Scientists scratch their heads over hyperthymesia
Have you ever thought how interesting it would be if you could
replay in your mind the events of your life like a movie, and in the exact chronological order of its occurrence? Sounds interesting, but wishful right? Well, not really... Neurologists from the University of California (UC) Irvine had conducted studies on a few people who were diagnosed with this extraordinary ability to recall every moment of their life whenever desired!
Neuroscientists James Mc Gaugh and Larry Cahill of UC Irvine had been conducting studies on such cases and it was in 2006 that a case study on a person called AJ (name changed), who was detected with this syndrome, was published for the first time for everyone’s perusal. It was way back in 2000 that AJ had sent a mail requesting for help for her uncontrollably sharp memory that allowed her to recollect the exact events that had happened in her life since the days of early childhood, which intrigued scientists and triggered the study of such brains. Dr JD Mukherjee, a neurologist at Max Hospital explains, “The Super Memory Syndrome, scientifically termed as hyperthymesia allows one to recall even the trivial details of events that have occurred in their lives. Such cases are a rarity and till now only four people with this syndrome have been found. People with hyperthymesia also have the capability to remember the day which fell on a certain date. Basically, they have sharper non-stop detailed memory capacity.”
The mention of ‘sharper memory’ prompted just one question – could such people prove to be of greater utility if trained for advanced research for scientific inventions or the likes? – to which Dr Mukherjee clarified that “memory and intelligence are separate things.” The human brain has three types of memories. Immediate memory, which allows one to register and recall incidences occurred just minutes ago; short-term memory which enables one to recall the events of the previous few days and long-term memory which keeps the happening that had occurred long ago etched in the mind forever. “Those with hyperthymesia have a bigger area in the brain to preserve long-term memories. The brain stores memories as proteins, so such people’s brains have the capacity to store more proteins, but that does not necessarily make them intelligent. They just have the capability to recall the events that they had personally experienced,” expounds Dr. Mukherjee.
Such prodigies leave one wondering about the ‘how’ of the development of such extraordinary brains. Well, scientists too do not have an answer to this yet. “Researches on the ‘Super Memory Syndrome’ are at a nascent stage, perhaps because not many cases have been detected to conduct an elaborate study. And uncovering the science behind such syndromes will not only be a pathbreaking step in the field of science, but will be another big leap for the human mind’s intelligence as well,” concluded Dr. Mukherjee. But studies indicate that hyperthymesia is neither hereditary nor a genetic disorder. Such rare cases provide scientists a chance to delve into and discover the various types of antics that the brain can play.
Therefore, UC Irvine invites those who feel that their brain can perform this unusual antic, to conduct studies on them and analyse the ‘how’ of the sparks floating in such brains... and, with this, to take science and research to a whole new paradigm.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
Have you ever thought how interesting it would be if you could
replay in your mind the events of your life like a movie, and in the exact chronological order of its occurrence? Sounds interesting, but wishful right? Well, not really... Neurologists from the University of California (UC) Irvine had conducted studies on a few people who were diagnosed with this extraordinary ability to recall every moment of their life whenever desired!Neuroscientists James Mc Gaugh and Larry Cahill of UC Irvine had been conducting studies on such cases and it was in 2006 that a case study on a person called AJ (name changed), who was detected with this syndrome, was published for the first time for everyone’s perusal. It was way back in 2000 that AJ had sent a mail requesting for help for her uncontrollably sharp memory that allowed her to recollect the exact events that had happened in her life since the days of early childhood, which intrigued scientists and triggered the study of such brains. Dr JD Mukherjee, a neurologist at Max Hospital explains, “The Super Memory Syndrome, scientifically termed as hyperthymesia allows one to recall even the trivial details of events that have occurred in their lives. Such cases are a rarity and till now only four people with this syndrome have been found. People with hyperthymesia also have the capability to remember the day which fell on a certain date. Basically, they have sharper non-stop detailed memory capacity.”
The mention of ‘sharper memory’ prompted just one question – could such people prove to be of greater utility if trained for advanced research for scientific inventions or the likes? – to which Dr Mukherjee clarified that “memory and intelligence are separate things.” The human brain has three types of memories. Immediate memory, which allows one to register and recall incidences occurred just minutes ago; short-term memory which enables one to recall the events of the previous few days and long-term memory which keeps the happening that had occurred long ago etched in the mind forever. “Those with hyperthymesia have a bigger area in the brain to preserve long-term memories. The brain stores memories as proteins, so such people’s brains have the capacity to store more proteins, but that does not necessarily make them intelligent. They just have the capability to recall the events that they had personally experienced,” expounds Dr. Mukherjee.
Such prodigies leave one wondering about the ‘how’ of the development of such extraordinary brains. Well, scientists too do not have an answer to this yet. “Researches on the ‘Super Memory Syndrome’ are at a nascent stage, perhaps because not many cases have been detected to conduct an elaborate study. And uncovering the science behind such syndromes will not only be a pathbreaking step in the field of science, but will be another big leap for the human mind’s intelligence as well,” concluded Dr. Mukherjee. But studies indicate that hyperthymesia is neither hereditary nor a genetic disorder. Such rare cases provide scientists a chance to delve into and discover the various types of antics that the brain can play.
Therefore, UC Irvine invites those who feel that their brain can perform this unusual antic, to conduct studies on them and analyse the ‘how’ of the sparks floating in such brains... and, with this, to take science and research to a whole new paradigm.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
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