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{{Short description|Memory techniques adopted in ancient Roman and Greek rhetorical treatises}}
The '''method of loci''' or ''Ars memoriae'' (art of memory) is a ] device practiced since ] times. It is a kind of ], used most often in cases where long lists of either related or independent items must be remembered in order.
{{About|the memorization technique|other uses|Locus (disambiguation){{!}}Locus}}
{{Redirect|Memory palace|the podcast|The Memory Palace|other uses|Memory palace (disambiguation)}}
] discussed the method of loci in his '']''.]]
{{Rhetoric}}


The '''method of loci''' is a strategy for memory enhancement, which uses ] of familiar spatial environments in order to enhance the recall of information. The method of loci is also known as the '''memory journey''', '''memory palace''', '''journey method''', '''memory spaces''', or '''mind palace technique'''. This method is a ] device adopted in ] and ] rhetorical treatises (in the anonymous '']'', ]'s '']'', and ]'s '']''). Many ] champions report using this technique to recall faces, digits, and lists of words.
Loci are physical locations or spatial correlations linking unfamiliar information which needs to be recalled with a familiar set which can be recalled at will. Memorable verbal linkages are used to connect the known set to the unfamiliar one, enabling the device's user to more easily recall the unfamiliar elements by starting from known elements and attempting to recall their relationships rather than simply recalling the unfamiliar elements independently.


It is the term most often found in specialised works on ], ], and ], though it was used in the same general way at least as early as the first half of the nineteenth century in works on ], ], and ].<ref>e.g. in a discussion of "topical memory" (yet another designator) Jamieson mentions that "memorial lines, or verses, are more useful than the method of loci." ], ''A Grammar of Logic and Intellectual Philosophy'', A. H. Maltby, 1835, p112</ref> ] and ] refer to:<blockquote>... "the method of loci", an imaginal technique known to the ancient Greeks and Romans and described by ] (1966) in her book '']'' as well as by ] (1969). In this technique the subject memorizes the layout of some building, or the arrangement of shops on a street, or any geographical entity which is composed of a number of discrete loci. When desiring to remember a set of items the subject 'walks' through these loci in their imagination and commits an item to each one by forming an image between the item and any feature of that locus. Retrieval of items is achieved by 'walking' through the loci, allowing the latter to activate the desired items. The efficacy of this technique has been well established (Ross and Lawrence 1968, Crovitz 1969, 1971, Briggs, Hawkins and Crovitz 1970, Lea 1975), as is the minimal interference seen with its use.<ref name="cognitivemap">{{cite book| last1 = O'Keefe| first1 =John |last2 = Nadel |first2 =Lynn| author-link2 = Lynn Nadel | title =The Hippocampus as a Cognitive Map'| publisher = ]| date = December 7, 1978| location = Oxford|url =https://www.cmor-faculty.rice.edu/~cox/neuro/HCMComplete.pdf| isbn = 978-0198572060}}</ref></blockquote>
For instance, according to ]'s '']'', the method's inventor ], was once attending a dinner with other notable Greeks. After he had stepped outside, the building was destroyed, killing all inside. During the excavation of the rubble, Simonides was called upon to identify each guest killed. He managed to do so by correlating their identities to their positions at the table before his departure (hence their positions or "loci" were utilized in discerning their identities).


The items to be remembered in this mnemonic system are mentally associated with specific physical locations.<ref>{{cite book|last=Carlson|first=Neil R.|title=Psychology the science of behaviour|year=2010|publisher=Pearson Canada Inc.|isbn=9780205645244|pages=|url=https://archive.org/details/psychologyscienc0004unse/page/245}}</ref> The method relies on memorized spatial relationships to establish order and recollect memorial content. It is also known as the "Journey Method", used for storing lists of related items, or the "Roman Room" technique, which is most effective for storing unrelated information.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}
The most common technique is to memorise some large building, the more architectural elaboration of rooms, passages and niches it has the better &mdash; this is sometimes called the 'Memory Palace'. Mnemonic images can be placed about this ] to link to items that you wanted to remember, usually in symbolic form, with the images as striking as possible to enable recollection. To recall something, the practitioner mentally moves around the palace, reviewing the images in order. This was an essential technique of ] and ].


==Contemporary usage==
Another technique uses landmarks on a well-known journey instead of places in a building; this is called the 'journey method'.
Many effective memorisers today resort to the "method of loci" to some degree. Contemporary memory competition, in particular the ], was initiated in 1991 and the first ] was held in 1997.<ref>{{cite journal| last =Foer| first =Joshua| author-link =Joshua Foer| title =Forget Me Not: How to win the U.S. memory championship| journal =]| date = March 16, 2005| url =http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/dispatches/2005/03/forget_me_not.single.html| access-date = October 24, 2013}}</ref> Part of the competition requires committing to memory and recalling a sequence of digits, two-digit numbers, alphabetic letters, or playing cards. In a simple method of doing this, contestants, using various strategies well before competing, commit to ] a unique vivid image associated with each item. They have also committed to long-term memory a familiar route with firmly established stop-points or loci. Then in the competition they need only deposit the image that they have associated with each item at the loci. To recall, they retrace the route, "stop" at each locus, and "observe" the image. They then translate this back to the associated item. For example, ], a ], describes to Josh Foer in his book '']'' how he uses the method of loci. First, he describes a very familiar location where he can clearly remember many different smaller locations like his sink in his childhood home or his dog's bed. Cooke also advises that the more outlandish and vulgar the symbol used to memorize the material, the more likely it will stick.


Memory champions elaborate on this by combining images. Eight-time ] ] uses this technique.<ref>{{cite web| title = 1997 World Memory Championships| work = Mind Sports Worldwide| url =http://www.msoworld.com/brain/mental/memory97_2.html| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110514121614/http://www.msoworld.com/brain/mental/memory97_2.html| archive-date = May 14, 2011| access-date =October 24, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mt.artofmemory.com/Memory_Town_System_for_Languages|title=Memory Town System for Languages - Memory Techniques Wiki|website=mt.artofmemory.com}}</ref> The 2006 ], ], used a 300-point-long journey through his house for his world record in "number half marathon", memorising 1040 random digits in a half-hour. An anonymous individual has used the method of loci to memorise ] to over 65,536 (2<sup>16</sup>) digits.<ref>{{Cite journal
A reference to these techniques survives to this day in the common English phrases "in the first place", "in the second place", and so forth.
| last1 = Raz | first1 = A.
| last2 = Packard | first2 = M. G.
| last3 = Alexander | first3 = G. M.
| last4 = Buhle | first4 = J. T.
| last5 = Zhu | first5 = H.
| last6 = Yu | first6 = S.
| last7 = Peterson | first7 = B. S.
| doi = 10.1080/13554790902776896
| title = A slice of π : An exploratory neuroimaging study of digit encoding and retrieval in a superior memorist
| journal = Neurocase
| volume = 15
| issue = 5
| pages = 361–372
| year = 2009
| pmid = 19585350
| pmc = 4323087
}}</ref>


The technique is taught as a metacognitive technique in learning-to-learn courses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn|title=Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects - Coursera|website=Coursera}}</ref> It is generally applied to encoding the key ideas of a subject. Two approaches are:
It may be helpful to note that most of the best memorizers today use this technique to a greater or lesser degree. Eight World Memory Champion ] advocates this technique, as does ].
# Link the key ideas of a subject and then deep-learn those key ideas in relation to each other, and
# Think through the key ideas of a subject in depth, re-arrange the ideas in relation to an argument, then link the ideas to loci in good order.


The method of loci has also been shown to help those with ] remember positive, self-affirming memories.<ref name="Dagleish">{{Cite journal |last1=Dalgleish |first1=Tim |last2=Navrady |first2=Lauren |last3=Bird |first3=Elinor |last4=Hill |first4=Emma |last5=Dunn |first5=Barnaby D. |last6=Golden |first6=Ann-Marie |date=12 February 2013 |title=Method-of-Loci as a Mnemonic Device to Facilitate Access to Self-Affirming Personal Memories for Individuals With Depression |journal=Clinical Psychological Science |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=156–162 |doi=10.1177/2167702612468111|s2cid=145382198 }}</ref>
==The method of loci in literature==
The ] missionary ], who from ] until his death in ], worked to introduce ] to ], described the memory palace technique in his work, '']''.


A study at the University of Maryland evaluated participants' ability to accurately recall two sets of familiar faces, using a traditional desktop, and with a head-mounted display. The study was designed to utilize the method of loci technique, with virtual environments resembling memory palaces. The study found an 8.8% recall improvement in favor of the head-mounted display, in part due to participants being able to employ their ] and ] sensations.<ref name="EKrokos">{{Cite journal |last1=Krokos|first1=Eric|last2=Plaisant|first2=Catherine|last3=Varshney|first3=Amitabh |date=16 May 2018|title=Virtual Memory Palaces: Immersion Aids Recall|journal=Virtual Reality|volume=23|pages=1–15 |doi=10.1007/s10055-018-0346-3|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Memory palaces appear in ]' ] '']'', in which ] and ] ] organizes his memories in an elaborate memory palace. Another example appears in the Ice Age cycle of ] books, in which many of the ]s, most notably Jodah, store their repertoire of spells in a 'mental mansion'.


==See also== == Method ==
The '']'' and most other sources recommend that the method of loci should be integrated with other forms of ] (i.e., adding visual, auditory, or other details) to strengthen memory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utexas.edu/research/memoria/Ad_Herennium_Passages.html|title=Rhetorica ad Herennium Passages on Memory|first=Douglas Boin/Karl|last=Galinsky|website=www.utexas.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.artofmemory.com/quintillian-on-memory-109.html|title=Quintilian on Memory - Art of Memory Blog|date=25 November 2010|website=artofmemory.com}}</ref> However, due to the strength of spatial memory, simply mentally placing objects in real or imagined locations without further elaboration can be effective for simple associations.
*]
*]


A variation of the "method of loci" involves creating imaginary locations (houses, palaces, roads, and cities) to which the same procedure is applied. It is accepted that there is a greater cost involved in the initial setup, but thereafter the performance is in line with the standard loci method. The purported advantage is to create towns and cities that each represent a topic or an area of study, thus offering an efficient filing of the information and an easy path for the regular review necessary for long-term memory storage.<ref>{{cite book| last = Bremer| first = Rod| title =The Manual - A guide to the Ultimate Study Method (USM)| publisher = Fons Sapientiae Publishing | date = September 20, 2011| location = Cambridge, United Kingdom| isbn = 978-0956990709}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.artofmemory.com/memory-techniques-brazilian-portuguese-795.html|title=New Project: Use Memory Techniques to Learn Brazilian Portuguese - Art of Memory Blog|date=18 December 2010|website=artofmemory.com}}</ref>
]


Something that is likely a reference to the "method of loci" techniques survives to this day in the common English phrases "in the first place", "in the second place", and so forth.<ref>{{cite book| last = Finger| first =Stanley| title =Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function| publisher = ]| date = October 11, 2001| location = Oxford| pages = 333 | isbn = 978-0195146943}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.artofmemory.com/first-place-second-place-5806.html|title="In the First Place, in the Second Place" - Art of Memory Blog|date=12 January 2015|website=artofmemory.com}}</ref>
== Blending the various systems together: A 'Unified theory on hypermemnesia (heightened recall)' ==


The technique is also used for second-language vocabulary learning, as polyglot ] described in his 2014 ] talk.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Donor|first1=Timothy|title=Breaking the language barrier|website=] |date=9 March 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNmf-G81Irs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/xNmf-G81Irs |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|access-date=19 February 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
Adel Anwar, is a British Attorney, recently interviewed on CNN, that claims to have used a unique blend of ancient and modern memory systems to rise through the ranks of law rapidly, mastering complex legal information with minimal effort compared to his hard working friends from Oxford University. When questioned he states that he had to re-adjust the hackneyed Greco-Roman memory methods, in a unique way, so as to take into account the latest findings from brain and memory researchers.


==Applicability of the term==
This is a claim shared by us at the Harvard School of Medicine. Scientists have also found that without such re-adjustment, or 'blending of various systems and strategies', students and businessmen, may surprisingly perform below-par, and ironically still experience failure, despite showing prodigious memory power at parties (i.e. strategies that can be very powerful indeed, if used correctly, end up being mere amateur 'party tricks').
The designation is not used with strict consistency. In some cases it refers broadly to what is otherwise known as the ], ], according to tradition, in the story of ] and the collapsing banquet hall.<ref>Frances Yates, ''The Art of Memory'', University of Chicago, 1966, p1-2</ref> For example, after relating the story of how Simonides relied on remembered seating arrangements to call to mind the faces of recently deceased guests, ] remarks "his insight led to the development of a technique the Greeks called the method of loci, which is a systematic way of improving one's memory by using imagery."<ref>Stephen M. Kosslyn, "Imagery in Learning" in: Michael S. Gazzaniga (Ed.), ''Perspectives in Memory Research'', MIT Press, 1988, p245; Kosslyn fails to cite any example of the use of an equivalent term in period Greek or Latin sources.</ref> ] and ] indicate that "an ancient technique of memorization called Method of Loci, by which memories are referenced directly onto spatial maps" originated with the story of Simonides.<ref>John Robert Skoyles, Dorion Sagan, ''Up From Dragons: The Evolution of Human Intelligence'', McGraw-Hill, 2002, p150</ref> Referring to mnemonic methods, ] mentions, "One such strategy is the 'loci' method, which was developed by Simonides, a Greek poet of the fifth and sixth centuries BC."<ref>Linda Verlee Williams, ''Teaching For The Two-Sided Mind: A Guide to Right Brain/Left Brain Education'', Simon & Schuster, 1986, p110</ref> Loftus cites the ] of Simonides (more or less taken from ]) and describes some of the most basic aspects of the use of space in the ]. She states, "This particular mnemonic technique has come to be called the "method of loci".<ref>Elizabeth F. Loftus, ''Human Memory: The Processing of Information'', Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1976, p65</ref> While place or position certainly figured prominently in ancient mnemonic techniques, no designation equivalent to "method of loci" was used exclusively to refer to mnemonic schemes relying upon space for organization.<ref>For example, Aristotle referred to ''topoi'' (places) in which memorial content could be aggregated - hence our modern term "topics", while another primary classical source, ''Rhetorica ad Herennium'' (Bk III) discusses rules for places ''and'' images. In general Classical and Medieval sources describe these techniques as the art or arts of memory (''ars memorativa'' or ''artes memorativae''), rather than as any putative "method of loci". Nor is the imprecise designation current in specialized historical studies, for example Mary Carruthers uses the term "architectural mnemonic" to describe what is otherwise designated "method of loci".</ref>


In other cases the designation is generally consistent, but more specific: "The Method of Loci is a Mnemonic Device involving the creation of a Visual Map of one's house."<ref>{{cite book| last =Gutman| first =Sharon A.| title =Quick Reference Neuroscience For Rehabilitation Professionals| publisher = SLACK Incorporated| date = December 1, 2007 |location =Thorofare, New Jersey| pages = 216| isbn =978-1556428005}}</ref>
In fact, academic and life-time failure results from complacency that is experienced if one merely uses such systems without taking into account the vast plethora of research that has come out recently relating to learning theory, neurology and intelligence theories.


This term can be misleading: the ancient principles and techniques of the ], hastily glossed in some of the works, cited above, depended equally upon images ''and'' places. The designator "method of loci" does not convey the equal weight placed on both elements. Training in the art or arts of memory as a whole, as attested in classical antiquity, was far more inclusive and comprehensive in the treatment of this subject.
Such recent explosion of knowledge is due to the great advancement, and updated understanding that scientists have witnessed, as a result of brain imaging equipment (PET, MRI, fMRI, bio-feedback, electro-encephalograph); as well as recently a reawakened interest in finding ways to develop either superhuman capability or to overcome the ravishes of the aging brain. It is a fact that people are living a lot longer, yet dementia is on the rise, as well. Gary Small, M.D. of UCLA Medical Research, recommends early intervention with memory enhancing techniques that also blend various methodologies together.


== Spatial mnemonics and specific brain activation ==
Nevertheless, 'superior memory' seen in modern experts, is as a result of using ancient Greco-Roman methods, states Profs. Wilder & Valentine, of Royal Holloway College, University of London. Their ground-breaking research has been featured in the eminent 'Nature' journal.


Brain scans of "superior memorizers", 90% of whom use the method of loci technique, have shown that it involves activation of regions of the brain involved in spatial awareness, such as the ], ], and the ].<ref>{{cite journal | first1=E. A. | last1=Maguire | title=Routes to remembering: The brains behind superior memory | last2=Valentine | first2=E. R. | last3=Wilding | first3=J. M. | last4=Kapur | first4=N. | journal=Nature Neuroscience | year=2002 | volume=6 | issue=1 | pages=90–95 | doi=10.1038/nn988 | pmid=12483214| s2cid=13921255 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1 = Parasuraman| first1 = Raja| last2 = Rizzo| first2 = Matthew| title = Neuroergonomics| publisher = ]| date = February 13, 2008| location = New York | pages = 139 | isbn = 978-0195368659}}</ref> The medial parietal cortex is most associated with encoding and retrieving of information. Patients who have medial parietal cortex damage have trouble linking landmarks with certain locations; many of these patients are unable to give or follow directions and often get lost. The retrosplenial cortex is also linked to memory and navigation. In one study on the effects of selective granular retrosplenial cortex lesions in rats, the researcher found that damage to the retrosplenial cortex led to impaired spatial learning abilities. Rats with damage to this area failed to recall which areas of the maze they had already visited, rarely explored different arms of the maze, almost never recalled the maze in future trials, and took longer to reach the end of the maze, as compared to rats with a fully working retrosplenial cortex.
Academic scientists, such as Harvard's Prof. Daniel Schacter (7 sins of memory), or Profs. Gruneberg & Herrman in Britain, are skeptical at the pop-culture espoused by non-scientists, which falsely claim to improve memory by allegedly but falsely installing a so-called 'photographic memory'. The fact is, the brain is not a 'camera'. A camera is an artificial device invented relatively recently, compared to the genetic evolution of memory and the brain.


In a classic study in cognitive ], O'Keefe and Nadel proposed "that the hippocampus is the core of a neural memory system providing an objective spatial framework within which the items and events of an organism's experience are located and interrelated." This theory has generated considerable debate and further experiment. It has been noted that "he hippocampus underpins our ability to navigate, to form and recollect memories, and to imagine future experiences. How activity across millions of hippocampal ] supports these functions is a fundamental question in neuroscience, wherein the size, sparseness, and organization of the hippocampal neural code are debated."<ref>{{Cite journal| last1 = Hassabis | first1 = D.| last2 = Chu | first2 = C.| last3 = Rees | first3 = G.| last4 = Weiskopf | first4 = N.| last5 = Molyneux | first5 = P. D.
In reality, there is 'no one thing called memory'. Memory is composed of many distinct components, now documented by academics, yet little understood by the vast plethora of 'pop' memory experts. This also means relying on memory systems as one's only method of improving memory is erroneous; a claim shared by Dr. Kenneth Higbee of Brigham-Young University.
| last6 = Maguire | first6 = E. A. | doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2009.02.033 | title = Decoding Neuronal Ensembles in the Human Hippocampus | journal = Current Biology | volume = 19
| issue = 7 | pages = 546–554 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19285400 | pmc =2670980 | bibcode = 2009CBio...19..546H}}</ref>

In a more recent study, memory champions during resting periods did not exhibit specific regional brain differences, but distributed functional brain network connectivity changes compared to control subjects. When volunteers trained use of the method of loci for six weeks, the training-induced changes in brain connectivity were similar to the brain network organization that distinguished memory champions from controls.<ref>{{cite journal | first1=M. | last1=Dresler | title=Mnemonic Training Reshapes Brain Networks to Support Superior Memory | last2=Shirer | first2=W. R. | last3=Konrad | first3=B. N. | last4=Wagner | first4=I. C. | last5=Fernández | first5=F. | last6=Czisch | first6=M. | last7=Greicius | first7=M. D. | journal=Neuron | doi=10.1016/j.neuron.2017.02.003 | pmc=5439266 | year=2017 | volume=93 | issue=5 | pages=1227–1235 | pmid=28279356}}</ref>

== Fictional portrayals ==

* Fictional portrayals of the method of loci extend as far back as ].{{Which|date=November 2024}}{{cn|date=November 2024}}
* In the novels '']'' (1999) and '']'' (2006), by ], a detailed description of ]'s memory palace is provided.<ref name="harris-thomas-hanibal-rising">{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Thomas|year=2006|title=Hannibal Rising|location=United States|publisher=]|isbn=978-0385339414|pages=|title-link=Hannibal Rising}}</ref><ref name="martinez-conde-susana-sciam">{{cite news|last=Martinez-Conde|first=Susana|title=Neuroscience in Fiction: Hannibal Lecter's Memory Palace|date=April 26, 2013|url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/illusion-chasers/hannibal-lecter/|work=Scientific American|language=en}}</ref>
:<blockquote>We catch up to him as the swift slippers of his mind pass from the foyer into the Great Hall of the Seasons. The palace is built according to the rules discovered by Simonides of Ceos and elaborated by Cicero four hundred years later; it is airy, high-ceilinged, furnished with objects and tableaux that are vivid, striking, sometimes shocking and absurd, and often beautiful. The displays are well spaced and well lighted like those of a great museum. On the floor before the painting is this tableau, life-sized in painted marble. A parade in ] led by Jesus, thirty-three, driving a '27 ] Ford truck, a "Tin Lizzie", with ] standing in the truck bed wearing a tutu and waving to an unseen crowd. Marching behind him is ] carrying a .308 ] at shoulder arms.</blockquote>
* In the first episode of '']'' (2016), detective Kari Sorjonen explains the memory palace concept, and, throughout the series, he marks rectangles with tape on his basement floor where he stands to imagine himself at various significant loci in a case, organized into memory palaces.<ref>{{cite web |title=Recent Nordic Noir in Print and Television, Part Two: Finland |url=https://www.criticsatlarge.ca/2017/08/noir-finland-hiekkapelto-bordertown.html |publisher=Critics at Large |access-date=27 March 2022}}</ref>
* The television series '']'', which premiered in late 2008, mentions memory palaces on multiple occasions. The main character Patrick Jane claims to use a memory palace to memorise cards and gamble successfully. In the eleventh episode of season two, Jane teaches his colleague Wayne Rigsby how to construct a memory palace, explaining that they are good for memorising large chunks of information at a time.
* In "The Reunion Job", Episode 2 of Season 3 of the television show '']'', the criminal team must "hack" the Roman Room of a tech giant, as he's created a memory palace out of his senior in high school to remember his passwords.
* In the 2003 film '']'', the character Jonesy has an elaborate memory palace which plays a major role in the plot and is shown several times in the film, depicted as a physical building that Jonesy is walking through as a way to represent him accessing the memories.
* In the BBC television series '']'', which premiered in 2010, the title character uses mind palaces to remember various things throughout the show.
* In ]'s 2009 novel '']'', the fictionalized version of ] describes "memory palace" techniques and his uses of it.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Wolf Hall and the memory palace|url=http://www.nathancarterette.com/blog/2014/6/6/wolf-hall-and-the-memory-palace|access-date=2020-10-24|website=Nathan Carterette|date=6 June 2014 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In the 2017 medical drama '']'', series protagonist Shaun Murphy uses the Method of Loci to figure out various medical diagnoses.
* In the 2020 video game '']'', the main character Charles Reed is a detective that keeps points of interest in a mind palace menu.
* In the 2020 video game '']'', the main character Sam Higgs uses the mind palace in various points of the game to relive memories and investigate.<!-- Do not add anything here unless you have a reliable source that specifically discusses "Method of Loci" in a work of fiction. Citing the work of fiction itself is original research. -->
* In the 2023 video game ], FBI Agent Saga Anderson uses an adapted version, which she calls the "Mind Place", throughout the story to review cases and associated evidence.

==See also==
* ]
* ]
* ]

== Citations ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== General and cited references ==
<!-- ] has many of the ISBNs missing here, and other info. The two sections should be cross-checked and the best info added to both. -->
* {{Cite book |last=Bolzoni |first=Lina |year=2001 |title=The Gallery of Memory |publisher=University of Toronto Press |url=https://archive.org/details/galleryofmemoryl0000bolz |isbn=978-0802043306 |url-access=registration }}
* {{Cite book |last=Bolzoni |first=Lina |year=2004 |title=The Web of Images |publisher=Ashgate Publishers |isbn=978-0754605515}}
* {{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Derren |year=2007 |title=Tricks of the Mind |publisher=Transworld publishers |location=London }}
* {{Cite book |last=Carruthers |first=Mary |author2=Ziolkowski, Jan |year=2002 |title=The Medieval Craft of Memory: An anthology of texts and pictures |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0812218817}}
* {{Cite book |last=Carruthers |first=Mary |year=1990 |title=The Book of Memory |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521716314}}
* {{Cite book |last=Carruthers |first=Mary |year=1998 |title=The Craft of Thought |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521795418}}
* Dann, Jack (1995) The Memory Cathedral: A Secret History of Leonardo da Vinci: Bantam Books 0553378570
* Dresler, Martin, et al., '']'', 8 March 2017.
* {{Cite book |last=Dudai |first=Yadin |year=2002 |title=Memory from A to Z |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0198520870}}
* {{cite book |last=Foer |first=Joshua |title=Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything |year=2011|publisher=Penguin Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-59420-229-2|title-link=Moonwalking with Einstein}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lyndon |first1=Donlyn|last2=Moore |first2=Charles W. |year=1994 |title=Chambers for a Memory Palace |url=https://archive.org/details/chambersformemor1994lynd |url-access=registration |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=The MIT Press |isbn=9780262621052 |access-date= <!--21 February 2018-->}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rossi |first=Paolo |year=2000 |title=Logic and the Art of Memory |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0226728261}}
* {{Cite book |last=Small |first=Jocelyn P. |year=1997 |title=Wax Tablets of the Mind |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0415149839}}
* {{Cite book |last=Spence |first=Jonathan D. |year=1984 |title=The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci |publisher=Viking Penguin |location=New York |isbn=978-0-14-008098-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/memorypalaceofm00spen }}
* {{Cite book |last=Yates |first=Frances A. |year=1966 |title=The Art of Memory |title-link=The Art of Memory |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=978-0226950013 }}

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Latest revision as of 19:16, 15 December 2024

Memory techniques adopted in ancient Roman and Greek rhetorical treatises This article is about the memorization technique. For other uses, see Locus. "Memory palace" redirects here. For the podcast, see The Memory Palace. For other uses, see Memory palace (disambiguation).
Cicero discussed the method of loci in his De Oratore.
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The method of loci is a strategy for memory enhancement, which uses visualizations of familiar spatial environments in order to enhance the recall of information. The method of loci is also known as the memory journey, memory palace, journey method, memory spaces, or mind palace technique. This method is a mnemonic device adopted in ancient Roman and Greek rhetorical treatises (in the anonymous Rhetorica ad Herennium, Cicero's De Oratore, and Quintilian's Institutio Oratoria). Many memory contest champions report using this technique to recall faces, digits, and lists of words.

It is the term most often found in specialised works on psychology, neurobiology, and memory, though it was used in the same general way at least as early as the first half of the nineteenth century in works on rhetoric, logic, and philosophy. John O'Keefe and Lynn Nadel refer to:

... "the method of loci", an imaginal technique known to the ancient Greeks and Romans and described by Yates (1966) in her book The Art of Memory as well as by Luria (1969). In this technique the subject memorizes the layout of some building, or the arrangement of shops on a street, or any geographical entity which is composed of a number of discrete loci. When desiring to remember a set of items the subject 'walks' through these loci in their imagination and commits an item to each one by forming an image between the item and any feature of that locus. Retrieval of items is achieved by 'walking' through the loci, allowing the latter to activate the desired items. The efficacy of this technique has been well established (Ross and Lawrence 1968, Crovitz 1969, 1971, Briggs, Hawkins and Crovitz 1970, Lea 1975), as is the minimal interference seen with its use.

The items to be remembered in this mnemonic system are mentally associated with specific physical locations. The method relies on memorized spatial relationships to establish order and recollect memorial content. It is also known as the "Journey Method", used for storing lists of related items, or the "Roman Room" technique, which is most effective for storing unrelated information.

Contemporary usage

Many effective memorisers today resort to the "method of loci" to some degree. Contemporary memory competition, in particular the World Memory Championship, was initiated in 1991 and the first United States championship was held in 1997. Part of the competition requires committing to memory and recalling a sequence of digits, two-digit numbers, alphabetic letters, or playing cards. In a simple method of doing this, contestants, using various strategies well before competing, commit to long-term memory a unique vivid image associated with each item. They have also committed to long-term memory a familiar route with firmly established stop-points or loci. Then in the competition they need only deposit the image that they have associated with each item at the loci. To recall, they retrace the route, "stop" at each locus, and "observe" the image. They then translate this back to the associated item. For example, Ed Cooke, a Grand Master of Memory, describes to Josh Foer in his book Moonwalking with Einstein how he uses the method of loci. First, he describes a very familiar location where he can clearly remember many different smaller locations like his sink in his childhood home or his dog's bed. Cooke also advises that the more outlandish and vulgar the symbol used to memorize the material, the more likely it will stick.

Memory champions elaborate on this by combining images. Eight-time World Memory Champion Dominic O'Brien uses this technique. The 2006 World Memory Champion, Clemens Mayer, used a 300-point-long journey through his house for his world record in "number half marathon", memorising 1040 random digits in a half-hour. An anonymous individual has used the method of loci to memorise pi to over 65,536 (2) digits.

The technique is taught as a metacognitive technique in learning-to-learn courses. It is generally applied to encoding the key ideas of a subject. Two approaches are:

  1. Link the key ideas of a subject and then deep-learn those key ideas in relation to each other, and
  2. Think through the key ideas of a subject in depth, re-arrange the ideas in relation to an argument, then link the ideas to loci in good order.

The method of loci has also been shown to help those with depression remember positive, self-affirming memories.

A study at the University of Maryland evaluated participants' ability to accurately recall two sets of familiar faces, using a traditional desktop, and with a head-mounted display. The study was designed to utilize the method of loci technique, with virtual environments resembling memory palaces. The study found an 8.8% recall improvement in favor of the head-mounted display, in part due to participants being able to employ their vestibular and proprioceptive sensations.

Method

The Rhetorica ad Herennium and most other sources recommend that the method of loci should be integrated with other forms of elaborative encoding (i.e., adding visual, auditory, or other details) to strengthen memory. However, due to the strength of spatial memory, simply mentally placing objects in real or imagined locations without further elaboration can be effective for simple associations.

A variation of the "method of loci" involves creating imaginary locations (houses, palaces, roads, and cities) to which the same procedure is applied. It is accepted that there is a greater cost involved in the initial setup, but thereafter the performance is in line with the standard loci method. The purported advantage is to create towns and cities that each represent a topic or an area of study, thus offering an efficient filing of the information and an easy path for the regular review necessary for long-term memory storage.

Something that is likely a reference to the "method of loci" techniques survives to this day in the common English phrases "in the first place", "in the second place", and so forth.

The technique is also used for second-language vocabulary learning, as polyglot Timothy Doner described in his 2014 TED talk.

Applicability of the term

The designation is not used with strict consistency. In some cases it refers broadly to what is otherwise known as the art of memory, the origins of which are related, according to tradition, in the story of Simonides of Ceos and the collapsing banquet hall. For example, after relating the story of how Simonides relied on remembered seating arrangements to call to mind the faces of recently deceased guests, Stephen M. Kosslyn remarks "his insight led to the development of a technique the Greeks called the method of loci, which is a systematic way of improving one's memory by using imagery." Skoyles and Sagan indicate that "an ancient technique of memorization called Method of Loci, by which memories are referenced directly onto spatial maps" originated with the story of Simonides. Referring to mnemonic methods, Verlee Williams mentions, "One such strategy is the 'loci' method, which was developed by Simonides, a Greek poet of the fifth and sixth centuries BC." Loftus cites the foundation story of Simonides (more or less taken from Frances Yates) and describes some of the most basic aspects of the use of space in the art of memory. She states, "This particular mnemonic technique has come to be called the "method of loci". While place or position certainly figured prominently in ancient mnemonic techniques, no designation equivalent to "method of loci" was used exclusively to refer to mnemonic schemes relying upon space for organization.

In other cases the designation is generally consistent, but more specific: "The Method of Loci is a Mnemonic Device involving the creation of a Visual Map of one's house."

This term can be misleading: the ancient principles and techniques of the art of memory, hastily glossed in some of the works, cited above, depended equally upon images and places. The designator "method of loci" does not convey the equal weight placed on both elements. Training in the art or arts of memory as a whole, as attested in classical antiquity, was far more inclusive and comprehensive in the treatment of this subject.

Spatial mnemonics and specific brain activation

Brain scans of "superior memorizers", 90% of whom use the method of loci technique, have shown that it involves activation of regions of the brain involved in spatial awareness, such as the medial parietal cortex, retrosplenial cortex, and the right posterior hippocampus. The medial parietal cortex is most associated with encoding and retrieving of information. Patients who have medial parietal cortex damage have trouble linking landmarks with certain locations; many of these patients are unable to give or follow directions and often get lost. The retrosplenial cortex is also linked to memory and navigation. In one study on the effects of selective granular retrosplenial cortex lesions in rats, the researcher found that damage to the retrosplenial cortex led to impaired spatial learning abilities. Rats with damage to this area failed to recall which areas of the maze they had already visited, rarely explored different arms of the maze, almost never recalled the maze in future trials, and took longer to reach the end of the maze, as compared to rats with a fully working retrosplenial cortex.

In a classic study in cognitive neuroscience, O'Keefe and Nadel proposed "that the hippocampus is the core of a neural memory system providing an objective spatial framework within which the items and events of an organism's experience are located and interrelated." This theory has generated considerable debate and further experiment. It has been noted that "he hippocampus underpins our ability to navigate, to form and recollect memories, and to imagine future experiences. How activity across millions of hippocampal neurons supports these functions is a fundamental question in neuroscience, wherein the size, sparseness, and organization of the hippocampal neural code are debated."

In a more recent study, memory champions during resting periods did not exhibit specific regional brain differences, but distributed functional brain network connectivity changes compared to control subjects. When volunteers trained use of the method of loci for six weeks, the training-induced changes in brain connectivity were similar to the brain network organization that distinguished memory champions from controls.

Fictional portrayals

We catch up to him as the swift slippers of his mind pass from the foyer into the Great Hall of the Seasons. The palace is built according to the rules discovered by Simonides of Ceos and elaborated by Cicero four hundred years later; it is airy, high-ceilinged, furnished with objects and tableaux that are vivid, striking, sometimes shocking and absurd, and often beautiful. The displays are well spaced and well lighted like those of a great museum. On the floor before the painting is this tableau, life-sized in painted marble. A parade in Arlington National Cemetery led by Jesus, thirty-three, driving a '27 Model-T Ford truck, a "Tin Lizzie", with J. Edgar Hoover standing in the truck bed wearing a tutu and waving to an unseen crowd. Marching behind him is Clarice Starling carrying a .308 Enfield rifle at shoulder arms.

  • In the first episode of Bordertown (2016), detective Kari Sorjonen explains the memory palace concept, and, throughout the series, he marks rectangles with tape on his basement floor where he stands to imagine himself at various significant loci in a case, organized into memory palaces.
  • The television series The Mentalist, which premiered in late 2008, mentions memory palaces on multiple occasions. The main character Patrick Jane claims to use a memory palace to memorise cards and gamble successfully. In the eleventh episode of season two, Jane teaches his colleague Wayne Rigsby how to construct a memory palace, explaining that they are good for memorising large chunks of information at a time.
  • In "The Reunion Job", Episode 2 of Season 3 of the television show Leverage, the criminal team must "hack" the Roman Room of a tech giant, as he's created a memory palace out of his senior in high school to remember his passwords.
  • In the 2003 film Dreamcatcher, the character Jonesy has an elaborate memory palace which plays a major role in the plot and is shown several times in the film, depicted as a physical building that Jonesy is walking through as a way to represent him accessing the memories.
  • In the BBC television series Sherlock, which premiered in 2010, the title character uses mind palaces to remember various things throughout the show.
  • In Hilary Mantel's 2009 novel Wolf Hall, the fictionalized version of Thomas Cromwell describes "memory palace" techniques and his uses of it.
  • In the 2017 medical drama The Good Doctor, series protagonist Shaun Murphy uses the Method of Loci to figure out various medical diagnoses.
  • In the 2020 video game The Sinking City, the main character Charles Reed is a detective that keeps points of interest in a mind palace menu.
  • In the 2020 video game Twin Mirror, the main character Sam Higgs uses the mind palace in various points of the game to relive memories and investigate.
  • In the 2023 video game Alan Wake II, FBI Agent Saga Anderson uses an adapted version, which she calls the "Mind Place", throughout the story to review cases and associated evidence.

See also

Citations

  1. e.g. in a discussion of "topical memory" (yet another designator) Jamieson mentions that "memorial lines, or verses, are more useful than the method of loci." Alexander Jamieson, A Grammar of Logic and Intellectual Philosophy, A. H. Maltby, 1835, p112
  2. O'Keefe, John; Nadel, Lynn (December 7, 1978). The Hippocampus as a Cognitive Map' (PDF). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198572060.
  3. Carlson, Neil R. (2010). Psychology the science of behaviour. Pearson Canada Inc. pp. 245. ISBN 9780205645244.
  4. Foer, Joshua (March 16, 2005). "Forget Me Not: How to win the U.S. memory championship". Slate. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  5. "1997 World Memory Championships". Mind Sports Worldwide. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  6. "Memory Town System for Languages - Memory Techniques Wiki". mt.artofmemory.com.
  7. Raz, A.; Packard, M. G.; Alexander, G. M.; Buhle, J. T.; Zhu, H.; Yu, S.; Peterson, B. S. (2009). "A slice of π : An exploratory neuroimaging study of digit encoding and retrieval in a superior memorist". Neurocase. 15 (5): 361–372. doi:10.1080/13554790902776896. PMC 4323087. PMID 19585350.
  8. "Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects - Coursera". Coursera.
  9. Dalgleish, Tim; Navrady, Lauren; Bird, Elinor; Hill, Emma; Dunn, Barnaby D.; Golden, Ann-Marie (12 February 2013). "Method-of-Loci as a Mnemonic Device to Facilitate Access to Self-Affirming Personal Memories for Individuals With Depression". Clinical Psychological Science. 1 (2): 156–162. doi:10.1177/2167702612468111. S2CID 145382198.
  10. Krokos, Eric; Plaisant, Catherine; Varshney, Amitabh (16 May 2018). "Virtual Memory Palaces: Immersion Aids Recall". Virtual Reality. 23: 1–15. doi:10.1007/s10055-018-0346-3.
  11. Galinsky, Douglas Boin/Karl. "Rhetorica ad Herennium Passages on Memory". www.utexas.edu.
  12. "Quintilian on Memory - Art of Memory Blog". artofmemory.com. 25 November 2010.
  13. Bremer, Rod (September 20, 2011). The Manual - A guide to the Ultimate Study Method (USM). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Fons Sapientiae Publishing. ISBN 978-0956990709.
  14. "New Project: Use Memory Techniques to Learn Brazilian Portuguese - Art of Memory Blog". artofmemory.com. 18 December 2010.
  15. Finger, Stanley (October 11, 2001). Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 333. ISBN 978-0195146943.
  16. ""In the First Place, in the Second Place" - Art of Memory Blog". artofmemory.com. 12 January 2015.
  17. Donor, Timothy (9 March 2014). "Breaking the language barrier". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  18. Frances Yates, The Art of Memory, University of Chicago, 1966, p1-2
  19. Stephen M. Kosslyn, "Imagery in Learning" in: Michael S. Gazzaniga (Ed.), Perspectives in Memory Research, MIT Press, 1988, p245; Kosslyn fails to cite any example of the use of an equivalent term in period Greek or Latin sources.
  20. John Robert Skoyles, Dorion Sagan, Up From Dragons: The Evolution of Human Intelligence, McGraw-Hill, 2002, p150
  21. Linda Verlee Williams, Teaching For The Two-Sided Mind: A Guide to Right Brain/Left Brain Education, Simon & Schuster, 1986, p110
  22. Elizabeth F. Loftus, Human Memory: The Processing of Information, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1976, p65
  23. For example, Aristotle referred to topoi (places) in which memorial content could be aggregated - hence our modern term "topics", while another primary classical source, Rhetorica ad Herennium (Bk III) discusses rules for places and images. In general Classical and Medieval sources describe these techniques as the art or arts of memory (ars memorativa or artes memorativae), rather than as any putative "method of loci". Nor is the imprecise designation current in specialized historical studies, for example Mary Carruthers uses the term "architectural mnemonic" to describe what is otherwise designated "method of loci".
  24. Gutman, Sharon A. (December 1, 2007). Quick Reference Neuroscience For Rehabilitation Professionals. Thorofare, New Jersey: SLACK Incorporated. p. 216. ISBN 978-1556428005.
  25. Maguire, E. A.; Valentine, E. R.; Wilding, J. M.; Kapur, N. (2002). "Routes to remembering: The brains behind superior memory". Nature Neuroscience. 6 (1): 90–95. doi:10.1038/nn988. PMID 12483214. S2CID 13921255.
  26. Parasuraman, Raja; Rizzo, Matthew (February 13, 2008). Neuroergonomics. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0195368659.
  27. Hassabis, D.; Chu, C.; Rees, G.; Weiskopf, N.; Molyneux, P. D.; Maguire, E. A. (2009). "Decoding Neuronal Ensembles in the Human Hippocampus". Current Biology. 19 (7): 546–554. Bibcode:2009CBio...19..546H. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.02.033. PMC 2670980. PMID 19285400.
  28. Dresler, M.; Shirer, W. R.; Konrad, B. N.; Wagner, I. C.; Fernández, F.; Czisch, M.; Greicius, M. D. (2017). "Mnemonic Training Reshapes Brain Networks to Support Superior Memory". Neuron. 93 (5): 1227–1235. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2017.02.003. PMC 5439266. PMID 28279356.
  29. Harris, Thomas (2006). Hannibal Rising. United States: Delacorte Press. pp. 1–2, 167, 178–179. ISBN 978-0385339414.
  30. Martinez-Conde, Susana (April 26, 2013). "Neuroscience in Fiction: Hannibal Lecter's Memory Palace". Scientific American.
  31. "Recent Nordic Noir in Print and Television, Part Two: Finland". Critics at Large. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  32. "Wolf Hall and the memory palace". Nathan Carterette. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 2020-10-24.

General and cited references

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