Do you recall what you did on this very day and moment last year? Probably not. And only very few people will be able to recall all the events of that day, and these are people suffering from hypermnesia. This is a memory disorder when a person forgets nothing. Fortunately, this is a disease, to enjoy such an absolute memory or not - the answers in this article.
Terms and concepts
Throughout life, each of us forgets a huge amount of information, and this is normal. But the memory of some people preserves everything that ever happened in their life. This feature of higher nervous activity was discovered by scientists in 2006 and was called "hypermnesia" (Latin hypermnesia, comes from the words "super" and "memory"). This property of memory is characterized by an exacerbation of memorization, recognition and reproduction in the complete absence of forgetting.
In the medical and psychological literature, synonyms for hypermnesia are hyperthymesia and hyperimestic syndrome. The statuses of these designations are blurred, and the causes of this condition today cause more questions than answers. According to some reports, about 50 people with this syndrome have been identified and confirmed in the world. Hypermnesia, hypnomesia (weakening of memory functions) and amnesia (partial or complete lack of memory) are all pathologies of the memory device, in which the functions of memorization and storage of information are impaired.
Pathology characteristic
Such impaired memory (hypermnesia) is characterized by intensely vivid sensory-shaped memories, affecting primarily mechanical and figurative memory. Moreover, the sequence and logic of events is violated, and semantic understanding is weakened. This means that the logic and sequence of facts that human memory reproduces is fragmented and does not correspond to the actual course of events. It is on the basis of such an anamnesis that hypertimemic syndrome is diagnosed. This is done by a psychiatrist or psychotherapist.
At the same time, phenomenal memory as an unusually high level of development and hypermnesia are two different things. The latter is a pathological condition that is accompanied by mental disorders.
Types of Disorder
Specialists distinguish several forms of hyperthymesia:
- General, or diffuse - this type of hypermnesia is characteristic of a depressive state, the manic phase of depressive psychoses, in the initial stages of intoxication caused by alcohol or drugs. Also, this type of memory disorder accompanies delusional (paraphrenic) syndromes.
- Partial, or elective, is hypermnesia that accompanies paranoia, oligophrenia, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and hydrocephalus. With this form of pathology, memory is aggravated by exceptional events or facts and strictly during certain periods of the disease.
- Reactive or psychogenic hypermnesia is a condition in psychology when an exacerbation of memory occurs in response to psycho-traumatic events.
These are the main types of pathology, but there are other private clinical manifestations. Problems in the classification, diagnosis and treatment are caused by the uncertainty of the physical, anatomical and psychological causes of hypermnesia, which are episodic or persistent.
Private types of hypermnesia
Kanner’s childhood autism is accompanied by a very peculiar kind of exacerbation of memory. At the same time, acute mechanical memorization is not fixed on the whole object, but on its fragment. This makes it difficult for a child to recognize an object or person at the slightest change in detail.
The combination of hypermnesia and amnesia is also a rather private pathology. In this case, the periodicity in the manifestation of pathologies is traced. For example, a sharp aggravation of memory at night and a weakening of memorization in the daytime.
And still about the reasons
In practical psychiatry, such conditions are considered unproductive disorders that are caused by abnormal actualization of experience. The patient is captured by a stream of memories of completely insignificant events and situations, while the productivity of thinking is steadily declining.
The appearance of hypermnesia in conditions of affect, which is associated with manic syndrome, is considered a classic in psychiatry.
Hyperthymnesias can be the initial stage of an epileptic seizure when taking psychotropic substances (opiates, cannabiats, LSD). More often does not cause discomfort, begins with confusion, hallucinations, active delirium.
Clinical picture
The main symptoms of hyperthymesia are exacerbation of such types of memory as mechanical and emotional. At the same time, a huge array of non-essential information is remembered, and the productivity of mental activity and its concentration are markedly reduced.
Another characteristic symptom is a decrease in understanding of meaning. With excellent assimilation of information, its reproduction is carried out involuntarily and in violation of the logical sequence.
The acute period of the pathology is accompanied by hallucinations, delusional states, confusion.
Separately, it is worth paying attention to the symptoms of the underlying disease.
Who makes the diagnosis and how?
Making a diagnosis is time-consuming. In addition to collecting a complete medical history, a psychiatrist conducts certain tests for mobility and reactivity of the nervous system. Laboratory data obtained by the following means may also be required:
- Magnetic resonance therapy of the brain and studies of its bioelectric activity.
- General and biochemical analysis of blood.
The diagnosis takes into account the duration of the disorder and usually sounds quite long. For example, periodic general hypermnesia with a significant increase in mechanical involuntary memory.
Pathology treatment
Violations of this type often bring discomfort in the emotional sphere of the patient, and therefore require a suitable, urgent, adequate treatment. Pathology may be accompanied by depression, depression, and suicidal tendencies, so treatment is carried out in an inpatient setting.
The treatment algorithm is selected individually and includes the following steps:
- Relief of acute symptoms. At this stage, psychotropic and tranquilizing drugs are prescribed.
- Stabilization of the patient. In this case, antidepressants and sedatives are prescribed.
- Preventative therapy. It is already carried out on an outpatient basis and is a dose adjustment of drugs.
Easier to warn
As already mentioned, the causes of these pathological conditions have not yet been fully elucidated. But the general rules for the prevention of mental illness and hypermnesia are very simple:
- Avoid drugs and alcohol. These substances have not yet benefited anyone.
- Do not self-medicate and drink drugs without consulting a specialist. The dosage and compatibility of many drugs is a very important thing.
- Monitor your state of mind, control your mood and do not neglect the advice of others.
- Take care of our everything - the brain. Traumatic brain injuries, overheating and hypothermia are not as harmless as it might seem. So decide for yourself - ride a bicycle in a helmet or risk your health.
Sometimes it’s even interesting
Amazing exacerbations of memory often occur under hypnosis. There are frequent cases when people in a hypnotic trance speak ancient or completely unknown languages.
Strengthening of mnemonic abilities is often associated with a developed photographic (eidetic) memory. Such superpowers are often demonstrated by mathematicians. For example, Craig Aitken, a professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, is known for his ability to remember inconsistent word lists in two languages at once. And such examples are enough in life and in fiction.
Such abilities are often demonstrated by musicians, composers and artists. Unfortunately, the systematic study of such abilities has not yet accumulated enough empirical data.
To treat or not to treat?
In some cases, super-memory is not a danger to humans, and can even be considered some good or advantage. Nevertheless, in medical psychiatry, such a pathology is considered to be mental abnormalities. And mental disorders, even if they provide certain superpowers, should be treated. Therefore, if you notice abnormal possibilities of memory in yourself or your loved ones, do not neglect the advice of a specialist.
Well, if you haven’t noticed - well, you have the opportunity to improve your memory. There are a lot of techniques of mnemonics in the world, and so far no one has challenged the possibility of training the memory.