The secret of good rememberers like computers

Can you remember what you ate at lunch on March 8, 2000 or what to wear on August 29, 2004? Very few people, until now, have only 33 confirmed cases worldwide, able to memorize such minutiae and recount almost exactly every moment of their lives. from the age of 10.

These people possess what scientists call a "highly autobiographical memory" . Researchers have recently identified factors that make their brains special.

According to Live Science, scientists from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), the US have studied 11 people who own 'highly autobiographical memory' and marked individual coincidences. in their 9 brain structures. Surprisingly, most of these individual spots are located in areas associated with autobiographical memory.

Research subjects also have more white matter that binds the middle and front parts of the brain than those of normal people.

Documenting the anomalous brain characteristics as above helps scientists have a 'detailed, coherent description of what is happening' in the minds of those with 'super memories' , researchers Rescue Aurora LePort explains.

'Next step, we want to learn about the mechanisms behind memory. Is it only related to the brain and the way information is transmitted by brain structures? Maybe it's related to genes or molecules' , Ms. LePort added.

'Highly autobiographical memory' , or sometimes referred to as hyperthymesia - over-developed memory syndrome , was first mentioned by scientists in 2006. People with this syndrome include actress Marilu Henner of the movie hit 'Taxi'.

Since the discovery of the syndrome, UCI researchers have evaluated more than 500 people who are thought to have superior autobiographical memory. They confirmed that only 33 cases actually possessed this special ability, including 11 people in their new study, but also said there were 37 other candidates that needed to be examined more closely.

The team notes that people with hyperthymesia syndrome do not score high on the tests of normal memory and they possess a different type of 'super memory' than those who can memorize long lists. numbers and events.

The entire findings in this study have been published in detail in the July issue of the journal Neurobiology of Learning & Memory.