I am looking for references to book titles, names of researchers,
foundations, web sites, or anything of the sort that are seriously
examining the functions of memory & time in certain people's
mental/emotional makeup.  In particular, studying intelligent people
with exceptional memories and how they interact with the passage of
time in their lives.

My hypothesis is that certain people with exceptional memories may
have difficulty interfacing with the ever-moving present moment as it
becomes the past.  They record, memorialize and dwell on the past,
because it lives so vividly in their minds (they CAN'T stop
remembering) and the passage of time becomes a source of depression
for them.

These people may be plagued with such thoughts as "All is fleeting,
all is for naught, nothing exists for but a moment."  This is
different from classical depression -- I do not want information about
depression that excludes the role of memory.  However, I do suspect
that an exceptional memory is NOT the cause of this depression -- it
is simply playing a part in a flawed or painful way of thinking -- but
I am interested in how the memory and depression interact.

Potential subjects that may play a role in this:
* the Greek dichotomy of chronos and kairos time
* a certain book (I don't know the author or title) that examined two
specific men, one of them a painter (the other a poet maybe?) who
obsessively recorded the past, and believed that the passage of time &
memory were a vital key to life's deepest meanings.  I saw this book
once, but I can not find it at Amazon.com
* Anything in the above book's bibliography, or sources it drew upon,
would be supremely helpful, though probably more than I can fairly
expect from a researcher.

Please, NOTHING about improving one's memory, memory games, etc.

Thank you very much for your help.  Please advise if this topic is too
time-intensive or broad.  I am aware that the price I've set is
probably too low, but I will adjust accordingly, after someone comes
forth who feels qualified and committed to the subject.

Hi andy_920, and thanks for the question.  I too can follow your line
of thinking, and your ideas seem to make good sense.
Here is a list of websites and resources dealing with the correlation
between intelligence and depression, including details of publications
and author contacts (where possible)


“Depression is now the most frequent complaint heard by primary care
physicians, and a link between intelligence and depression is being
explored by researchers throughout the world. Dr. James N. Herndon
suggests: "There is a significant positive correlation between
intelligence and the likelihood of suffering from major depression; in
other words, the more intelligent you are, the more likely you are to
become severely depressed. “
http://www.1stpm.org/articles/spiral.html
Dr. James N. Herndonsībook is available here, there is also a business
contact e-mail for him too:
http://www.depressionchannel.com/

“Block et al. (1991, cited in Nolen-Hoeksema et al. 1994) found that
there was a higher correlation between depression and intelligence in
adolescent girls than boys.”
http://web.bham.ac.uk/psg5qaf8/thesis/chapter2.doc
Contact details for Nolen-Hoeksema can be found here (including work
e-mail):
http://www.umich.edu/~psycdept/Faculty/snolen-hoeksema.html

“The correlation between high intelligence and happiness is far from
perfect."”
http://www.ucsc.edu/oncampus/currents/98-99/11-16/depression.htm
Professor Gjerde (interviewed in the above website) is Professor of
Psychology at the University of California Santa Cruz his webpage is
available here which includes a list of his publications and his work
e-mail address:
http://psych.ucsc.edu/Content/Faculty/pGjerde.html

“Phoenix, Arizona, May 13, 1999: Are smarter people more depressed?
Are depressed people more submissive?”
http://www.prweb.com/releases/?8071
 
“Is there a connection between depression and intelligence? Sure,
largely in the same way that there's a connection between bachelorhood
and unmarriedness. We're practically defining intelligence as the
ability to find fault, to deconstruct.”
http://isomorphisms.org/archives/archive-01202002-01262002.html
 
“In a study of females, a significant correlation was found between
intelligence and depressive systems, although it is not known to what
extent this is caused by rejection by peers (Block, Gjerde, and Block,
1991).”
http://web.mit.edu/womens-studies/www/writ96.html

Homework Assignment #5 from Oakland University  asked the students to
“Write a single statement that summarizes each relationship”
“Correlation of -.02 between intelligence and depression”
http://www.oakland.edu/~sifonis/Classes/Exp250/Home/Home5.html
The contact details for the department of Psychology can be found
here:
http://www2.oakland.edu/psych/


“FROM THE FLOOR: Is there any correlation between depressed persons
and intelligence quotient?
DR. CASSEM: There is in one really pronounced group. That is
depression and intelligence in our artists. “
http://www.med.harvard.edu/publications/On_The_Brain/Volume2/Special/QA.html

An interesting discusion group talks briefly about Intelligence and
Discussion:
“Now here is a lesson from evolution on depression and INTELLIGENCE.”
http://www.planetpsych.com/_disc1/000000ec.htm

Details of a research project dealing with depression and memory:
“Research project 
The specificity of autobiographical memory and depression: an
investigation of the predictive validity of the autobiographical
memory test....”
http://cwisdb.cc.kuleuven.ac.be/research/P/3H01/project3H010258.htm

A “self test” from the Rocamora school:
“We are a non-profit organization that provides ongoing educational
and transformational resources primarily for gifted and talented
adults.”
“Do you suffer from extraordinarily high levels of fear and anxiety or
suffer attacks of psychological depression? “
http://www.rocamora.org/gift_selftest.html

From Dorothy Farrand, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist
“At the moment I am involved in a collaborative research project
investigating the connection between memory and depression. “
http://www.ksu.edu/counseling/staff.html

Unfortunatly I couldnīt find the book you described but this book
might help you with your research
“Kuyken, W., & Dalgleish, T. (1995). Autobiographical memory and
depression. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 34, 89-92.”
http://www.psychol.uni-giessen.de/~pohl/AutoMemLit.htm
The Biography and contact details for Dr. Willem Kuyken BSc PhD
(co-author of the above book ) are available here:
http://www.ex.ac.uk/Psychology/staff/profiles/wkuyken.html


I hope some of the leads above will lead you along the right path for
your research.

Good Luck

THX1138


Some of the search startegies I used were:
"memory and depression"
://www.google.com/search?hl=pt&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=+%22memory+and+depression%22+&btnG=Pesquisa+Google&lr=

"exceptional memory " research depression
://www.google.com/search?hl=pt&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=+%22exceptional+memory+%22+research+depression&btnG=Pesquisa+Google&lr=

time memory depression intelligent
://www.google.com/search?q=time+memory+depression+intelligent&hl=pt&lr=&ie=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&start=20&sa=N

---

Request for Answer Clarification by andy_920-ga on 26 Jun 2002 12:08 PDT

I appreciate your attempt to research this topic, and I will try to
refrain from being overly critical.  However, your answer seems to
"miss the mark."  A correlation of some degree between intelligence &
depression has already been established in other studies, and this
material is far less obscure than the memory/depression connection. 
The person who commented on my question prior to your answer made an
excellent point - the phenomenon I described in paragraph 2 is not
necessarily associated with high intelligence or exceptional memory,
nor are those two necessarily associated with each other.  I may have
clouded this issue with a reference to "intelligent" people.  Thus,
most of the material you found is not relevant to my question. 
Although intelligence is sometimes paired with memory skills, you drew
no connection between memory and depression, nor memory and "meaning
of life" questions, which are equally important to my question. 
(Although I emphasized depression, pursuing such "meaning of life"
questions sometimes results in happiness and gratification.)

I really needed more focus on memory in your answer .... particularly
one concept I mentioned, asking how memory-gifted people INTERACT with
the passage of time in their lives.  Perhaps I did not make this clear
enough; I apologize.

One resource you suggested, the web site titled "Details of a research
project dealing with depression and memory", was most disappointing. 
The following quote appears on the first page of that site:  "Research
indicates that depressed people have difficulty in retrieving specific
autobiographical memories."  Not at all what I'm looking for!  The
difficulty to retrieve specific autobiographical memories would
indicate memory suppression of some degree, which is a totally
different phenomena.

I am not trying to squelch answers that contradict my hypothesis, but
I am pursuing answers about a specific mental/emotional make-up that
may not be common and may not match the textbook definition of
depression, and may not even include depression by default (just the
tendency, perhaps.)  If this information was common or readily
available, I wouldn't be asking for the help of a researcher.

Thank you for your time.  If you feel interested in giving my question
a second attempt, please feel free.  And sincerely, I don't mean to
discourage you!  But I'm looking for an in-depth answer, perhaps
hiding in places on the web that you're not going to find with a
generic Google search.  I've already tried that tactic.

---

Clarification of Answer by thx1138-ga on 26 Jun 2002 14:14 PDT

Dear andy,

Thanks for you clarification, and Iīm sorry I misunderstood your
original question.  I have spent the last couple of  hours
re-researching your question in light of your clarification, and I
have to say that during my research I found myself getting distracted
down the route of savants and investigating their perception and
relationship with the passing of time, as finding any information on
“how memory-gifted people INTERACT with the passage of time in their
lives” was proving impossible.
I donīt want to waste your time with half (and sub-standard) answers
and Iīm very sorry I wasnīt able to precisely answer your question,
and so Iīm afraid I will have to suggest you reject my answer.
I hope this will not deter you from using Google Answers in the
future, as this is the first time I have had to suggest that a
customer rejects one of my answers.

Good Luck and best wishes with your very interesting research.

THX1138

The closest search strategy I came up with to answering your question:
Treffert  time memory intelligence 
://www.google.com/search?hl=pt&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=Treffert++time+memory+intelligence&btnG=Pesquisa+Google&lr=

I am unsatisfied because I had unduly high expectations of Google
researchers when I'm not willing to pay enough for an exhaustive level
of research.  Although an offer was extended by another researcher to
produce a collaborative answer if I reposted the question, I decided
not to do this for several reasons.  See the comment made by the
researcher thx1138-ga, suggesting that I reject the answer.  I have
come to the conclusion that doing my own legwork is best for my
research.  I do intend, when I have more time, to explore this service
further.

Three stars for a good effort from someone I suspect to be a very good
Google researcher.  Thanks especially for being honest when you
couldn't answer my question satisfactorily -- my request for a refund
should not be viewed as criticism of THX1138.

Hi, andy.  Out of a lifelong fascination with the functions of memory,
I have given a lot of thought to issues related to your question,
although not specifically to a connection with depression.  I have an
intuitive sense that there is a vein of truth here and also something
that is out of focus, but I don't have a clear fix on it yet.  I think
it may have to do with an impression that the phenomenon you describe
in paragraph 2 is common in older people and is not necessarily
associated with high intelligence or exceptional memory (and that
those two are not necessarily associated with one another).

Chronos and kairos...yes, those ideas actually provided me with an
anchor while I was trying to misspend my youth.

I would be inclined to look to the Buddhist notion of attachment (and
hence loss or fear of loss) as the cause of sorrow if I were seeking a
connection between memory and depression.

But this is not to dispute your hypothesis, only to add a view.

The book you are looking for might be either An Anthropologist on Mars
or Island of the Color-Blind, both by Oliver Sacks.  One of them has a
chapter about a man who obsessively paints pictures of his home town
in Italy, of which he remembers every detail.

For research with an intelligent population, you might want to try
sending a research proposal to Mensa, whose members have IQs in the
top 2% and which has availability to legitimate researchers as one of
its aims.  There is an officer in charge of reviewing research
proposals and/or working with prospective researchers to develop them.
 Go here:  http://www.us.mensa.org and look for the Director of
Science and Education in the list of officers, or send e-mail to the
main office.

Hi Andy, 

Tuste me, there's much interest in your juicy question but most
researchers have full-time jobs that preclude us from the research
time needed for this question.  Promise, you'll have tons of comments,
so please be patient with us.  I hurriedly went through my bookmarked
sites and found these that may be of help.

http://www.epistemelinks.com
http://www.technoetic.com/noosphere
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be

more info to follow,
V

I want to communicate my sincere thanks to THX1138-ga for answering 
my question, and then so fairly suggesting that I reject the answer. 
I do intend to do so, but I hope this does not make our interaction
seem like a waste of your time.  I also want to apologize for the
potential ambiguity of my original question and the excessive
commitment of time it required.  My request for clarification was
certainly not intended to be harsh.

I enjoyed the comments by APTERYX-ga, suggesting an examination of the
Buddhist concept of attachment.  Thanks also to VOILA-ga -- I will
explore your links this evening and eagerly await further comments. 
Although my time spent online fluctuates week-to-week, I am eager to
become part of the Google groups community, perhaps venturing outside
the domain of my own research and exploring other people's questions. 
This is a brilliant concept introduced by Google -- thanks to all who
have made it possible.

Hi andy,

Thanks for your kind comments and for the rating!
As voila mentioned Iīm sure that there are going to be many comments
to your question over time, many of which (Iīm sure) will be of great
use to you.  For an example of another question I originally answered
that has 'grown' to quite a surprising extent in terms of explanations
and further questions, have a look here:
https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=25883
I think the rejection of the answer I gave you will reflect on my
'performance ratings' but I have a good record so far and so it
shouldnīt do any long term damage :)
Donīt forget to use the 'search' facility at the bottom of questions
to search for subjects that are of interest to you, and of course you
could always become a Google researcher yourself:
https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=apply

"Brains that Work a Little Bit Differently" by Allen Bradgon/David
Gamon, Ph.D. along with its bibliography might be worth a look.  You
can also search this website for "time" and "memory." 
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb

If you're going to repost your question, I'll hold any more comments
until then.  Several researchers want to collaborate on this question
over the weekend, but we'll have to break your query into smaller
parts.  Could you give us till week, Andy?

search words:
photographic memory
adult eidetiker

http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/PMJ/issue/4.2.01/adamowska.html
search words:
exceptional memory+time+mood

okay, I'll stop now,
V

.
Andy, to comment on a paragraph (+ fraction) you wrote:

"My hypothesis is that certain people with exceptional memories may 
have difficulty interfacing with the ever-moving present moment as it
becomes the past.  They record, memorialize and dwell on the past, 
because it lives so vividly in their minds (they CAN'T stop 
remembering) and the passage of time becomes a source of depression 
for them. 
 
"These people may be plagued with such thoughts as 'All is fleeting, 
all is for naught, nothing exists for but a moment.'" 

I think the depression experienced by such people is not so much due
to the passage of TIME being the source of depression - rather, it is
the passing of REMEMBERANCE that does it.

Someone who's used to remembering even the slightest thing gets to
feeling very insecure and inadequate when the memory is no longer
quite so sharp.  It may still be light-years ahead of the general
population, but it's not the same... things get forgotten.  It's very
unsettling.

In fact, while the memory is sharp and all or most things are
remembered, there's a feeling of permanence.  Someone may have moved
away or died, yet they're still as alive in the memory banks as when
they were physically present as events were happening. People with
normal memories don't have that permanence, since for them
rememberance fades with time.

This is why the depression - as the memory becomes less sharp, there
is less permanence to the rememberance of people and events, a lesser
ability to re-live the feelings experienced in the past.  This is the
point at which things get fleeting.  You're right, that's part of the
equation - but not for the reason you think. Tempus does fugit (if
you'll pardon the mangling), but it flees when the memory fails, not
before.

Just a personal opinion.  ;-)

TexasT
.

.
I just remembered something I read in a magazine some time ago, about
a woman who had a strange loss of memory. It seems that every day she
woke up pretty much in a "tabula rasa" state, with basically no memory
of her past - not even of the previous day.

I don't remember if this was due to an accident, illness, or if it
just developed on its own. But the upshot of it was that every morning
when she woke up, she had to be reminded of who she was, who her
family was, and what she'd done in the past. I guess the short-term
memory never got written to the long-term memory or something, and
sleeping just wiped it out. Weird.

Although she seemed to have developed a good attitude to cope with
this, it was obvious it both frustrated her and depressed her.

This might be a nice "other side of the coin" for you to look into...
:)
If you'd like, I could try and locate that article for you - just let
me know.

TexasT
.

No references here, just some comments (based on pop-psych/self-help).

You can't remember everything at once so "memory", or should I say
recall is selective.  Memories are triggered by stimuli, but are
filtered by a variety of factors, perhaps most importantly, emotions. 
If you are depressed, you are more likely to find memories to
reinforce that emotion, creating a downward spiral.

Also, memories do need to be "replaced".  Imagine an athlete (i.e.
skier) who had a fall.  If you relive that moment over and over, you
only strengthen that memory.  You need to practice it many times over
to get the mind (and the body) to do it right, surpressing the old
memory.  We all make mistakes in life, but if you focus on them (with
a vivid memory), instead of replacing them (with new experiences),
you're conditioning your brain to react the wrong way.  There have
been studies that show how visualizing can have as powerful an effect
as doing.

One more thought on memory and depression... "Ignorance is bliss."