Something to keep in mind from our colleagues at UC-Irvine

People with exceptional memory recall, have different brains

People who can easily recall every moment of their lives have different brains than others, a new study has claimed. University of California-Irvinescientists have found fascinating differences in the brains and mental processes of an extraordinary group of people who can effortlessly recall every moment of their lives since about age 10, the ‘Science Daily’ reported. The phenomenon of highly superior autobiographical memory first documented in 2006 by UCI neurobiologist James McGaugh and colleagues in a woman identified as “AJ” has been profiled on CBS’s ’60 Minutes’ and in hundreds of other media outlets.
..The researchers have assessed more than 500 people who thought they might possess highly superior autobiographical memory and have confirmed 33 to date, including the 11 in the paper, according to the journal.  All had variations in nine structures of their brains compared to those of control subjects, including more robust white matter linking the middle and front parts.
…However, these people with exceptional autobiographical memory did not score well on the routine memory tests. Only when asked about public or private events that occurred after age 10, “they were remarkably better at recalling the details of their lives,” said McGaugh, senior author on the study.
These folks couldn’t be UC-Irvine grads, could they?

Similar Posts

  • | | | | | | | |

    Yesterday’s news

    Christmas day tends to be a slow news day.  However, for those who didn’t see it, the LA Times carried a front page story about UC’s online offerings which allow cross-campus credits.  You can find the article at: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-me-uc-online-20131222,0,6798231.story Blog readers will be familiar with these offerings.  We noted in a prior post that UCLA seems to be a taker rather than a giver in this endeavor.  That is, other campuses’ online courses are available to UCLA students.  But UCLA is not offering courses to the other campuses.  Berkeley, Irvine, Davis, and Riverside seem to be the offerers.   Now, how…

  • | | |

    Various UC Campuses Cleared of Anti-Semitism Charges

    Inside Higher Ed reported yesterday that UC campuses at Berkeley and Santa Cruz had been cleared of charges of allowing an anti-Semitic atmosphere due to anti-Israel student activities.  The campuses received letters from the US Dept. of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) clearing them on free speech grounds.  An article appeared later in the LA Times indicating the same conclusion was reached for UC-Irvine. The Inside Higher Ed article is at http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/08/28/education-dept-rejects-charges-anti-jewish-bias-u-calif-campuses The LA Times article is at http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-uc-fed-probe-20130829,0,936811.story You can find an official letter to one of the campuses from OCR through the first link.  But the unofficial…

  • |

    Another Campus Climate Incident Reported

    The story above can be found in more detail at http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/04/26/uc-irvine-fraternity-issues-apology-after-blackface-video-sparks-outrage/.  So far, yours truly found no official response on the UC-Irvine website. Blog readers may recall a somewhat-related video that became known as “Asians in the Library” at UCLA and which sparked an official reaction from Chancellor Block. Possibly, this matter will be discussed at the upcoming May Regents meeting, possibly in conjunction with results – are there any yet? – from the campus climate survey taken this past winter.  

  • |

    Columnist asks about needs vs. wants

    Note: In the future, there are likely to be more such questions – of the type excerpted below – about campus plans for new programs, schools, and even grand hotels. Dan Walters today in the Sacramento Bee: Was UC-Irvine’s Law School Strictly Necessary? Six years ago, yours truly wrote a column about a proposed law school at the University of California’s Irvine campus, suggesting that it was more about academic ego and Orange County boosterism than a shortage of lawyers. The column pointed out that the state already had 25 accredited law schools and the number of graduates taking the…