned in this blog, but it does sound terribly unhealthy to spend so much time trying to remember every detail in the past. Imagine what that could do to your head as you age. I wonder if this could be a study used to look at those stuck in a traumatic moment of their life from the past?
Although our brains changes as we learn and experience things, I think that if we try to train our brains to gain better memory, we ultimately will think it will happen. Just like you said if you ask a leading question to someone about a past event and they agree with a certain thing happening that really didn’t, I think that if we tell ourselves we have gained a better memory, we will be convinced that it’s true. Those with HSAM or not, we all have a somewhat flawed memory about certain things or events, yet we all can vividly remember a specific memory like it happened yesterday. It’s fascinating, but I think we still don’t know nearly enough to completely know how memory works just yet.
Haha I’ve tried to convince myself I had a better memory than I thought… then my brother and I had a huge argument since we both have truly awful memories but don’t want to admit it. But yeah, I see what you mean. Maybe as parents, we should play more in depth, thought provoking games, get creative, and put down the TV remotes and Iphones. In class, Dr. H mentioned how all this advanced technology and the expected memory capacity of today actually overloads us. I know it’s unavoidable to keep our kids from having to remember 25 passwords at age 10 or to get them away from the computer for 3 hours, but perhaps a form of mental management? Or have them write information down in a small notebook they keep with them (and not lose) to avoid the stress of keeping all that in their heads? Then they might have room for training their brains! Also, I have heard that the elderly are likely to have better health for longer and less likely to get Alzheimer’s if they A.) Use to do a lot of physical activities in their younger days and try to get out and do a little exercise now and B.) Keep their brains active with puzzles and word games. My grandmother, who has a better memory than anyone in my household, worked her whole life in poor conditions, kept her head up even during harsh times, and loves word searches, puzzle books, crosswords, Sudoku, etc. Training the brain is easy, it just takes patience and time away from electronics, which is not easy today.
I think that the hypothesis is correct, that our brains change from our youth. When we are born we have thousands of neural pathways that end up going through neural pruning so we can get rid of excess information that we do not need in the brain. So like you said in your blog we have child proteges, which can be children that start to play instruments at an early age. When those children start playing those instruments the neural pathways will no be pruned because the brain considers this information to be necessary. The same thing goes with learning a language. If you want your child to be bilingual the best thing to do is to speak in both languages while they are still young because it is easier for them to pick it up. Why is it easier? Because they have more neural pathways than an adult. This is why even though I took four years of German I still cannot speak the language because my brain is already set in English. Is it impossible for an adult to learn a new language? No, but they have to work a lot harder than a two-year old does.
You said it! Thank you! I took 3 years of German in High school, but I cannot remember too much other than simple phrases. I agree with you that it is so much harder to learn when you’re older. Friends of mine have argued with the schools in our areas that languages should be offered earlier in school, as well as later. The brain is an amazing yet evil little thing, isn’t it?
I think this is really interesting and I wish I had a crazy memory. But at the same time I think it is just fine to have a normal memory. I would not want to remember all of the bad things that have happened to me. As far as our memories being able to be influenced I saw a show on this. In this show they had a group of people watch a video on a staged crime. This group was acting as a jury. In the group were two people who had the job of feeding false facts to the participants. When they described what happened the normal participants were greatly influenced by what the two liars said. After they finished saying what happened they watched a video of the “crime” and everyone was so surprised by how much they “remembered” was actually wrong.
Oh man, I would be embarrassed on that show after being reminded of the truth! But yeah, a normal memory does sound nice in comparison to hearing January 3rd and thinking green bean casserole and how your uncle caught on fire (That was purely made up, I swear.) The idea that those with even a great memory can be influenced with false information makes it feel like it’s not worth it in the end. Trying to remember is half the fun, anyway.
I find anything about the topic of memory fascinating because it is insane how much we can store in something so small. At work one day we were playing BINGO with the kids and my kid left the room so I followed him. The teacher was still calling out images and I was able to remember his entire board, that was still in the other room, with no issue. The teacher was laughing at how I could remember the place of each picture even though I did not spend a lot of time with the board. However, when it comes to anything else I cannot remember it. I am lucky if I can remember what I had for breakfast but when it comes to pictures I can usually recall that quickly. Are there different kinds of memory skills, like people who can remember numbers, names, or other random items?
That’s so cool! I think that is sort of like when you play those little card-flipping memory games; some use pictures, some use numbers, some use letters, and I’ve even seen some that incorporate sounds or animations. I always found images and animations to be the easiest to remember. The fact that you didn’t intentionally memorize the layout of the board, and your attention shifted to following your son, though – wow! Maybe it had something to do with the maternal instinct? If your brain found the information for your child’s benefit to be important, maybe that’s why it held onto that information for a short period, even during your hunt. (I found this short article about the response of a mother to her own child’s state versus other children. It’s not horribly relevant, but I thought you’d enjoy the read.) http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/07/maternal-instinct-is-wired-into-the-brain/?_r=0
Aww, this blog bummed me out!! My memory is horrible. I sometimes find myself walking aimlessly in parking lots trying to find my car! I have always envied people with great memories and always wished to have one myself. I guess I should stop being hopeful. Although it would be nice to improve my memory skills, it’s also nice to know that those with HSAM are not foolproof. I wonder if this applies to those with eidetic memories? It is amazing how some can walk into a room and remember every bit of an ongoing conversation or remember a full conversation they previously had.
It’s crazy, right? Kinda makes you feel better knowing these perfect memories aren’t so perfect after all.
Normal People: 1
Don’t feel bad about a poor memory, though. It actually can be improved, but it takes some work, dedication, and a little less distraction from the world around us. Ironically, the thing I used to use, which was working until I stopped and chose Youtube over it, was an app on my Smartphone called Memory Trainer. (I also downloaded Sudoku, Words with Friends, and Word Swipe.) It sets up a series of small puzzles, brain teasers, and associative memory type games. Daily, it records your results and sets up your progress through various charts for each day, each month, etc. Sometimes the games are new, sometimes they’re repeats. Just… don’t get distracted like I did… haha, but have no fear! You can still improve your memory with REM sleep, exercise, getting the nutrition your body needs, and exercising the brain daily.
The good old, sneaking in events that didn’t happen trick… Alcohol does that to me almost every weekend. Just kidding, I only drink on days that end in Y.
I have personally tested out that if you add something to a story most people will go along with it. I have tried that with one of my friends and was slightly annoyed that she’s didn’t remember what actually happened.
Another trick that reminded me of this (but honestly has nothing to do with it) if you suspect someone of giving you a fake phone number read it back to them wrong, if they don’t say anything it’s fake.
Pfft, I like the way you drink. I mean think! And yeah I hate when that happens. Although, I’m probably that friend who has no recollection of the event, so I guess I can’t talk. Nonetheless, it’s annoying how easy it is to have a fuzzy memory. Your fake phone number idea is interesting though. I like it, but I would not rely on it 100%. They may not have been paying close enough attention or may not have the best hearing. If I was ever gutsy enough to give a guy my number, and he read it back wrong, I’d be way too nervous to notice. But if it works for you then why not use it!
This was a very interesting blog! I wish we all could have these wonderful memories. While reading your blog, I kept thinking of Sheldon Cooper from “The Big Bang Theory” because he has this kind of memory where he can remember specific events from a certain day and time. However, he is of course a fictional character. I think that it is extremely important to try to train our brain to have a better memory while we are young. Just like Fae, I have heard that it is better and easier to learn another language while we are very young, such as in elementary school. Yes, adults can learn a new language and we are always constantly learning, it does not come as easily for adults. Also, I have learned through some of my psychology courses that when taking an exam, it is better to sit in the same seat in the room and have the exam at the time time that you learned the material.
The cool thing is that Sheldon’s character is somewhat the truth. There are people out there who can actually do and think what he does. In fact, my mother, who is a fanatic and watches all interviews and such, had informed me that much of the scientific jargon used in the show is real. And yes, I wish they offered language courses earlier in life, or at least, throughout your schooling career (not just the last 3 years of High school). You know how you see these advertisements for adults on learning a new language and becoming a pro in 3 weeks? First of all, I’m calling B.S. Second, I can’t imagine the method for learning a new language being much different than any other source – associative learning. We see a picture, we hear a sound, we are told or shown its purpose, and it is our brain’s job to put meaning to the picture and/or word. I have never clicked on these advertisements, but if you ever do, let me know how it’s so special, because if adults could learn languages so easily, I don’t know why this news isn’t causing an uproar of excitement! And taking your exam in the same spot in class is a good idea, especially if you have an Eidetic memory.
I have a friend whose memory is like Sheldon Cooper’s and she is just brilliant at recalling quotes and concepts out of the blue it seems. I totally agree with your comment on language learning and yes it is a million times easier for kids to learn languages than adults due to two types of intelligence I learned about a long time ago and I hope I remember correctly. One is called fluid intelligence and people have the most fluid intelligence when they are young and it helps them learn and adapt more quickly to their ever changing environments as they learn to live in them. The other one I remember is called crystallized intelligence and there is more of that when we are adults as fluid intelligence decreases. As it was noted, it is possible for adults to learn languages and other complex concepts and things, but it is much more difficult to commit them to memory and have them become second nature like learning the piano or a language would be in the earlier years. I know it definitely has to have some truth to it since I learned English as a little kid and now it seems to people like it was my first language since I don’t have a thick Spanish accent, but my dad learned English later in life and so even though he’s had over 20 years of practice, he still has an accent. I know I kind of went off on a little tangent, but cool blog!
I thought it was interesting how the people with better memory got the answers 10% higher than those who didn’t have HSAM. I can agree with the idea that it isn’t something where you can look at a page and memorize the entire thing after one second. Although personally I do see that their memory is better, which I see as a trained learning. I think if you train yourself to remember things very quick and be able to recite things (which you can get books on how to do), you would eventually get better at the task. As you do this more and more, your mind would get quicker at responding, and able to hold a higher capacity. Like going to the gym, the first day you can’t go life 300 lbs. But as you do it more and more, you get stronger and are able to lift from practice. I hope that makes sense. I think that this is where that 10% came from, even though it wasn’t a huge difference it was still a difference that stayed similar between the two experiments with data given, and the data for the other experiments were not given. So I would say they have greater memory, but not amazing. I think that only repetition of training the brain to do this is to explain the phenomenon.
While reading this blog I could not help but think of the Television show Unforgettable and the actress Marilu Henner (from the T.V show Taxi and the movie Johnny Dangerously not to mention others).
The television show Unforgettable is about a cop with HSAM who because of her ability can see clues others miss. Marilu Henner, who guest starred on the show a few times, in real life has HSAM. She wrote a book about it and talked about it on a bunch of talk shows.
In attempt to answer the question, “But can we train our brain to change its design to help us gain superhuman memory,” I offer the following whacky idea I lifted from occultist Aleister Crowley. In his book Magick without Tears Chapter IV he states that if we train ourselves in the numerology of the Qabalah and its associations, we can increase our ability to remember and recall. This is basically how it works. The Qabalistic tree of life is a diagram with circles and lines connecting the circles. It is rather difficult to describe what it looks like so you can picture it so I will post a link.
Each of the circles and lines is associated with a number. These numbers are associated with a host different ideas, concepts, animals, smells, colors, &c. To us it all seems arbitrary. To the Qabalists the associations have some meaning that connects them. For the purpose of a memory aid it really does not matter. What we do is study the picture of the tree and familiarize ourselves with some of the arbitrary correspondences. It gets reinforced through practice. We can go for a walk and see if any of things we encounter can be linked to some correspondence, then we hang that idea on the tree like a Christmas tree ornament. This process creates strengthened connections between previously unassociated ideas in our minds that is reflected in strengthened connections of the associated neurons in our brains. Since we then have more roads to turn onto in the map of memories we can find more destinations and find them quicker.
http://hermetic.com/crowley/magick-without-tears/mwt_04.html