Hyperthymesia, also known as hyperthymestic syndrome or highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM), is a condition that leads people to be able to remember an abnormally large number of their life experiences in vivid detail.
Those affected describe their memories as uncontrollable associations; when they encounter a date, they "see" a vivid depiction of that day in their heads without hesitation or conscious effort.
She was unable to do so.There is a distinction between those with hyperthymesia and those with other forms of exceptional memory, who generally use mnemonic or similar rehearsal strategies to memorize long strings of information.
Memories recalled by hyperthymestic individuals tend to be personal, autobiographical accounts of both significant and mundane events in their lives.
[citation needed] People with hyperthymesia also have difficulties letting go of difficult events or traumatic memories, which can stay with them for life.
Joey DeGrandis, who was featured in the magazine Time said, "I do tend to dwell on things longer than the average person, and when something painful does happen, like a break-up or the loss of a family member, I don't forget those feelings.
"[14] Cases of hyperthymesia have forced many people to re-evaluate what is meant by "healthy" memory: "it isn't just about retaining the significant stuff.
[citation needed] Other findings have shown that the tendencies to absorb new information and fantasize are personality traits that are higher in hyperthymestics than the rest of the population.
Parker and colleagues speculated that a defective frontostriatal circuit could be responsible for the observed executive function deficits in hyperthymesia.
Scientists now need to ascertain if and how these brain areas are connected to establish a coherent neurological model for superior autobiographical memory.
[21] The caudate nucleus is primarily associated with procedural memory, in particular habit formation, and is, therefore, intrinsically linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder.
[10] However, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggested that those with hyperthymesia may reconstruct memories from traces and incorporate post event information and associations—a finding at odds with Penfield's video-like recording analogy.
As of April 2016[update], six cases of hyperthymesia have been confirmed in peer-reviewed articles,[1][2][23][24] the first being that of Jill Price (initially anonymized as "AJ") in 2006.
[29] Price gave her first interview in over a year for the UK's Channel 4 documentary The Boy Who Can't Forget, and spoke of the challenges of living with the condition.
[29] K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University does not believe that sufficient evidence exists to suggest that the skills of Price and another documented case, Brad Williams,[30][31][32][33] need additional explanation: "Our work has pretty much concluded that differences in memory don't seem to be the result of innate differences, but more the kinds of skills that are developed.
The second verified case was Brad Williams, the third was Rick Baron,[34] and in 2009, Bob Petrella became the fourth person diagnosed with hyperthymestic syndrome.
[35] On December 19, 2010, actress Marilu Henner was featured on the U.S. television program 60 Minutes for her superior autobiographical memory ability.
[36][37] The show was initially pitched as a story featuring hyperthymestic violinist Louise Owen, but the reporter Lesley Stahl volunteered her friend Henner as having a similar ability.
A team at Vanderbilt University conducted a series of tests including a brain scan that was compared with 30 age-matched controls.
[41] In September 2012, UK's Channel 4 screened the documentary The Boy Who Can't Forget, which examined the memory of 20-year-old Aurelien Hayman from Cardiff, a student at Durham University, who remembers practically every day of his life from the age of 10.
[26][43] The documentary also featured Bob Petrella, whose memory has enabled him to catalogue the events from his "favorite days" into a large scrapbook.
[47] Veiseh claimed he could remember almost every day of his life since he was 15 years old, and that his ability to synthesize time and an "encyclopedic knowledge of the history of art" enabled him to create wholly unique visions on canvas.
In December 2017, a man named Joey DeGrandis was verified as having HSAM by James McGaugh and subsequently featured in an article in the magazine Time.
[52][53] In October 2018, it was reported that teenager Tyler Hickenbottom, who is an identical twin, had the condition, which allowed him to "remember every day of his life like it was yesterday".
[54] Tim Rogers, an American video game developer and journalist, claims to experience the condition in several of his published works.