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Method of loci

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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.

The method of loci is a mnemonic strategy that uses visual imagination and spatial memory to organize and recall information. It involves mentally associating pieces of information with specific locations in a familiar environment, such as rooms in a house or landmarks along a well-known route. The user visualizes these locations in sequence and imagines placing the items to be remembered at each point. Recall is achieved by mentally retracing the path and using the imagined scenes to retrieve the associated information.

This method is also referred as the memory palace, memory journey, journey method or mind palace technique.

The technique has its origins in classical antiquity and is documented in several ancient rhetorical texts. It appears in the anonymous Rhetorica ad Herennium, attributed to an unknown author from the 1st century BCE, as well as in works by Cicero and Quintilian, including De Oratore and Institutio Oratoria. In these sources, the method was presented as a tool for orators to remember speech elements in order.

In modern times, the method of loci has been adopted by participants in memory sports. Some competitors report using it to memorize sequences such as decks of playing cards, long lists of numbers or names and faces.

It is the term most often found in specialized 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.[1] 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.[2]

Contemporary usage

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Many effective memorizers 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.[3] 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.[4][5] The 2006 World Memory Champion, Clemens Mayer, used a 300-point-long journey through his house for his world record in "number half marathon", memorizing 1040 random digits in a half-hour. An anonymous individual has used the method of loci to memorize pi to over 65,536 (216) digits.[6]

The technique is taught as a metacognitive technique in learning-to-learn courses.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

Method

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The method of loci is a way to remember information by using mental images and familiar places.[3] To use this technique, a person picks a place they know well, such as their home, a building, or a route they often walk. They imagine moving through this place in a fixed order, like entering the front door, walking into the living room, then going down the hallway.

Next, they link each piece of information they want to remember with a specific spot along this path. For example, if someone wants to remember a shopping list, they might picture a loaf of bread on the front step, a bottle of orange juice spilled across the floor of the entryway, and apples hanging from a light fixture in the living room. These images are made as clear and unusual as possible so they stand out in the mind.

When it's time to recall the information, the person mentally walks through the same path again. As they reach each location in their imagination, they see the image they placed there, which helps them remember the item linked to it. This allows them to go through the list in the correct order.

The same method can be used for other types of information. For instance, a student preparing for a test might assign key facts or terms to different parts of their house. One fact could be pictured on the stairs, another taped to the refrigerator, and another floating in the bathtub. By following the same mental journey later, they can retrieve each fact in turn.

Applicability of the term

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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.[10] 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 "[t]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."[11] 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.[12] 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."[13] 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".[14] 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.[15]

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."[16]

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

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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.[17][18] 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 "[t]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."[19]

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.[20]

Fictional portrayals

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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.[23]
  • 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.[24]
  • 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

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Citations

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  1. ^ Jamieson, Alexander, "Book IV. Grammar of logic.", Grammar of logic and intellectual philosophy, on didactic principles; For the use of schools and private instruction., New Haven: A H Maltby and Co, p. 112, retrieved 2026-01-09
  2. ^ O'Keefe, John; Nadel, Lynn (December 7, 1978). The Hippocampus as a Cognitive Map' (PDF). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198572060.
  3. ^ a b "How to build a memory palace to store and revisit information | Psyche Guides". psyche.co. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  4. ^ "1997 World Memory Championships". Mind Sports Worldwide. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  5. ^ "Memory Town System for Languages - Memory Techniques Wiki". mt.artofmemory.com.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects - Coursera". Coursera.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Frances Yates, The Art of Memory, University of Chicago, 1966, p1-2
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ John Robert Skoyles, Dorion Sagan, Up From Dragons: The Evolution of Human Intelligence, McGraw-Hill, 2002, p150
  13. ^ Linda Verlee Williams, Teaching For The Two-Sided Mind: A Guide to Right Brain/Left Brain Education, Simon & Schuster, 1986, p110
  14. ^ Elizabeth F. Loftus, Human Memory: The Processing of Information, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1976, p65
  15. ^ 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".
  16. ^ Gutman, Sharon A. (December 1, 2007). Quick Reference Neuroscience For Rehabilitation Professionals. Thorofare, New Jersey: SLACK Incorporated. p. 216. ISBN 978-1556428005.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Parasuraman, Raja; Rizzo, Matthew (February 13, 2008). Neuroergonomics. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0195368659.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ Harris, Thomas (2006). Hannibal Rising. United States: Delacorte Press. pp. 1–2, 167, 178–179. ISBN 978-0385339414.
  22. ^ Martinez-Conde, Susana (April 26, 2013). "Neuroscience in Fiction: Hannibal Lecter's Memory Palace". Scientific American.
  23. ^ "Recent Nordic Noir in Print and Television, Part Two: Finland". Critics at Large. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  24. ^ "Wolf Hall and the memory palace". Nathan Carterette. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 2020-10-24.

General and cited references

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