doi.org
Brain organization of a memory champion
Memory athletes can achieve superior performance (e.g., memorizing 339 digits in 5 minutes) with extensive daily training, by converting abstract information into vivid scenes, and placing them along a mental path, that is later retraced (Method of Loci). Understanding the brain mechanisms underlying such training-derived mastery would increase our understanding of the brain's memory systems and could suggest novel approaches to improving cognition in other domains. As memory athletes use personalized training techniques, it has been challenging to study them with standard group paradigms. Fortunately, precision functional mapping (PFM) enables detailed investigation of individual brains through repeated sampling of resting-state functional connectivity and task fMRI. Here, we precisely mapped the brain organization of a 6-time U.S. Memory Champion (>13 hours fMRI). Relative to controls, the Memory Champion's network functional connectivity (FC) was strengthened with the retrosplenial, extrastriate visual, and dorsal frontal cortex (area 55b), as well as with the caudate nucleus. The Memory Champion had modules related to scene and semantic processing not seen in controls, alongside stronger connectivity between the caudate and classical memory networks. During rote memorization, the Champion's task fMRI patterns were typical, with the hippocampus active during encoding. This pattern was reversed when he used his Method of Loci technique, with greater hippocampal activity during recall than encoding. Hence, intense practice at converting abstract information into more memorable formats can develop a procedural memory skill that utilizes brain regions typically reserved for navigation, language, social cognition, and associative learning. ### Competing Interest Statement E.M.G. may receive royalty income based on technology developed at Washington University School of Medicine and licensed to Turing Medical Inc. N.U.F.D. has a financial interest in Turing Medical Inc. and may benefit financially if the company is successful in marketing Framewise Integrated Real-Time Motion Monitoring (FIRMM) software products. N.U.F.D. may receive royalty income based on FIRMM technology developed at Washington University School of Medicine and Oregon Health and Sciences University and licensed to Turing Medical Inc. N.U.F.D. is a co-founder of Turing Medical Inc. TOL is a consultant for Turing Medical Inc. TOL holds a patent for taskless mapping of brain activity licensed to Sora Neurosciences and a patent for optimizing targets for neuromodulation, implant localization, and ablation is pending. These potential conflicts of interest have been reviewed and are managed by Washington University School of Medicine. The other authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. NIH, NS140256 (E.M.G.), NS123345 , NS098482 (B.P.K.),MH129616 (T.O.L.), T32DA007261 (S.R.K), MH096773 (N.U.F.D.), MH122066 (N.U.F.D., E.M.G.), MH121276 ( N.U.F.D. , E.M.G.), MH124567 ( N.U.F.D. , E.M.G.), NS129521 (N.U.F.D. , E.M.G.), NS088590 (N.U.F.D.), S10OD025200, 1S10RR022984-01A1 and 1S10OD018091-01 (The Washington University Research Computing and Informatics Facility) The Taylor Family Foundation The Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center The Washington University Hope Center for Neurological Disorders Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology The Kiwanis Foundation The McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, https://ror.org/03a63f080
