Superior Forms of Human

Who is Kim Peek?

1. A voracious reader (consuming > 10k books in his life), he could read the two pages of an open book simultaneously, one with each eye

2. Inspiration for the character in the film Rain Man

1. What “super human” skills did Kim Peek have?

1. His recall was tremendous, and he could correctly answer questions about almost any detail of what he read (often by supplying quotes)

2. He could also mentally plot a course between almost any points on the globe and tell you the day of the week associated with any date

1. What differentiated Kim Peek from the Rain Man character?

1. Peeke was not autistic.

   1. Though highly introverted, he did not have any of the deficits in social understanding associated with autism

1. What were some of Kim Peek’s deficits in memory?

1. Despite his vast memory, Peeke’s IQ was 87, which is below average. HIs power of inferential reasoning and abstract problem solving were limited

2. He also had difficulty with complex forms of motor planning that prevented kinds of self care

What was observed about Kim Peek’s brain?

1. Peek had no corpus callosum, the bundle of fibers that connect the hemispheres of the cortex

2. Shrunken cerebellum 

3. Macrocephaly

   1. Abnormally larger head and brain

1. What is the corpus callosum?

1. Bundle of fibers that connects the hemispheres of the cortex

What may have accounted for Kim Peek’s for his eyes to read separately?

1. No corpus collosum

1. What did Kim’s eyes' ability to read separately due to having no corpus callosum imply?

1. That he had large language centers on both sides of his brain

   1. Normally it is primarily on the left

1. What accounted for Kim’s motor issues?

1. Shrunken cerebellum

What is macrocephaly?

1. An abnormally large head (and thus brain)

What came to produce split brain syndrome?

1. As a treatment for severe epilepsy, a number of patients had their corpus callosum severed

1. What is an example of what a split brain patient experiences?

1. Dress with one hand, while the other would attempt to undress

2. On a particular occasion, this patient’s left hand attempted to strike his wife, while his right hand prevented

What was the difference between Kim Peek and split brain patients?

1. Peek had none of these problems (and no split brain patients developed his gifts).

2. His hemispheres had some way to speak to one another, even though they could act independently

What is Eidetic Memory?

1. Ability to precisely recollect a visual image after a brief exposure

1. What is another name for eidetic memory?

1. Photographic memory

Though most people can briefly retain rich short term memory of visual scenes or stimuli, a long term eidetic memory that produces detailed and unchanging ‘photographs’ or ‘snapshots’ of visual experience is ______.

1. Vanishingly rare

What will a true eidetiker be able to describe?

1. From memory, precise difference and similarities between patterns A & B if exposed to each for no more than a matter of seconds

2. May also be able to accurately create a mental composite of the images from memory

1. How many subjects have been identified as being an eidetiker?

1. Rigorous studies using large samples (1000+) have identified no or only a few total individuals with verifiable photographic memory

1. What is highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM)?

1. The ability to recollect an extraordinary degree of detail about the events of one’s life 

1. What type of memory is HSAM?

1. A form of exceptional episodic memory

1. Who are mnesmonists?

1. Individuals who demonstrate excellent memory

1. True/False: Many ‘mnemonists’ have tricks or techniques such as the method of loci or the memory palace.

1. True

1. Do individuals with HSAM rely on practice?

1. No, nor do they rely on particular memory techniques.

2. They absorb episodic detail without apparent mental effort

1. What might HSAM be?

1. An inability to forget

What does Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve demonstrate?

1. The rate at which remembered information decays over time

How do individuals differ from those with HSAM on the forgetting curve?

1. Initially acquire the same amount of detail but HSAM tend to retain detail far better over time

1. True/False: Individuals with HSAM are able to retrieve episodic detail very quickly.

1. True

1. When asked to recall details about more remote memories (1 month), how do the controls perform?

1. As well as HSAM individuals, if they are given unlimited time to retrieve their collections (as opposed to recalling as much as they can within two minutes)

1. What is the Leyton Obsessional Inventory?

1. Measures obsessive tendencies 

1. What are obsessive tendencies?

1. Rumination, compulsive habits, rigid organizational systems

1. What are higher LOI scores in HSAM individuals correlated with?

1. The ability to consistently recall the details of an episode

1. Individuals with HSAM tend to have _________ obsessional tendencies, and may be at ___________ risk for related psychiatric illness.

1. Greater

2. Greater