Mnemonic

The human brain is the most complex physical entity in the universe.

A mnemonic device (memory device), is any learning technique that assists someone's memory.

Mnemonic devices training and brain changes

Articles:

• Mnemonic Training Reshapes Brain Networks to Support Superior Memory, Neuron, VOLUME 93, ISSUE 5, P1227-1235.E6, MARCH 08, 2017

• Learning mnemonics boosts memory and triggers lasting changes in the brain, Nature.com

Findings:

• The top participants of the annual World Memory Championships regularly demonstrate the ability to memorize hundreds of words, digits, or other abstract information units within minutes.

• Of the 23 athletes, 17 participated in a word learning task under fMRI conditions where they demonstrated their superior memory abilities compared to controls (70.8 ± 0.6 versus 39.9 ± 3.6 of 72 words correctly recalled 20 min after encoding; median, 72 versus 41; Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p < 0.001, r = 0.62).

• Brain changes: "Memory skills strongly differ across the general population; however, little is known about the brain characteristics supporting superior memory performance. Here we assess functional brain network organization of 23 of the world’s most successful memory athletes and matched controls with fMRI during both task-free resting state baseline and active memory encoding. We demonstrate that, in a group of naive controls, functional connectivity changes induced by 6 weeks of mnemonic training were correlated with the network organization that distinguishes athletes from controls."

• True to their name, the memory champions missed only two words on average when recalling the list 20 minutes later, whereas their controls missed nearly half.

Recommended books

• Unlimited Memory: How to Use Advanced Learning Strategies to Learn Faster, Remember More and be More Productive by Kevin Horsley, TCK Publishing (August 13, 2021)
• Your Memory : How It Works and How to Improve It by Kenneth L. Higbee, Da Capo Lifelong Books; 2nd edition (March 2, 2001)
• The Memory Book: The Classic Guide to Improving Your Memory at Work, at School, and at Play by Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas, Random House Publishing Group; Illustrated edition (August 27, 1996)
• The Memory Book: How to Remember Anything You Want by Tony Buzan and James Harrison, Pearson Education Ltd; 1st edition (November 26, 2009)
• Mnemonology: Mnemonics for the 21st Century (Essays in Cognitive Psychology) by James B. Worthen and R. Reed Hunt, Psychology Press; 1st edition (July 14, 2010)

U.S. Memory Championship winners

• Train Your Brain Like a Champ, ABC News, 2012, winner of U.S. Memory Championship did one year of memory training
• USA Memory Champion Nelson Dellis on Memory, Tenacity, and Conquering Anything, 3 times U.S. Memory Championship winner

Journal articles on chess and mnemonics

See also: Chess and increasing mental performance

• Mnemonic virtuosity: A study of chess players by Alfred Binet, [Trans. M. L. Simmel & S. B. Barron.]. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 74(1), 127–162. Abstract: "Originally published in 1893, Binet's analysis of the mental processes at work in the game of chess was based on questionnaires, interviews, and correspondence with the contemporary chess masters. The discussion centers around blindfold chess and the conduct of several games simultaneously."
• Templates in Chess Memory: A Mechanism for Recalling Several Boards by Fernand Gobet and Herbert A. Simon, Cognitive Psychology, Volume 31, Issue 1, August 1996, Pages 1-40

References

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