Mnemosyne the Greek Goddess of memory gives her name to the country representing the Auditory Association Cortex, an area concerned with the integration of sound and memory to allow us to recognise and respond to things in the world.
Childhood TV themes
Childhood can produce some of the strongest sense memories, and for me, the theme tunes to the television programmes of my childhood are particularly strong. The introduction to Ivor the Engine or Roobarb & Custard still bring a warm feeling.
Prosopagnosia Coast
Prosopagnosia or 'face blindness' is a neurological condition whereby subjects can recognise the difference between faces and non-faces, but cannot identify who the face belongs to. Diagnosis is difficult, since each of us has experience of thousands of different faces. These celebrities have been used in 'face blindness' tests, since they are considered the most recognisable across the globe.
Noises of the human body
Humans make lots of non-verbal noises. Some voluntary, some involuntary - each reminding us that we are biilogical entities, whether we like it or not, trapped inside a palace of flesh.
River of Earworms
Some pieces of music get lodged in the mind, and remain there repeating over and over. These are known as Earworms.
River of Chris'
At the time of writing, there are a number of contemporaneous movie actors, all called Chris - I have difficulty distinguishing them.
Pareidolia
Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon in which the mind responds to a stimulus, usually an image or a sound, by perceiving a familiar pattern where none exists. Like seeing objects in the clouds, or seeing a face on Mars.
Disorders of Perception
As we get deeper into the perceptual system, the disorders become increasingly bizarre. For example Simultagnosia - the inability to see more than one object at a time or Gestaltzerfall - where complex objects seem to decompose into their constituent shapes.
Sack's Islands
The British neurologist, Oliver Sacks, in his series of books of case studies, has perhaps had a greater effect on the public engagement with Psychology and Neuroscience than any other author.
Nostalgia Coast
The memories associated with sounds are deeply personal, and can elicit a range of emotions, unbidden from the subconscious.