Do you remember 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 does not forget anything. Whether it's a blessing or 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 some people's memory retains 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 "over" 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 andhyperthymestic syndrome. The statuses of these designations are blurred, and the reasons for this condition still raise more questions than answers today. According to some reports, the existence of about 50 people with this syndrome has been identified and confirmed in the world. Hypermnesia, hypomnesia (weakening of memory functions) and amnesia (partial or complete absence of memory) are all pathologies of the memory apparatus, in which the functions of storing and storing information are impaired.
Characteristics of pathology
Such a memory impairment (hypermnesia) is characterized by intensely vivid sensory-figurative memories, affecting primarily mechanical and figurative memory. At the same time, the sequence and logic of events is violated, and the semantic understanding is weakened. This means that the logic and sequence of facts that a person's memory reproduces are fragmented and do not correspond to the actual course of events. It is on the basis of such an anamnesis that hyperthymestic 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 different things. The latter is a pathological condition accompanied by mental disorders.
Types of disorder
Specialists identify several forms of hyperthymesia:
- General, or diffuse - this type of hypermnesia is characteristic of a depressive state, the manic phase of depressive psychosis, in the initialstages 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, mental retardation, epilepsy, schizophrenia, hydrocephalus. With this form of pathology, memory is sharpened for exceptional events or facts and strictly during certain periods of the disease.
- Reactive or psychogenic hypermnesia is a state in psychology when memory sharpening occurs in response to traumatic events.
These are the main types of pathology, but there are other private clinical manifestations. Problems in classification, diagnosis and treatment are caused by the lack of understanding of the physical, anatomical and psychological causes of hypermnesias, which are episodic or persistent.
Particular types of hypermnesia
Kanner's childhood autism accompanies a very peculiar kind of memory sharpening. At the same time, the sharpened mechanical memorization is fixed not 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 fairly common pathology. In this case, there is a periodicity in the manifestation of pathologies. For example, a sharp sharpening of memory at night and a weakening of memorization in the daytime.
And yet about the reasons
In practical psychiatry, such conditions are consideredunproductive disorders that are caused by abnormal actualization of experience. The patient is caught up in a stream of memories of completely insignificant events and situations, while the productivity of thinking is steadily declining.
A classic in psychiatry is the appearance of hypermnesia in states of affect, which is associated with a manic syndrome.
Hyperthymnesia can be the initial stage of an epileptic seizure when taking psychotropic substances (opiates, cannabis, LSD). Often does not cause discomfort, begins with confusion, hallucinations, active delirium.
Clinical picture
The main symptoms of hyperthymesia are the exacerbation of such types of memory as mechanical and emotional. At the same time, a huge array of insignificant information is remembered, and the productivity of mental activity and its concentration are noticeably reduced.
Another characteristic symptom is a weakening of 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 pathology is accompanied by hallucinations, delusional states, confusion.
Separately, it is worth paying attention to the symptoms of the underlying disease.
Who diagnoses and how?
Diagnosis is hard work. In addition to collecting a complete history, the psychiatrist conducts certain tests for the 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 research of its bioelectrical activity.
- General and biochemical blood tests.
Diagnosis takes into account the duration of the disorders and usually sounds quite long. For example, periodic general hypermnesia with a significant increase in mechanical involuntary memory.
Treatment of pathology
Disturbances of this type often bring discomfort to the patient's emotional sphere, and therefore require appropriate, urgent, adequate treatment. Pathology can be accompanied by depression, depression and suicidal tendencies, so the treatment is carried out in a hospital.
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.
- Prophylactic therapy. It is already carried out on an outpatient basis and represents an adjustment in the doses 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:
- Give up drugs and alcohol. These substances have not benefited anyone yet.
- Do not self-medicate and drink drugs without consulting a specialist. Dosage and compatibility of manydrugs are very important.
- Watch your mental state, 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 they might seem. So decide for yourself whether to ride a bike with a helmet or risk your he alth.
Sometimes it's even interesting
Surprising memory sharpenings often occur under hypnosis. It is not uncommon for people in a hypnotic trance to speak ancient or completely unfamiliar languages.
Strengthening mnemonic abilities is often associated with a developed photographic (eidetic) memory. Such superpowers are often demonstrated by mathematicians. For example, Craig Aitken, professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, is known for his ability to memorize inconsistent lists of words in two languages at once. And there are enough similar examples both 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 does not pose a danger to humans, and can even be considered some kind of boon or advantage. Nevertheless, in medical psychiatry, such a pathology is considered mental deviations from the norm. And mental disorders, evenif they give certain superpowers, it is worth treating. Therefore, if you notice abnormal memory capabilities in yourself or 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 quite a lot of mnemonic methods in the world, and so far no one has challenged the possibility of memory training.
