The terminology photographic memory refers to the capacity that a person possesses and that allows him to remember a specific situation, or failing that, an image with precise and exact details that allow adding great realism to said image. It should be noted that this not only refers to an image that has been observed, but also that you can have a photographic memory when you can recall in great detail a message that you have previously heard.
One of the characteristics that best defines this type of memory is the precision of the personal memory of that specific experience. The individual who shows this ability on a daily basis can enhance it over time. It should be noted that to put this skill into practice, the use of some type of mnemonic is not required, in general, this usually occurs in a small percentage of children and is rare in adults.
Many experts consider that photographic memory is not a special quality of memory, since it occurs at times when the brain processes and stores information in a different way than it normally does regardless of the cause, causing that memory is etched almost indelibly in the memory of each person.
In general, a large part of human beings remember only the important details of an event and the rest is forgotten, to store only useful information in the brain. Those individuals with photographic memory, unlike the rest, store large amounts of information that is not useful to them, but represents a greater burden on their brain. To date, the data show that it is more common among children and adolescents and that as time goes by, the ability to remember details decreases; Despite this, eidetic memory is also described in some cases of autism and Asperger's Syndrome.
It should be noted that this is different from the rest of the mental images, since the images that most people capture and store in their brain, generally have different colors from the original and acquire a certain movement with respect to the movements of the eyes with which we visualize it previously.
