hyperthymesia

Individuals with hyperthymesia can extensively recall the events of their lives, as well as public events that hold some personal significance to them. 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. While memories are reported as vivid, they are not exact recordings of all experiences, as seen in the case of Jill Price, initially anonymized by Parker, Cahill and McGaugh in 2006 as "AJ":

Although she describes her mind like having a movie running, she is not recording her world verbatim in its totality. One day after several hours together, she was asked to close her eyes and tell what her two interviewers were wearing. 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. This extensive and highly unusual memory does not derive from the use of mnemonic strategies; it is encoded involuntarily and retrieved automatically.{{Cite journal |last1=LePort |first1=Aurora K. R. |last2=Stark |first2=Shauna M. |last3=McGaugh |first3=James L. |last4=Stark |first4=Craig E. L. |date=February 2017 |title=A Cognitive Assessment of Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory |journal=Memory |location=Hove |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=276–288 |doi=10.1080/09658211.2016.1160126 |issn=0965-8211 |pmc=5488704 |pmid=26982996}}{{cite web |last=Treffert |first=Darold |title=Hyperthymestic Syndrome: Extraordinary Memory for Daily Life Events. Do we all possess a continuous tape of our lives? |url=http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_articles/hyperthymestic_syndrome |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127192319/http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_articles/hyperthymestic_syndrome |archive-date=2011-11-27 |access-date=2023-01-04 |website=Wisconsin Medical Society |publisher=}} Despite perhaps being able to remember the day of the week on which a particular date fell, hyperthymestics are not calendrical calculators, like some people with savant syndrome. Rather, hyperthymestic recall tends to be constrained to a person's life experiences and is believed to be a subconscious process.

Although people showing a high level of hyperthymesia are not regarded as autistic, certain similarities exist between the two conditions. Like autistic savants, some individuals with hyperthymesia may also have an unusual and obsessive interest in dates. As the first documented hyperthymestic, Jill Price was quite different from the famous case of mnemonist Solomon Shereshevsky (as documented by psychologist Alexander Luria).{{cite book |last=Luria |first=Aleksandr Romanovich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HTsSszl2ogcC |title=The mind of a mnemonist: a little book about a vast memory |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-674-57622-3 |author-link=Alexander Luria}} Shereshevsky could memorize virtually unlimited amounts of information deliberately, while Price could not – she could only remember autobiographical information (and events she had personally seen on the news or read about). In fact, she was not very good at memorization in general, according to the study published in Neurocase. Hyperthymestic individuals appear to have poorer than average memory for arbitrary information.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} Another striking parallel drawn between the two cases was that Shereshevsky exemplified an interesting case of synesthesia, and it has been suggested that superior autobiographical memory is intimately tied to time-space synesthesia.{{cite journal |last1=Yaro |first1=Caroline |last2=Ward |first2=Jamie |date=2007-04-17 |title=Searching for Shereshevskii: What is superior about the memory of synaesthetes? |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1080/17470210600785208 |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology |volume=60 |issue=5 |pages=681–695 |doi=10.1080/17470210600785208 |pmid=17455076 |s2cid=8874767|url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal |last1=Simner |first1=Julia |last2=Mayo |first2=Neil |last3=Spiller |first3=Mary-Jane |date=2009-07-21 |title=A foundation for savantism? Visuo-spatial synaesthetes present with cognitive benefits |url=https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/a-foundation-for-savantism-visuo-spatial-synaesthetes-present-wit |journal=Cortex |volume=45 |issue=10 |pages=1246–1260 |doi=10.1016/j.cortex.2009.07.007 |pmid=19665699 |hdl=20.500.11820/6eb535d0-f2c9-44a5-a1a8-c54f83361a15 |s2cid=15042215|hdl-access=free }}

Hyperthymestic abilities can have a detrimental effect. The constant, irrepressible stream of memories has caused significant disruption to Price's life. She described her recollection as "non-stop, uncontrollable and totally exhausting" and as "a burden". Price is prone to getting lost in remembering. This can make it difficult to attend to the present or future, as she is often spending time re-living the past. Others who have hyperthymesia may not display any of these traits, however.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

Price displays considerable difficulty in memorizing allocentric information. According to James McGaugh, "Her autobiographical memory, while incredible, is also selective and even ordinary in some respects". This was demonstrated by her having poor performance on standardised memory tests and average performance at school, unable to apply her exceptional memory to her studies.

Deficits in executive functioning and anomalous lateralisation were also identified in Price. These cognitive deficiencies are characteristic of frontostriatal disorders.

Even those with a high level of hyperthymesia do not remember exactly everything in their lives or have "perfect memory". Studies have shown that it is a selective ability, as shown by Price's case, and they can have comparative difficulty with rote memorization and therefore cannot apply their ability to school and work.

Their memorization of events tends to exceed their ability to memorize given facts; for example, if you told a hyperthymesiac a fact about the world, they may not remember what you said, but they might remember what you wore and other details of the situation when you told them and the emotions they felt during an event are often recalled along with the details, making the memories even more potent.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

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."{{Cite magazine |last=MacMillan |first=Amanda |date=2017-12-08 |title=The Downside of Having an Almost Perfect Memory |magazine=Time |url=https://time.com/5045521/highly-superior-autobiographical-memory-hsam/ |quote=What It's Like to Have Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)}}

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. Far more important is being able to forget the rest."

Because of the small number of people diagnosed with hyperthymesia, relatively little is known about the processes governing this superior memory ability. However, more is beginning to be understood about this condition.

It has been proposed that the initial encoding of events by such people includes semantic processing, and therefore semantic cues are used in retrieval. Once cued, the memory is retrieved as episodic and follows a pattern similar to that of a spreading activation model. This is particularly evident in Jill Price's case. She describes how one memory triggers another, which in turn triggers another and how she is powerless to stop it: "It's like a split screen; I'll be talking to someone and seeing something else." This theory serves to explain why hyperthymestics have both a sense of 'knowing' (semantic memory) and 'remembering' (episodic memory) during recollection.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

One writer claimed hyperthymesia may be a result of reviewing memories constantly to an obsessive-compulsive degree.{{cite magazine |last=Marcus |first=Gary |date=2009-03-23 |title=Total Recall: The Woman Who Can't Forget |url=http://archive.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/17-04/ff_perfectmemory?currentPage=all |url-status=dead |magazine=Wired |volume=17 |publisher= |issue=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213154740/http://archive.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/17-04/ff_perfectmemory?currentPage=all |archive-date=2017-02-13 |access-date=2014-05-29}} However, Price has completely dismissed this article as "a load of crap" and others with hyperthymesia claim to never revisit uneventful memories. {{cn|date=February 2025}} 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. These traits, absorption and fantasizing, also correlated with a test which measures superior autobiographical memory within the hyperthymestic sample.{{Cite journal|title = Individual differences and correlates of highly superior autobiographical memory|journal = Memory|date = 2015-08-28|issn = 0965-8211|pmid = 26314991|pages = 961–978|volume = 24|issue = 7|doi = 10.1080/09658211.2015.1061011|first = Lawrence|last = Patihis|s2cid = 3518164|url = https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/individual-differences-and-correlates-of-highly-superior-autobiographical-memory(667826c0-34be-4b6e-8b20-317a7f357173).html}}

McGaugh rejects the idea that hyperthymestic syndrome can be explained away so easily; he argues that nothing explains how subjects are able to memorize so much: "You'd have to assume that every day they rehearse it... The probability of these explanations dwindles as you look at the evidence."

An MRI study conducted on Price provides a plausible argument as to the neurological foundation of her superior memory.{{Cite news |last1=Elias |first1=Marilyn |last2=Hanashiro |first2=Robert |date=2009-01-27 |title=MRIs reveal possible source of woman's super-memory |work=USA Today |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Brent |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-27-mri-super-memory_N.htm |access-date=2023-01-05}} Both the temporal lobe and the caudate nucleus were found to be enlarged.

Parker and colleagues speculated that a defective frontostriatal circuit could be responsible for the observed executive function deficits in hyperthymesia. This circuit plays a crucial role in some neurodevelopmental disorders including obsessive–compulsive disorder and Alzheimer's.{{Cite journal |last1=Chudasama |first1=Y. |last2=Robbins |first2=T. W. |date=2006-07-01 |title=Functions of frontostriatal systems in cognition: Comparative neuropsychopharmacological studies in rats, monkeys and humans |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1258808 |journal=Biological Psychology |language=en |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=19–38 |doi=10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.01.005 |issn=0301-0511 |pmid=16546312 |s2cid=12576488 }} Given the parallels in some aspects of behavior, Price's hyperthymestic abilities possibly stem from atypical neurodevelopment. Scientists now need to ascertain if and how these brain areas are connected to establish a coherent neurological model for superior autobiographical memory.

For autobiographical memory, the hippocampus, located in the medial temporal lobe, is involved in the encoding of declarative memory (memory for facts and events), while the temporal cortex is involved in the storage of such memory.{{cite journal |last=Svoboda |first=Eva |author2=McKinnon, MC |author3=Levine, B |date=27 June 2006 |title=The functional neuroanatomy of autobiographical memory: A meta-analysis |journal=Neuropsychologia |volume=44 |issue=12 |pages=2189–2208 |doi=10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.05.023 |pmc=1995661 |pmid=16806314}} The caudate nucleus is primarily associated with procedural memory, in particular habit formation, and is, therefore, intrinsically linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

A 2018 clinical trial published that there were higher levels of activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction along with heightened connection between the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus in individuals with hyperthymesia, suggesting that these regions may play a role in the enablement of the condition.{{Cite journal |last1=Santangelo |first1=Valerio |last2=Cavallina |first2=Clarissa |last3=Colucci |first3=Paola |last4=Santori |first4=Alessia |last5=Macrì |first5=Simone |last6=McGaugh |first6=James L. |last7=Campolongo |first7=Patrizia |date=2018-07-24 |title=Enhanced brain activity associated with memory access in highly superior autobiographical memory |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=115 |issue=30 |pages=7795–7800 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1802730115 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=6064994 |pmid=29987025|bibcode=2018PNAS..115.7795S |doi-access=free }} This contradicts information published earlier in a Wired article, which states that the hyperthymesiac Jill Price had been brain scanned and her "hippocampus and prefrontal cortex were reportedly normal", suggesting that these regions of the brain do not need to be different for hyperthymesia to occur.

Significant debate also exists over the limits of memory capacity. Some are of the view that the brain contains so many potential synaptic connections that, in theory at least, no practical limit exists to the number of long-term memories that the brain can store. In 1961, Wilder Penfield reported that specific stimulation of the temporal lobes resulted in vivid recollection of memories. He concluded that our brains were making "continuous, effortless, video-like recordings" of our experiences, but that these records are not consciously accessible to us.{{cite journal |last=Penfield |first=Wilder |date=1952-02-01 |title=Memory Mechanisms |url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/archneurpsyc/article-abstract/651319 |journal=A.M.A. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=178–98 |doi=10.1001/archneurpsyc.1952.02320140046005 |issn=0096-6886 |pmid=14893992|url-access=subscription }} 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.

Parker and colleagues used a variety of standardised neuropsychological tests in their diagnosis of Price's hyperthymesia. These included tests of memory, lateralisation, executive functions, language, calculations, IQ, and visual-spatial and visual-motor functions. They also devised novel tests to examine the extent of her memory abilities. These mostly consisted of questions pertaining to specific dates and events in history. Some of her personal recollections were verified with diary entries, as well as by her mother.

Neuroscientist David Eagleman at Stanford University developed a free online test for hyperthymesia (no longer available). Participants first give their year of birth, and then are challenged to match dates to 60 famous events that happened between the time they were five years old and the present day. To qualify as potentially hyperthymestic, participants must achieve a score at least three standard deviations above the average. To prevent people from searching for answers on-line during the test, reaction time for each question is measured; answers must be chosen within 11 seconds to qualify for consideration. However, many of the questions are sourced in American culture and test results could have a strong cultural bias against non-Americans.

{{as of|2016|April|}}, six cases of hyperthymesia have been confirmed in peer-reviewed articles,{{Cite journal |last1=Patihis |first1=Lawrence |last2=Frenda |first2=Steven J. |last3=LePort |first3=Aurora K. R. |last4=Petersen |first4=Nicole |last5=Nichols |first5=Rebecca M. |last6=Stark |first6=Craig E. L. |last7=McGaugh |first7=James L. |last8=Loftus |first8=Elizabeth F. |date=2013-12-24 |title=False memories in highly superior autobiographical memory individuals |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=110 |issue=52 |pages=20947–20952 |bibcode=2013PNAS..11020947P |doi=10.1073/pnas.1314373110 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=3876244 |pmid=24248358|doi-access=free }} the first being that of Jill Price (initially anonymized as "AJ") in 2006.{{Cite news |date=2012-07-30 |title=Brains Are Different in People with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory |work=Neuroscience News |url=https://neurosciencenews.com/highly-superior-autobiographical-memory-brains-different/ |quote=[...] first documented in 2006 by UCI neurobiologist James McGaugh and colleagues in a woman identified as "AJ"}} More cases had been identified by 2012, but are yet to be published.{{Cite news |date=2012-09-25 |title=The memory man who cannot forget |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-19711963 |access-date=2023-01-06 |quote=Aurelien Hayman's hyperthymesia explained}} Price's case was originally reported by researchers from the University of California, Irvine,{{Cite web |title=Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory |url=https://cnlm.uci.edu/hsam/ |access-date=2023-01-07 |website=Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory |publisher=University of California, Irvine |language=en-US}} Elizabeth Parker, Larry Cahill and James McGaugh,{{Cite web |last=Yassa |first=Michael A. |date=2017-02-12 |others=Original article written by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie in The Guardian |title=Article in The Guardian explains Dr. James McGaugh's work on Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) |url=https://cnlm.uci.edu/2017/02/12/article-in-the-guardian-explains-dr-james-mcgaughs-work-on-highly-superior-autobiographical-memory-hsam/ |access-date=2023-01-07 |website=Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory |publisher=University of California, Irvine |language=en-US}} and is credited as being the first documented case of hyperthymesia. Price can apparently recall every day of her life from when she was 14 years old: "Starting on February 5, 1980, I remember everything. That was a Tuesday."{{cite news |last=Shafy |first=Samiha |date=2008-11-21 |title=The Science of Memory: An Infinite Loop in the Brain |newspaper=Spiegel International |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,591972,00.html |access-date=2023-01-04}}

In March 2009, Price was interviewed for an article in Wired magazine by Gary Marcus, a cognitive psychologist at New York University. Price's brain had been subject to a brain scan and the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex had been reportedly normal. Marcus claimed, however, that her brain resembled "those of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder" and suggested that her remarkable memory might be "the byproduct of obsession", claiming also that "the memory woman clings tightly to her past". Price strongly disputed this and McGaugh has also challenged the explanation.{{cite web |date=25 September 2012 |title=The Boy Who Can't Forget |url=http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-boy-who-cant-forget/4od |url-access=registration |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322133213/http://www.channel4.com:80/programmes/the-boy-who-cant-forget |archive-date=2017-03-22 |publisher=Channel 4}} 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.

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,{{cite news |date=2008-01-15 |title=Local "Memory Man" appears on Good Morning America |publisher=WXOW |url=http://www.wxow.com/News/index.php?ID=16317 |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521012526/http://www.wxow.com/News/index.php?ID=16317 |archive-date=May 21, 2008}}{{cite news |date=2008-02-22 |title=Amazing memory man never forgets |publisher=CNN |agency=Associated Press |location=La Crosse |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/02/22/memory.man.ap/index.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226063735/http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/02/22/memory.man.ap/index.html |archive-date=2008-02-26}}{{cite news |author=Martin |first=David S. |date=2008-05-07 |title=Man's rare ability may unlock secret of memory |publisher=CNN |location=La Crosse |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/05/07/miraculous.memory/index.html |access-date=2023-01-05}}{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Brad |date=2011-12-02 |title=Experience: I remember every day of my life |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/02/remember-every-day-of-life |access-date=2023-01-05}} 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."{{Cite news |last=Marshall |first=Jessica |date=2008-02-13 |title=Forgetfulness is key to a healthy mind |work=New Scientist |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19726431-600-forgetfulness-is-key-to-a-healthy-mind/ |access-date=2023-01-05}}

As the condition has become better known, more people claiming to have hyperthymestic abilities have emerged. In the aftermath of the 2006 Neurocase publication alone, more than 200 people contacted McGaugh; however, only a handful of cases were determined to be actual cases of hyperthymesia. The second verified case was Brad Williams, the third was Rick Baron,{{Cite news |last=Elias |first=Marilyn |date=2008-05-12 |title=Another person with super-memory skills comes forward |work=USA Today |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-05-12-super-memory_N.htm |access-date=2023-01-05}} and in 2009, Bob Petrella became the fourth person diagnosed with hyperthymestic syndrome.{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Victoria |date=2009-03-13 |title=He Never Forgets: Meet the Super-Memory Man |publisher=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=7075443&page=1 |access-date=2023-01-05}}

On December 19, 2010, actress Marilu Henner was featured on the U.S. television program 60 Minutes for her superior autobiographical memory ability. Henner claimed she could remember almost every day of her life since she was 11 years old.{{cite news |last=C. |first=Tania |date=2011-10-03 |title=Scientists Discover Hyperthymesia-The Perfect Memory |url=http://www.finestdaily.com/news/hyperthymesia-an-excellent-memory-capacity.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017155110/http://www.finestdaily.com/news/hyperthymesia-an-excellent-memory-capacity.html |archive-date=2014-10-17 |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Finest Daily |publisher=}}{{Cite news |last=Dionne |first=Zach |date=2010-12-20 |title='Taxi' Actress Marilu Henner Has Super-Rare Autobiographical Memory Ability |work=PopEater |url=http://www.popeater.com/2010/12/20/marilu-henner-60-minutes-super-memory/ |access-date=2023-01-05}} 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.{{cite news |last=Finkelstein |first=Shari |date=2010-12-19 |title=Understanding the gift of endless memory |website=60 Minutes |publisher=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/understanding-the-gift-of-endless-memory/ |url-status=live |access-date=2023-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111216000045/https://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18560_162-20071071.html/ |archive-date=2011-12-16}}

In June 2012, the case of H.K. Derryberry was reported, a blind 20-year-old man who could clearly recall every day of his life since the age of about 11.{{cite journal |last1=Ally |first1=Brandon A. |last2=Hussey |first2=Erin P. |last3=Donahue |first3=Manus J. |date=April 2013 |title=A case of hyperthymesia: rethinking the role of the amygdala in autobiographical memory |journal=Neurocase |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=166–181 |doi=10.1080/13554794.2011.654225 |pmc=3432421 |pmid=22519463}} Derryberry had been born at 27 weeks, weighing just over {{convert|2|lbs|kg}} and was in neonatal intensive care for 96 days. A brain hemorrhage was the likely cause of cerebral palsy, and his premature birth brought congenital blindness.{{cite web |author=Hill |first=Leslie |date=2012-08-24 |title=The Amazing Life and Memory of H.K. Derryberry |url=http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu:8080/vm-archive/?article=13122 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110193355/http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu:8080/vm-archive/?article=13122 |archive-date=2014-11-10 |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Vanderbilt Medicine |publisher=Vanderbilt University}} He told researchers that his memories are rich in detail, regardless of whether they are from years ago or yesterday. About 90% of his memories are in the first person, compared with an average of 66% in the general population. A team at Vanderbilt University conducted a series of tests including a brain scan that was compared with 30 age-matched controls. His brain was smaller than average (probably a result of his premature birth at 27 weeks). His right amygdala, however, was 20% larger, with enhanced functional connectivity between the right amygdala and hippocampus and in other regions.{{Cite news |last=Burnett |first=Dean |date=2017-04-27 |title=The perfect memory: does it even exist? |language=en |website=The Guardian |url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2017/apr/27/the-perfect-memory-does-it-even-exist |access-date=2023-01-05}}{{cite web |last=Jarrett |first=Christian |date=2012-05-21 |title=Total recall: The man who can remember every day of his life in detail |url=http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2012/05/total-recall-man-who-can-remember-every.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809074911/http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2012/05/total-recall-man-who-can-remember-every.html |archive-date=2020-08-09 |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Research Digest |publisher=British Psychological Society |via=Blogger}} In 2016 HK's story was published, The Awakening of HK Derryberry: My Unlikely Friendship with the Boy Who Remembers Everything, written by his mentor Jim Bradford.{{Cite book |last=Bradford |first=Jim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zhfxCgAAQBAJ |title=The Awakening of HK Derryberry: My Unlikely Friendship with the Boy Who Remembers Everything |others=Contributed to by Andy Hardin |year=2016 |publisher=Thomas Nelson |isbn=978-0718079994}}

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. Hayman is the first British person to be identified as possessing this ability, and he views it positively.{{cite news |author=Ward |first=Audrey |date=2012-09-23 |title=Total recall |newspaper=The Sunday Times |url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/article1131899.ece |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419180338/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/article1131899.ece |archive-date=2013-04-19}} When Hayman's brain was scanned by a team led by Professor Giuliana Mazzoni at the University of Hull, whilst he was prompted to remember a series of dates, a series of "visual areas" of the brain were activated, with much greater speed than would be expected in normal brain function. Potential problems with total recall were illustrated.{{cite news |author=Wollaston |first=Sam |date=2012-09-25 |title=TV review: The Boy Who Can't Forget; The Paradise |website=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/sep/25/boy-who-cant-forget-review |access-date=2023-01-05}} The documentary also featured Bob Petrella, whose memory has enabled him to catalogue the events from his "favorite days" into a large scrapbook.{{cite news |last=D. |first=Matt |date=2012-09-25 |title=The Boy Who Can't Forget: Aurelien Heyman, Jill Price and Bob Petrella demonstrate their marvellous memories in this Channel 4 documentary |website=Unreality TV |url=http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/the-boy-who-cant-forget-aurelien-heyman-jill-price-and-bob-petrella-demonstrate-their-marvellous-memories-in-this-channel-4-documentary/ |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023230324/http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/the-boy-who-cant-forget-aurelien-heyman-jill-price-and-bob-petrella-demonstrate-their-marvellous-memories-in-this-channel-4-documentary/ |archive-date=2014-10-23}}

In March 2015, Markie Pasternak of Green Bay, Wisconsin was diagnosed as the youngest person to be living with HSAM. Born in 1994, Pasternak remembers every day of her life since February 2005. She was featured on 60 Minutes Australia in August 2016 with Rebecca Sharrock.{{Cite news |last=Stingl |first=Jim |date=2016-04-14 |title=Rare detailed personal memory a burden, and ultimately a gift |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |url=http://archive.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/rare-detailed-personal-memory-a-burden-and-ultimately-a-gift-b99724976z1-379527431.html/ |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906192955/http://archive.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/rare-detailed-personal-memory-a-burden-and-ultimately-a-gift-b99724976z1-379527431.html/ |archive-date=2019-09-06}}

In January 2016, painter and polymath Nima Veiseh was featured by the BBC for his use of hyperthymesia to create paintings that were said to only be producible with vast memories of art pieces,{{cite news |author=Robson |first=David |date=2016-01-26 |title=The blessing and the curse of the people who never forget |publisher=BBC |url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160125-the-blessing-and-curse-of-the-people-who-never-forget |access-date=2023-01-05}} although a paper published in the journal Memory in 2022 claimed that having hyperthymesia does not increase one's creative thinking.{{Cite journal |last1=Daviddi |first1=Sarah |last2=Orwig |first2=William |last3=Palmiero |first3=Massimiliano |last4=Campolongo |first4=Patrizia |last5=Schacter |first5=Daniel L. |last6=Santangelo |first6=Valerio |date=2022-10-21 |title=Individuals with highly superior autobiographical memory do not show enhanced creative thinking |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2022.2094416 |journal=Memory |volume=30 |issue=9 |pages=1148–1157 |doi=10.1080/09658211.2022.2094416 |issn=0965-8211 |pmid=35786156|s2cid=250283343 |url-access=subscription }}

{{Cite news |last=Pinto |first=Sandra |others=Pinto via Bial Foundation |date=2022-09-13 |title=Does Better Autobiographical Memory Enhance the Propensity for Creative Thinking? |work=Neuroscience News |url=https://neurosciencenews.com/creative-autobiographical-memory-21403/ |access-date=2023-01-06}}

{{Cite news |last=((BIAL Foundation)) |date=2022-09-13 |title=Can highly superior autobiographic memory enhance creativity? |work=Medical Xpress |url=https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-highly-superior-autobiographic-memory-creativity.html |access-date=2023-01-06}} 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 March 2016 NPR examined further Veiseh's exploration of time and the human experience through art.{{cite news |date=2016-03-21 |title=Meet the Man Who Can Remember Everything |publisher=WNYC |url=http://www.wnyc.org/story/what-if-you-could-remember-everything/ |access-date=2023-01-05}}

In April 2017, Rebecca Sharrock of Brisbane, Australia became known as a person who claims to recall even circumstantial details of every day of her life from her 12th day of life onward.{{cite news |last=Sharrock |first=Rebecca |date=2017-04-17 |title=I Can Remember Back to When I Was a Newborn Child |work=Futurism |publisher=Vocal |url=https://vocal.media/futurism/i-can-remember-back-to-when-i-was-a-newborn-child |access-date=2023-01-05}}{{Cite news |last=Lu |first=Donna |date=2022-01-18 |title='It's awful to be a medical exception': the woman who cannot forget |language=en |website=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/19/its-awful-to-be-a-medical-exception-the-woman-who-cannot-forget |access-date=2023-01-05}} Discussing her hyperthymesia with BBC World Service, Sharrock revealed she was supporting two research projects – one with the University of Queensland and another with the University of California – to understand how a greater knowledge of hyperthymesia can support Alzheimer's disease research, particularly in repairing the degeneration of the hippocampus.{{Cite web |date=2018-08-28 |title=The Outlook Podcast Archive: I remember when I was a newborn |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06jnspk |access-date=2023-01-05 |publisher=BBC Sounds |language=en-GB}} Scans conducted during the studies showed that Sharrock's brain exhibited a heightened connection between the conscious and sub-conscious parts of her brain, which may aid easier memory recall – in particular for events that took place earlier in life.

In December 2017, a man named Joey DeGrandis was verified as having HSAM by James McGaugh and subsequently featured in an article in Time magazine. DeGrandis also reports having poor short-term memory, indicating that HSAM does not necessarily improve one's short-term memory abilities.

A 63-year-old man, anonymized as "The Amazing Memory Man" (MM) was featured in a paper by Neuropsychology in March 2018, where it is reported that he "appreciates that his memory for personally experienced life events and general knowledge are both exceptional, whereas his imaging the future is only average" (after scoring 123 on Episodic, 123 on Semantic, 112 on Spatial, and 91 on Future remembering memory types, all with a mean of 100).{{Cite web |last=Morales-Brown |first=Louise |date=2020-06-09 |others=Medically reviewed by Nancy Hammond, M.D. |title=Hyperthymesia: Definition, causes, and symptoms |url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/hyperthymesia |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Medical News Today |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last1=Brandt |first1=Jason |last2=Bakker |first2=Arnold |date=March 2018 |title=Neuropsychological Investigation of "The Amazing Memory Man" |journal=Neuropsychology |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=304–316 |doi=10.1037/neu0000410 |issn=0894-4105 |pmc=6441970 |pmid=29265830}}

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".{{Cite news |last=Duggan |first=Graham |title=Total recall: some people can remember every day like it was yesterday |work=The Nature of Things |publisher=CBC |url=https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/features/total-recall-some-people-can-remember-every-day-like-it-was-yesterday}}

Tim Rogers, an American video game developer and journalist, claims to experience the condition in several of his published works.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=CNLJ36rSUiGwZkwR&v=779coR-XPTw&feature=youtu.be |title=action button reviews boku no natsuyasumi |date=2022-09-25 |last=Action Button |access-date=2024-11-26 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |last=rogers |first=tim |date=2016-06-06 |title="What We Might Mean When We Say a Clock is Wrong" |url=https://medium.com/@108/what-we-might-mean-when-we-say-a-clock-is-wrong-5f055ff631a6 |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=Medium |language=en}}

In 2024, Emily Nash, an 18-year-old high school student with HSAM, was featured in a CTV W5 story.{{Cite web |last=Favaro |first=Avis |date=2024-03-23 |title=Why 18-year-old Canadian Emily Nash is sharing her extraordinary brain with science |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/why-18-year-old-canadian-emily-nash-is-sharing-her-extraordinary-brain-with-science/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=CTVNews |language=en}}

• In the 1942 short story "Funes the Memorious" by Jorge Luis Borges, the protagonist suffers a head injury after which he gains the ability to remember every detail of what he experiences, but comes to view this as a curse.
• In the 1980 series The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, the protagonist remembers everything he has ever seen starting from infancy. He describes his memories as being so vivid that he is capable of re-living anything he has experienced whenever he chooses to do so.
• In a 2011 manga by Kohske called Gangsta, the main character, Worick Arcangelo, is said to have hyperthymesia, which he uses to help police identify murder victims.{{cite book |author=Kohske |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqTJuAEACAAJ |title=Gangsta |date=2019-03-19 |publisher=Viz Media |isbn=978-1974705573}}
• In the 2015 novel Memory Man by David Baldacci,{{cite book |last1=Baldacci |first1=David |url=https://archive.org/details/memoryman00bald |title=Memory Man |date=April 21, 2015 |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |isbn=978-1455559824 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/memoryman00bald/page/416 416] |url-access=limited}} the protagonist, Amos Decker, has hyperthymesia. In the book, a mystery-crime scene-thriller with graphic scenes, Decker uses his perfect memory brought on by a traumatic hit in football to solve the murder of his wife and child, and the school shooting connected to it. Decker recalls his memories as a "DVR", just playing when it wants to, or being rewound and played forward by conscious thought.
• In the 2021 romantic suspense series Memento Mori by C.S. Poe,{{cite book |last1=Poe |first1=C.S. |url=https://www.goodreads.com/series/320777-memento-mori |title=Memento Mori |date=September 18, 2021 |publisher=Emporium Press |isbn=978-1952133350}} the protagonist, Everett Larkin, has hyperthymesia. Larkin suffered a traumatic brain injury at the age of 18, leaving him with highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) but very poor short-term memory. He remembers events since his injury with perfect recall, and memories are often brought to the surface through "associations." Larkin uses his superior memory as a detective on the NYPD cold case squad.
• In the 2025 romance Novel "The Survivor Wants to Die At The End" by Adam Silvera, one of the protagonists, Alano Rosa, has hyperthymesia and can remember even before he was born. He relives every moment he remembers including feelings, which in some instances cause him physical pain.

• Season 7 Episode 12 of the series House, M.D. is about a patient who has a temporary paralysis and creatine kinase. She has a "perfect memory" due to her hyperthymesia. It later concludes her hyperthymesia is the way her OCD presents and that taking SSRI to treat her OCD will dial down her hyperthymesia.{{cite magazine |last1=Cloud |first1=John |title=House Watch: What If You Could Remember Every Detail of Your Life? |url=https://healthland.time.com/2011/02/15/house-watch-what-if-you-could-remember-every-detail-of-your-life/ |magazine=Time |publisher=Time |access-date=28 March 2024 |date=15 February 2011}}
• In the 2014 film The Dark Place, the protagonist of the story, Keegan Dark, has hyperthymesia. Keegan uses it to solve the mystery at the heart of the story. His hyperthymesia memories are visually depicted in the movie as "screens" appearing to Keegan, often in an overwhelming and distressing manner.{{cite web |last=DeFellipo |first=Michael |date=2014-12-12 |title=Review: The Dark Place |url=http://www.horrorsociety.com/2014/12/12/review-dark-place/ |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Horror Society}}
• In Season 2 episode 2 of the TV show " The Blacklist" a character involved in criminal banking enterprises identified herself as having hyperthymesia as a skillful trait to avoid leaving a paper trail for illegal activities. She provided the FBI agents in the episode with real examples by recitation of events of dates selected at random. Her skills seemed to be date oriented rather than triggered by "personal experience."
• Unforgettable (American TV series)
• The 2015 South Korean TV series Remember: War of the Son portrays a lawyer with hyperthymesia who sought to prove the innocence of his father, who had been convicted and sentenced to death for the brutal rape-murder of a neighbour.
• The 2020 South Korean TV series Find Me in Your Memory portrays the love story between a news anchorman with hyperthymesia and an actress with amnesia, connected by a past traumatic event.
• In the TV series Superstore, one of the characters, Sandra, has highly superior autobiographical memory, which occasionally ties into the plot.
• Flashpoint In season 5 of the Canadian TV series, a man with hyperthymesia is abducted in order to steal the plans to a smart weapon system at a secure facility.

• Daniel McCartney
• Hypermnesia

{{Reflist}}

{{Wiktionary}}

• {{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/18/255285479/when-memories-never-fade-the-past-can-poison-the-present |publisher=NPR |agency= |author=Alix Spiegel |date=2013-12-27 |title=When Memories Never Fade, The Past Can Poison The Present}}
• {{Cite news |last=Claire Nowak |date=2021-06-21 |title=Only 60 People in the World Have This Insanely Powerful Memory |work=Reader's Digest |url=https://www.rd.com/article/highly-superior-autobiographical-memory/}}
• {{Cite news |last=Klochan |first=Yuliya |date=2022-05-13 |title=Understanding the Basis of Superior Memory |work=Discover Magazine |url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/understanding-the-basis-of-superior-memory}}
• {{Cite news |last=Jennie Runevitch |first= |date=2019-02-27 |title=Total Recall: An IU grad's rare ability creates a map to almost every day of her life |work=WTHR |url=https://www.wthr.com/article/news/health/total-recall-iu-grads-rare-ability-creates-map-almost-every-day-her-life/531-4b2ac8f5-b1b0-48f2-bc2b-2439e6bc5b5e}}
• {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDbFSiMg_nQ |title=Extraordinary Variations of the Human Mind: James McGaugh: Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory |date=2017-07-12 |publisher=University of California Television (UCTV) |via=YouTube}}
• {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpTCZ-hO6iI |title=People who remember every second of their life |date=2018-09-21 |language=en |publisher=60 Minutes Australia |via=YouTube}}
• {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zTkBgHNsWM |title=Endless Memory, Part 1 |date=2010-12-19 |publisher=CBS News |via=YouTube}} [{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHeEQ85m79I |title=Endless Memory, Part 1 |date=2011-06-19 |publisher=CBS News |via=YouTube}}]
• {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1th1fVIc8Vo |title=Endless Memory, Part 2 |date=2010-12-19 |publisher=CBS News |via=YouTube}} [{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en23bCvp-Fw |title=Endless Memory, Part 2 |date=2011-06-19 |publisher=CBS News |via=YouTube}}]
• {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlpcq_3e178 |title=Extra: Marilu Henner & "Time Traveling" |date=2010-12-19 |publisher=CBS News |via=YouTube}} [{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVVf1GB_JUU |title=Extra: Marilu Henner & "time traveling" |date=2010-12-19 |publisher=CBS |via=YouTube}}]
• {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g5_zPUCx9g |title=Extra: Memory quiz time |date=2010-12-19 |publisher=CBS News |via=YouTube}} [{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wliStZc_sa4 |title=Extra: Memory Quiz Time |date=2010-12-19 |publisher=CBS |via=YouTube}}]
• {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0-mv26szJk |title=More people have "Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory" than originally thought |date=2014-01-13 |publisher=CBS Mornings |via=YouTube}}

{{memory}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Exceptional memory

Category:Memory disorders