This book describes the first comprehensive experimental research program on an individual who exhibits exceptional memory. Rajan Mahadevan, the subject of these investigations, won a place in the Guinness Book of Records for reciting pi to 31,811 decimal places, can learn matrices up to size 20 X 20, and can produce memory spans above 60 for digits. Utilizing the methodology and theories of modern cognitive psychology, the authors systematically investigated Rajan's memory skills. A wide range of experiments and tests were conducted with Rajan and four control subjects. These include memory span tests for digits and letters, memory for various kinds of non-numeric information, tests of working memory, learning and retention of numeric matrices, memory and visual searches of the digits of pi, and lexical decision tasks with the digits of pi. The authors describe how they came to understand the way Rajan stored and now retrieves the decimal digits of pi, how he learns and retrieves matrices, and how he encodes and retrieves digits in a memory span task. Although his strategy for memorizing and retrieving digits is unique in the literature on people with extraordinary memory, the authors show how their investigations of Rajan contribute to our understanding of memory.

This book describes the first comprehensive experimental research program on an individual who exhibits exceptional memory. Rajan Mahadevan, the subject of these investigations, won a place in the Guinness Book of Records for reciting pi to 31,811 decimal places, can learn matrices up to size 20 X 20, and can produce memory spans above 60 for digits. Utilizing the methodology and theories of modern cognitive psychology, the authors systematically investigated Rajan's memory skills. A wide range of experiments and tests were conducted with Rajan and four control subjects. These include memory span tests for digits and letters, memory for various kinds of non-numeric information, tests of working memory, learning and retention of numeric matrices, memory and visual searches of the digits of pi, and lexical decision tasks with the digits of pi. The authors describe how they came to understand the way Rajan stored and now retrieves the decimal digits of pi, how he learns and retrieves matrices, and how he encodes and retrieves digits in a memory span task. Although his strategy for memorizing and retrieving digits is unique in the literature on people with extraordinary memory, the authors show how their investigations of Rajan contribute to our understanding of memory.

Memory. There may be nothing more important to human beings than our ability to enshrine experience and recall it. While philosophers and poets have elevated memory to an almost mystical level, psychologists have struggled to demystify it. Now, according to Daniel Schacter, one of the most distinguished memory researchers, the mysteries of memory are finally yielding to dramatic, even revolutionary, scientific breakthroughs. Schacter explains how and why it may change our understanding of everything from false memory to Alzheimer's disease, from recovered memory to amnesia with fascinating firsthand accounts of patients with striking -- and sometimes bizarre -- amnesias resulting from brain injury or psychological trauma.

As a child, Meer Logan was haunted by bizarre memories and faint strains of elusive music. Now a strange letter beckons her to Vienna, promising to unlock the mysteries of her past. With each step, she comes closer to remembering connections between a clandestine reincarnationist society, Beethoven's lost flute and journalist David Yalom. David knows loss firsthand--terrorism took his entire family. Now, beneath a concert hall in Vienna, he plots a violent wake-up call to illustrate the world's need for true security. Join international bestselling author M. J. Rose in her unforgettable novel about a woman paralyzed by the past, a man robbed of his future and a secret centuries old.

What makes some experiences more memorable than others? How can you better remember specific information later? Memories That Matter addresses these questions and more. The book is divided into three main parts, with each part focusing on a different aspect of memory. After the introductory first part, Part II discusses everyday uses of memory and why we remember, establishing a foundation for how memory is structured and stored in the brain. Part III dives into what makes us remember. Emotional and rewarding experiences are both more memorable than mundane experiences but are often studied using different approaches. Self-relevance and objects we can interact with are remembered better than less relevant information. The author explores these motivation-related influences on memory and considers whether a common mechanism underlies them all. Part IV changes the focus, discussing how we sometimes want to remember specific information that does not automatically capture our attention. The book considers evidence-based learning strategies and memory strategies, whilst also exploring real-world applications, with discussion of professions that accomplish amazing memory feats daily. The book concludes with a reflection on how the role of memory is changing as our world makes information increasingly accessible, particularly with the ever-expanding influence of the internet. Drawing from a variety of literatures and perspectives, this important book will be relevant for all students of memory from psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and related health backgrounds.

Human Memory, 4th edition, provides a comprehensive overview of research and theory on human memory. Written in an engaging style, the book is divided into three sections, providing an accessible introduction to the application and assessment of memory theory. Beginning with the history of memory, the first section explores basic methodology and neuroscience. The second section examines the key topics of memory such as the sensory registers, mechanisms of forgetting and short-term, nondeclarative, episodic, and semantic memory. The third section focuses on specialist topics such as amnesia, memory for space and time, autobiographical memory, memory and reality, memory and the law, metamemory and formal models of memory. Instructors could pick and chose which of these chapters best fit the goals of their course. New to this edition: More prominent discussion of neuroscience findings. Coverage of a wider range of neuroscientific techniques. Greater emphasis on memory changes over time. New explanation of how to calculate a wider range of signal detection measures. Additional content on a wide range of topics including the mirror effect, sleep-related memory processes, vicarious autobiographical memories, inter-generational memory transmission, the impact of lying on memory, eyewitness collaboration, and aging and spatial memory. Expanded coverage of areas including theories of hypermnesia, chunking, serial order memory, prospective memory, threshold models, and eyewitness line-up identification. Updated companion resources, including PowerPoint slides and exam questions. The book highlights the application of memory theory and findings to everyday experience, presents in-depth explorations of studies, and provides opportunities for students to explore the assessment of memory in more laboratory-based settings. Packed full of student-friendly pedagogy including study questions, Stop and Review and Try it Out sections, Study in Depth text boxes, and more, Human Memory, 4th edition is an essential companion for all students of human memory.

Providing an unusual perspective on self and social memory different from the norm in social cognitive research, this volume describes the results of the authors' diary research now in progress for more than 15 years. It investigates the topic of autobiographical memory through longitudinal studies of graduate students' diaries. Recalled and examined in this volume, a recent collection of several long-term diaries -- spanning up to two-and-one-half years in length -- replicated and significantly extended the authors' earlier knowledge of autobiographical memory. These studies are analyzed for commonalities and differences within the entire body of their data. Organized by the major themes suggested by the authors' theoretical views, this volume will be significant to students and researchers of both memory in general, and personal or episodic memory in particular.