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Understanding Hyperthymesia and Memory

The document discusses hyperthymesia, or hyper memory, which is the rare ability to remember events and details with extraordinary accuracy even many years later. It summarizes an Italian study that used fMRI to compare brain activation patterns between people with hyper memory and those with typical memory function. The study found increased activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in people with hyper memory, suggesting they are able to access remote memories through these brain regions in a way that is not accessible to others. Studying hyper memory could provide insights into normal memory formation and recall mechanisms in the brain.

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Kelly Bates
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131 views2 pages

Understanding Hyperthymesia and Memory

The document discusses hyperthymesia, or hyper memory, which is the rare ability to remember events and details with extraordinary accuracy even many years later. It summarizes an Italian study that used fMRI to compare brain activation patterns between people with hyper memory and those with typical memory function. The study found increased activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in people with hyper memory, suggesting they are able to access remote memories through these brain regions in a way that is not accessible to others. Studying hyper memory could provide insights into normal memory formation and recall mechanisms in the brain.

Uploaded by

Kelly Bates
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Most people remember only the events that really marked their existence forever, whether

it’s their first kiss, marriage or the birth of a child. For a very small number of individuals,
on the other hand, it is also possible to remember insignificant details and moments that
are not linked to particular anniversaries even many years later. On what does their
incredible ability to remember depend?

How does the hyper memory work? We talked about it with Dr. Elisabetta Menna, a
researcher at Humanitas and the Institute of Neuroscience of the CNR.

Memory: what is it, how it works

Memory, the psychic function that reproduces in the mind a past experience (through
images, sensations, smells) and that is then located in a different space and time, is the
result of a process that can be traced back to the behavior of neurons, i.e. the cells that
make up the nerve tissue, and synapses, which form the neural networks through which
nerve impulses pass. To make it simple, when a memory comes to mind, the neural
network is activated which, through a specific sequence, sends electrochemical signals to
the synapses: the more the neural network is activated over the years, the more this
memory will be vivid and rooted in memory. A subject with autobiographical hyper memory
(a condition also known as hyperthymesia) remembers almost everything perfectly,
without hesitation, with great precision.

The Italian study of hyper memory

Hypermemory, the ability of some individuals to remember trivial events, perhaps years
before, is at the center of a study carried out using the technique of functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI) developed to understand how it works. The study (1), carried
out in Italy by the Fondazione Santa Lucia Irccs in Rome, was published in the prestigious
American journal PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
To understand the neurobiological mechanisms behind the extraordinary ability to
remember, scientists conducted their studies by monitoring eight people with hyper
memory, together with 21 subjects with a normal-typical memory. The eight people
surveyed were able to remember details such as the precise date they saw a particular
film or ate something, even what they were wearing, without any kind of effort.
The results of the study

The difference found by the researchers between subjects with autobiographical hyper
memory and normal-typical people lies at a functional level in the access to memory: the
authors clarified that the results obtained are an indication of the ability to access, through
the prefrontal hippocampal circuit, memories not accessible to other people. However, on
the elaboration, no substantial differences between the two types were noted. In
particular, the results of this study reveal how subjects with autobiographical hyper
memory show increased activation of the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus,
especially in the case of remote memories.

How can study subjects with hyper memory lead to knowledge of brain function?

The possibility of studying subjects with HSAM with functional techniques such as fMRI or
perhaps EEG (electroencephalogram) both during the process of memory formation and
during the memory recall process, will allow obtaining very important information on the
mechanisms of memory. The results of these studies, in addition to increasing our
knowledge of this neurophysiological process, could be useful to develop memory
stimulation treatments in hypofunctional conditions. However, at the current state of
knowledge, it is impossible to predict the effects of these studies in practical terms.

Humanitas Health Newsroom

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