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.

Types of mnemonics and mnemonic tactics/strategies

• Try this: Look, snap, and connect for better memory recall, Harvard Health Publish, 2023
• What Are Mnemonics? 6 Types with Comprehensive Examples
• Keyword Mnemonics to Improve Ability to Memorize Facts, 2023
• Memory and Mnemonic Devices, PsychCentral.com
• 9 Types of Mnemonics to Improve Your Memory, VeryWell Health website
• Using Mnemonic Devices to Make Memorization Easier
• Improve Your Memory With Semiotics Mnemonic Techniques
• Mnemonic device used to improve short-term memory found to also improve longer term memory, Medical Xpress
• Try this: Look, snap, and connect for better memory recall, Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School

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

• Memorization tool bulks up brain’s internal connections, scientists say, Stanford Medicine News, 2017

• Mnemonic device used to improve short-term memory found to also improve longer term memory, Medical Press, 2021

• Neuroscience Study Shows Memory Can Improve with Training, 2021

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.

Abstract of journal article Mnemonic training reshapes brain networks to support superior memory, Neuron, VOLUME 93, ISSUE 5, P1227-1235.E6, MARCH 08, 2017

The abstract for the journal article Mnemonic training reshapes brain networks to support superior memory, Neuron, VOLUME 93, ISSUE 5, P1227-1235.E6, MARCH 08, 2017 indicates:

“

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 by fMRI during both task-free resting state baseline and active memory encoding. We demonstrate that in a group of naïve controls, functional connectivity changes induced by six weeks of mnemonic training were correlated with the network organization that distinguishes athletes from controls. During rest, this effect was mainly driven by connections between rather than within the visual, medial temporal lobe and default mode networks, whereas during task it was driven by connectivity within these networks. Similarity with memory athlete connectivity patterns predicted memory improvements up to 4 months after training. In conclusion, mnemonic training drives distributed rather than regional changes, reorganizing the brain’s functional network organization to enable superior memory performance.

”

Journal articles related to mnemonics

• Exceptional memorizers: made, not born by K. Anders Ericsson, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, VOLUME 7, ISSUE 6, P233-235, JUNE 2003, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(03)00103-7
• The efficacy of imagery mnemonics in memory remediation, Neuropsychologia. 1995 Nov;33(11):1345-57. doi: 10.1016/0028-3932(95)00068-e.

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)
• Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer, The Penguin Press; First Edition (March 3, 2011)
• The Memory Book: How to Remember Anything You Want by Tony Buzan and James Harrison, Pearson Education Ltd; 1st edition (November 26, 2009)
• Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting by Lisa Genova, Harmony (March 23, 2021)
• 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)
• Mnemonics: Memorization Techniques for Studying and Everyday Use by Miguel M. Macieira, Babelcube Inc. (May 9, 2016)
• Kevin Trudeau's Mega Memory: How to Release Your Superpower Memory in 30 Minutes Or Less a Day by Kevin Trudeau, William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (August 16, 2005)
• Memory Improvement Book - The Mnemonics: Mind and Memory Improvement for Adults (The Active and Effective Leaders) by Andrew Kite, Independently published (August 14, 2020), ASIN: B08GB6T1VY
• The Chess Memory Palace by John Holden, Independently published (December 29, 2022), ASIN: B0BR9DQMVS
• How to Develop an Exceptional Memory by Morris N. Young and Walter Brown Gibson, Wilshire Book Co (January 1, 1970)
• Good memory--successful student!: A guide to remembering what you learn by Harry Lorayne, T. Nelson; First Edition (January 1, 1973)

History of mnemonics books and journal articles

• The Art of Memory by Frances Yates, Random House UK (October 1, 2014)
• The history of memory arts by B.M. Patten, Neurology. 1990 Feb;40(2):346-52. doi: 10.1212/wnl.40.2.346.

Bible mnemonics

• Bible Menmonics -: Large Volume Bible Memorization by Brian F. Dash Sr. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 1, 2011)

Various memory experts on mnemonics/memory

Harry Lorayne

• Greatest Memory Expert of 20th Century, Harry Lorayne - video
• Harry Lorayne, The Zero Memory Palace Mystery & Why His Memory Improvement Books Inspired The World - video
• Harry Lorayne - Interview on the Johnny Carson show - video
• Harry Lorayne memorizes audience's names
• "Lightning Calculation" - Harry Lorayne

Kevin Horsely

• Instantly recalling understanding: Kevin Horsley - Kevin Horsely is one of only a few people in the world to have received the title International Grandmaster of Memory

U.S. Memory Championship winners

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

Ron White

• Best Memory Improvement Books - 2 times U.S. Memory Champion Ron White reviews some of the best memory/mnemonics books

Use of mnemonics and slower cognitive decline

• These memory strategies could slow cognitive decline, The Hill, July 22, 2022
• Can a Mnemonic Slow Memory Loss with Age?, Scientific American, 2014

Journal articles on chess and mnemonics

See also: Chess mastery and memory improvement and Chess and increasing mental performance

• 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
• Chess knowledge predicts chess memory even after controlling for chess experience: Evidence for the role of high-level processes by David M. Lane and Yu-Hsuan A. Chang, Memory and Cognition, 2018 Apr;46(3):337-348. doi: 10.3758/s13421-017-0768-2.
• Role of high-level knowledge in memory for chess positions by Cooke, N. J., Atlas, R. S., Lane, D. M., & Berger, R. C., The American Journal of Psychology, 106(3), 321–351. https://doi.org/10.2307/1423181
• Expert memory: a comparison of four theories by F. Gobet, Cognition. 1998 May;66(2):115-52. doi: 10.1016/s0010-0277(98)00020-1.
• 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."

A typical chess set and tournament clock.

Memory exercises website

• Memo Camp

External links

• Neuroscientists Unlock the Secrets of Memory Champions, Smithsonian magazine, 2017

References

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