Hypermnesia (almost unlimited memory): causes and symptoms

Although it may seem strange, having an above-average memory can be a clinical condition.

Being able to remember the things we have experienced is something that most people value as something positive.It allows us to learn and treasure what we have experienced. Over time, we tend to forget most of the information we receive, which is adaptive as it allows us to make room in our consciousness for new information to come in.

Many people would like to be able to keep more information in their memory for a longer period of time, to make sure that their memories never disappear. However, this does not happen in cases of hyperactivity, this does not happen in cases of hypermnesia, in which all kinds of memories remain permanently vivid and fresh in the memory..

Hypermnesia: when we remember everything

Most people are able to remember specific moments that have marked them deeply. The first kiss, the last time we saw a loved one before they died... The emotions that these events provoke in us make some details remain with us forever. However, even in such memories we tend to keep only small snippets, forgetting a large number of details that we consider of little importance.

People suffering from hypermnesia, also called hyperthymesia, have a much higher than average recall and evocation capacity, being able to remember with great precision.They are able to remember with great precision and detail a large amount of material. This capacity allows them to be able to encode, store and retrieve new contents very quickly in order to use them when they are needed. This is a tremendously useful capacity that has nothing to do with the level of intelligence of the possessor and is not in itself pathological.

The memory capacity of these subjects is mainly subject to a specific type of memory: the autobiographical memory. People with hypermnesia are able to remember almost every detail of the events they have experienced. However, as a rule, they are no more capable in other types of memory unless they are able to link stimuli to memories of a personal type.

Problems in this memory impairment

However, sometimes the memory is not only focused on aspects that the individual wants to remember, but there can be serious difficulties in abstraction and selection of the remembered material, causing significant discomfort for the subject that reduces its functionality and can cause anxiety and serious alterations in mood. In these cases it could be considered a pathology, being called hypermnesic syndrome.

In many cases hypermnesia or hyperthymesia appears in people with obsessive characteristics.This fact could be one of the factors contributing to the retention capacity or an indirect effect of such capacity.

Although there are very few people who suffer from this strange syndrome, several cases have been documented both in the past and in recent times in which some individuals indicate that they are able to remember every detail of what they have lived since childhood or adolescence.

Some differences at the neuroanatomical level

The few cases of subjects with hypermnesia that have been studied have shown that they present some particularities in some brain areas and elements.

It has been found that in these individuals the frontal and temporal parts of the brain are more strongly connected, with a higher density of white matter, than in the majority of the population. Apparently, there are alterations in the inferior and medial temporal gyri of the temporal lobe, an area where the unciform fasciculus is located, which plays an important role in autobiographical memory. In people with hypermnesia, this fasciculus is extensively developed..

Also, in some of the cases, a larger size of the amygdala and its connections with the hippocampus has been detected in comparison to subjects without hypermnesia. This fact supports the belief that the increased level of recall is linked to the connection of stimuli with emotions.

Hypermnesic phenomena

Hypermnesia is an infrequent phenomenon with very few reported cases.. However, there are a large number of phenomena related to this type of problem that appear occasionally in some subjects.

In some cases, great moments that have marked us may appear as clear memories in the form of flashes, especially when we refer to important moments in which we remember very clearly what we were doing when such an event occurred (for example, the arrival of man on the moon).

Phenomena similar to hypermnesia also appear in some disorders, such as psychotic or manic disorders, especially when these memories are used with a high degree of clarity.especially when these memories are used for a specific purpose such as giving a justification to abnormal behaviors.

It is also possible that an event that has caused us a deep emotional disturbance, usually events experienced during childhood or some traumatic events, is remembered in a particularly vivid way and we can even confuse between the past and the present and consider that the memory is the current experience. This phenomenon is known as ecmnesia.

Benefit or torture?

As we have said before, for many people being able to remember all the facts of their life or simply being able to retain in memory a much larger amount of information is a positive thing. Remembering information quickly can facilitate the learning of numerous disciplines and skills.It gives us a good ability to recall things that are important to us and our loved ones, and can even open doors to jobs or other opportunities.

However, while some people with hypermnesia lead relatively normal lives, for some others their condition can be extremely painful and disabling. In some cases, what could have been a gift became a curse that caused them serious difficulties in all areas of life.

In this sense, not being able to forget makes that every time we have to do a specific action we have to stop for a long time to organize our mental contents, resulting in a high level of propensity to get distracted and a decrease in the productivity of our actions.

It can make it difficult to discern between what is necessary and what is circumstantial, giving great importance to elements that really do not have to be necessary. It can also generate a high level of indecision in the sufferer.

Emotionally painful memories

In the same way, being able to remember with great clarity means that painful events that have happened to us throughout our lives cannot be overcome quickly, leaving feelings such as guilt and humiliation in one's psyche for a longer period of time and making the grieving process a much greater challenge than usual.

Attention and learning ability are impaired.

The acquisition of new knowledge is also complicated, since the level of attention decreases with the application of mental resources to try to filter and use the necessary memories and not others.

In addition, the transition between learning and automation of tasks becomes more difficultThis is because it is not only the basic procedure that is remembered, but the whole set of associated details, and therefore it is more difficult to abstract the necessary from the accessory.

Moreover, in some cases, the vividness of the memory can cause confusion between past and present, which can lead to ecmestic delusions in which one believes that one is living what is actually a memory.

Is memory really infinite?

It should be borne in mind that hypermnesia, although a very striking phenomenon, is still confined to the realm of mental processes (cognitive, specifically) and, therefore, depends on the functioning of the brain. This is so because to hold otherwise would mean defending dualism in psychology, the belief that there is something disembodied in the brain.the belief that there is something incorporeal separate from the material world that at the same time has repercussions on the latter. That is, an unscientific point of view.

On the other hand, in many cases of people with hypermnesia this goes hand in hand with an abnormal brain. Kim Peek, for example, in addition to being able to memorize entire books, did not have a corpus callosum linking the two cerebral hemispheres. It would be too much of a coincidence if these two facts had nothing to do with each other. exist because behind them there is an extraordinary nervous system..

That means that hypermnesia has a limit by the simple fact that it arises from something that is also limited: the brain, by its material nature.

Bibliographical references:

• LePort, A.K.R.; Mattfeld, A.T.; Dickinson-Anson, H.; Fallon, J.H.; Stark, C.E.L.; Kruggel, F.; Cahill, L. & McGaugh, J.L.. Behavioral and neuroanatomical investigation of Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 2012; 98 (1): 78.

• Linscott, R. J. & Knight, R. G. (2001). Automatic hypermnesia and impaired recollection in schizophrenia. Neuropsychology, 15, 576-585.

• Santos, J.L. (2012). Psychopathology. Manual CEDE de Preparación PIR, 01. CEDE. Madrid.