MAGAZINE OF THE SOCIE TY FOR SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC mAGAZiNe OF THe SOCie TY FOR SCieNCe & THe PUbLiC
PUBLISHER elizabeth marincola
EDITOR IN CHIEF Tom Siegfried
EDITORIAL
MANAGING EDITOR eva emerson
SENIOR EDITOR/POLICY janet Raloff
DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, NEWS matt Crenson
DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, FEATURES elizabeth Quill
DEPARTMENTS EDITOR erika engelhaupt
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Kate Travis
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Alexandra witze
ASTRONOM Y Nadia Drake
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES bruce bower
BIOMEDICINE Nathan Seppa
CHEMISTRY/INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES Rachel ehrenberg
LIFE SCIENCES Susan milius
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY Tina Hesman Saey
NEUROSCIENCE Laura Sanders
PHYSICAL SCIENCES Devin Powell
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Allison bohac
WEB SPECIALIST/EDITORIAL SECRETARY Gwendolyn K.N. Gillespie
SCIENCE WRITER INTERN Nick bascom
CONTRIBUTING CORRESPONDENTS Laura beil, Susan Gaidos, Charles Petit
DESIGN
DESIGN DIRECTOR beth Rakouskas
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTORS Theresa Dubé, erin Feliciano
ADVERTISING | CIRCULATION
CIRCULATION MANAGER Tosh Arimura
ADVER TISING jonathan Sismey, Eastern Director;
mike walker, Western Director
ADVERTISING/CIRCULATION ASSOCIATE Kerwin wilson
PERMISSIONS evora Swoopes
BOARD OF TRUSTEES CHAIRMAN H. Robert Horvitz
VICE CHAIR jennifer Yruegas SECRETARY Gayle wilson
TREASURER michela english MEMBERS Craig R. barrett, S. james Gates jr.,
Tom Leighton, Alan Leshner, Stephanie Pace marshall, Patrick mcGovern, joe Palca,
Anne C. Petersen, Robert w. Shaw jr., Frank wilczek; elizabeth marincola, ex officio
EXECUTIVE OFFICE PRESIDENT elizabeth marincola
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Amy méndez
FINANCE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Greg mitchell
ACCOUNTING MANAGER Lisa m. Proctor SENIOR ACCOUNTANT Sivakami Kumaran
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER Rick bates
OUTREACH DIRECTOR jennifer Carter COMMUNICATIONS Caitlin jennings
SENIOR DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Stephanie Heishman
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, SENIOR SPECIALIST Nancy moulding
DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Charles Heidlage
EVEN TS MANAGEMEN T DIRECTOR Cait Goldberg ASSOCIATE marisa Gaggi
SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS DIRECTOR michele Glidden
INTEL SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH MANAGER Caitlin Sullivan
BROADCOM MASTERS MANAGER Stephanie Lemnios
INTERNATIONAL FAIRS MANAGER Sharon Snyder
DOMESTIC FAIRS Laurie Demsey VOLUNTEERS AND SPECIAL AWARDS Diane Rashid
AWARD AND EDUCATION PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION june Kee
INTERNATIONAL FAIRS SPECIALIST jinny Kim ASSOCIATE Laura buitrago
INTERNAL OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Harry Rothmann
MANAGER, NETWORK ADMINISTRATION james C. moore
LOGISTICS Anthony Payne FACILITIES Paul Roger
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Thomas D. Smith, Amy An, Gregory A. Sprouse
DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR Alan Gordon MAILROOM TECHNICIAN Randy williams
EDITORIAL, ADVERTISING AND BUSINESS OFFICES
1719 N Street Nw, washington, DC 20036 Phone (202) 785-2255
Subscriptions subs@sciencenews.org Editorial/Letters editors@sciencenews.org
Advertising/Business snsales@sciencenews.org
Digital edition provided by Texterity, www.texterity.com
Science News (iSSN 0036-8423) is published biweekly, for $54.50 for 1 year or
$98 for 2 years (international rate $80.50 for 1 year or $161 for 2 years) by Society
for Science & the Public, 1719 N Street Nw washington, D. C. 20036.
Preferred periodicals postage paid at washington, D.C., and an additional mailing office.
Subscription Department: PO box 1205, williamsport, PA 17703-1205. For new
subscriptions and customer service, call 1-800-552-4412.
Postmaster: Send address changes to Science News, PO box 1205, williamsport, PA
17703-1205. Two to four weeks’ notice is required. Old and new addresses, including zip
codes, must be provided. Copyright © 2011 by Society for Science & the Public. Title registered as trademark U. S. and Canadian Patent Offices. Printed in U.S.A. on recycled paper.
For a few, all memories
are impossible to forget
What’s too painful to remember, Barbra
Streisand once sang, we simply choose
to forget. But for some people, that’s
easier sung than done.
It’s rare, but real: Scientists have
identified a handful of individuals who
can remember the days of their lives
in video replay–like detail. People
with an ability called “highly superior autobiographical
memory” can recall what happened on any day in their
past as easily as others can say what they were doing on
9/11, or when the space shuttle Challenger exploded, or
when Kennedy was shot.
Such abilities are familiar to fans of the new TV show
Unforgettable, in which supermemory helps a detective
solve crimes. But scientists hope that people possessing
this power will help in solving mysteries of another sort,
about the workings of the brain.
As Laura Sanders reports in this issue (Page 9), people
with this superior memory have extra bulk in particular
parts of the brain. These anatomical anomalies can provide
clues not only to how superior memory is possible, but
also to how memory works in general. Much of what neuro
scientists have learned about memory stems from studies
of people with memory problems caused by brain damage.
A lot has been discovered from such “negative” evidence,
but theories of memory should benefit by adding insight
from the positive perspective.
Another intriguing aspect of the recent findings is the link
between the neuroanatomy of supermemory and obsessive
compulsive disorder. One of the brain areas that is super
sized in supermemory is also enlarged in people with OCD.
Figuring out the precise nature of the OCDsupermemory
link will take some work; it wouldn’t be right to start think
ing that a good memory is a sign of disease. But knowledge
about the underlying connections between the two condi
tions might aid the search for OCD treatments, as well as
suggest new methods for improving memory.
It’s not that the goal should be for everybody to remember
everything (which, if you think about it, might not be such a
good idea anyway). Just finding out more about how super
memory works could lead to a deeper understanding of all
sorts of other brain processes and disorders. Supermemory
should, after all, turn out to be good for something more than
just catching TV criminals. — Tom Siegfried, Editor in Chief
Society for Science & the Public is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit corporation founded in 1921. The vision of Society for Science & the Public is to promote the understanding and appreciation
of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement: to inform, educate, inspire. Visit Society for Science & the Public at www.societyforscience.org. Republication of any portion of
Science News without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For permission to photocopy articles, contact Copyright Clearance Center at 978-750-8400 (phone) or 978-750-4470
(fax). Advertising appearing in this publication does not constitute endorsement of its content by Science News or Society for Science & the Public.
