An extraordinary ability that some people possess is the accurate recall of events from any given day of their lives. This remarkable talent usually manifests in later childhood, although some individuals have reported noticing it as early as five years old. This super memory does not encompass early childhood memories but tends to focus on events from later childhood onwards.
In 2006, an American individual was diagnosed with this unique ability and it was coined as hyperthymesia, or over-remembering. Since then, the term HSAM, which stands for highly superior autobiographical memory, has been used to describe this phenomenon. Nearly a hundred other people around the world have been identified with hypermemory for life events, following the recognition of the now 58-year-old individual, Jill Price, in a scientific journal.
Individuals with hyperthymesia have the incredible ability to remember dates with complete reliability and recall verifiable details with 98 percent accuracy. Their memory of events is quick and automatic, and they tend to mainly remember events from their own lives. However, they are also adept at connecting names and faces. Despite their exceptional memory abilities, individuals with HSAM do not stand out in terms of intelligence compared to the general population. Brain imaging studies have shown that their memory network dealing with biographical events is highly overactivated, according to neuroscientist Jessica Talbotin from La Sapienza University. Additionally, these individuals do not seem to experience the decline in information processing that is typically associated with normal aging.
