Memory is such an important part of who we are and how we navigate our daily lives that we often forget how mysterious it is. We worry about losing it, and with good reason.But there is much more to memory — more than simply having a good one or experiencing its slow atrophy in old age or disease. There are a few types of memory that are simply astonishing — and studying them may tell us more about ourselves and how our minds work.
We don’t usually think of atypical memory as a disorder or condition, explains Michael Yassa, director of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California, Irvine. He prefers to call them “phenomena.” and these phenomena are a fascinating look at the many ways memory can work.
