An exceptional ability to recall events from any given day of their lives has been observed in some people. This super memory typically manifests towards the end of childhood, although some individuals have reported noticing it as early as five years old. Since its recognition, this phenomenon has been coined hyperthymesia or over-remembering.
A review published in the journal Neuropsychology Review revealed that individuals with hyperthymesia have the remarkable 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, although 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.