The memory structure of autistic idiot-savant mnemonists

The memory organization of six autistic mnemonists was investigated in two experiments. The first of these provided some evidence that the material of special interest to the subjects, in the present instance bus numbers, was stored in memory in a categorized form. The second study showed that thoug...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The British journal of psychology 1989-02, Vol.80 (1), p.97-111
Main Authors: O'Connor, N., Hermelin, B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ability
Adolescent
Adult
Autism
Autistic Disorder - psychology
Female
Giftedness
Humans
Idiot savants
Intelligence
Male
Memory
Mental Recall
Mnemonics
Paired-Associate Learning
Retention (Psychology)
Savant syndrome
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Summary:The memory organization of six autistic mnemonists was investigated in two experiments. The first of these provided some evidence that the material of special interest to the subjects, in the present instance bus numbers, was stored in memory in a categorized form. The second study showed that though the idiot‐savant mnemonists did not differ from controls in the level of their general memory performance, the factor structure of a number of memory tests differed between the groups. In contrast to the controls, a verbal memory factor which seemed independent of measured verbal IQ was operative in the mnemonist subjects.
ISSN:0007-1269
2044-8295
DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1989.tb02305.x