Emma Alam can memorize 410 unrelated words in 15 minutes. That’s a world record. But could anyone else do it? A study shows that memory can be trained with the loci method – with surprisingly quick success.
A pack of bread is in the mailbox, a sack of potatoes is hanging from the bicycle handlebars, a bar of chocolate is on the way. This is what a memory athlete’s shopping list could look like. But even «normal people» can use so-called memory palaces and thus give their memories a boost. A recent study suggests that.
Memorize 410 words in just 15 minutes
A memory palace can be built with the so-called loci method (from the Latin: «locus» – place or place), a form of memory training. For example, you can memorize the way to the supermarket and connect the things to be remembered with places along the way. It just takes practice and repetition. Record memory athletes like Pakistani Emma Alam can memorize hundreds of words. According to Guinness World Records, Alam can do 410 in just 15 minutes.
For the study, the scientists working with memory researcher Isabella Wagner from the University of Vienna examined the brains of people from different groups. For example, 17 top memory athletes who mastered the loci method were compared with 17 subjects of similar age and IQ who trained their memory using the loci method. Control groups that trained their memory using a different method or not at all were also included. The journal Science Advances published the results.
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Brains work more efficiently through the loci method
The researchers found that loci subjects developed better and longer-lasting memories over a period of six weeks with just 30-minute training sessions over 40 days. Using MRI scans, the researchers were able to show that as a result of the exercise, their brains worked more efficiently and performed better compared to controls with less effort.
The key to success is to organize new information in an already known framework. “It is important that you choose a route that you are very familiar with. It could very well be one from childhood. But routes that are often taken, such as the way to work, also fit,” explained Wagner. Memory athletes would even have several routes to choose from.
The researchers believe that different areas of the brain are stimulated by the visual imagery, making things easier to remember. The street as a mental framework helps to create associations. «The more unusual or fun these associations are, the better they are noticed,» said Wagner.
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Experts explain weak points of the study
The expert explained that it has not yet been examined in detail whether loci memory training also generally increases memory retention and not just the rehearsed memories. “Of course, with training, you become faster at memorizing new things with this method. In particular, incoherent information and list-like items can be remembered much better in this way.”
The study does not address whether people with cognitive disabilities can also use this method to improve their memory. Richard Dodel, dementia expert at the German Society for Neurology, noted this. «Another weakness of the study is that we don’t learn more about the subjects and their cognitive abilities.» This is important in order to be able to make a comparison with the abilities of the memory athletes.
“With the loci method, people can train their working memory well into old age. However, this method would no longer help with dementia – even in the early stages,” says Dodel.
with material from dpa