Perfect Memory & Hyperthymesia

Perfect memory and hyperthymesia, both terms are interrelated to each other. Hyperthymesia people have a perfect memory of past events. An average person can't remember what happened exactly two days ago or a year ago, but people with Hyperthymestic syndrome can remember exactly what happened two days ago or a year ago. A woman named Jill price in California was under observation because she had perfect memory. She can recall even small events that happened to her in the past.

So neurobiologists in the university of California named this perfect memory as hyperthymesia. Jill's price said that she can recall even minor events of her life without any hesitation. She also remembers the time and date of the event that happened. People with Hyperthymestic syndrome are rare in number. Perfect memory is also termed as highly superior autobiographical memory HSAM or eidetic memory. In highly superior autobiographical memory, HSAM people are able to recall minor events, dates, and times of events, images, videos, and even conversations but with little detail.

Perfect Memory & Hyperthymesia

In HSAM, people may remember their childhood events, but events that occurred after 10 or 12 years of age are more accurate and vivid. Autobiographical memory is not like other types of perfect memories. Scientists are doing research on the pathophysiology of hyperthymesia to help people with impaired memory like amnesia or brain injury. Short term memory and long term memory both are different conditions. In short term memory, people may remember what happened yesterday, but it will fade with time while in long term memory, people remember about marriage they attend last week or last month.

People with hyperthymesia also have short term and long term memory like a normal person, but their memory does not fade away with time; instead, it sharpens with time. These memories become more accurate and detailed. Mnemonic memory is a type of perfect memory but different from hyperthymesia. As in mnemonic memory, people use rhyming letters or words to memorize things like ABC is rhymed to remember it. But people with hyperthymesia do not use mnemonics to remember anything.

It is also reported that mnemonics make it difficult to remember anything for Hyperthymestic people. Flashbulb memory is also different from hyperthymesia as in flashbulb memory, people only remember a snapshot of life events like a plane hit world trade center on 11.9.2001. But people with Hyperthymestic syndrome or HSAM may remember all details of that event that happened with accurate time. Likewise, implicit memory is also a type of memory in which people do anything without thinking.

People with implicit memory are able to perform anything they learned in their past. Like riding a bike, keyboard typing, etc. hyperthymesia also have implicit memory, but it is different because these two terms are not directly related.

There are some characteristics of people having hyperthymesia:

  • They show a high level of intelligence.
  • They can talk about different ages and walks of life.
  • They look like normal people, but the difference lies in recalling the memory.
  • They have deeper and vast memory than normal people.
Perfect Memory & Hyperthymesia Perfect Memory & Hyperthymesia Reviewed by Simon Albert on June 22, 2020 Rating: 5
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