Health

Ever Wonder How Some People Remember Every Day of Their Life?

Could you say what day of the week Jan. 1, 1984, fell on? How about the date Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married or the day the first Star Wars opened in theaters? Could you then elaborate on personal details of what happened to you on that day?

These are just a few questions researchers are asking subjects being studied for a “highly superior autobiographical memory,” according to NPR. Most people can only answer questions such as these with 15 percent accuracy, University of California-Irvine researcher James McGaugh told NPR. Those with highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) on the other hand can get 55 percent of them right.

11 Studied for Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory Found to Also be OCD

MRI brain scans revealed the area associated with OCD was larger in people with these more specialized memories. (Image: Shutterstock.com)

NPR describes Bob Petrella as one of those with an extraordinary memory. In addition to identifying the date of a news event or the notable event that occurred on a specific date, Petrella, who is 62 years old, was able to tell researchers Jan. 1, 1984, fell on a Sunday, which was the day the Steelers, his favorite team, lost to the Raiders, 38-10.

McGaugh said the 11 people being studied are not considered to have photographic memories, and when it comes to everyday memory tasks, they score relatively normal. McGaugh and colleagues recently published a study of these people in the journal Neurobiology of Learning and Memory:

Results indicated that HSAM participants performed significantly better at recalling public as well as personal autobiographical events as well as the days and dates on which these events occurred. However, their performance was comparable to age- and sex-matched controls on most standard laboratory memory tests. Neuroanatomical results identified nine structures as being morphologically different from those of control participants. The study of HSAM may provide new insights into the neurobiology of autobiographical memory.

A new finding the researchers were able to link to those with HSAM was obsessive-compulsive disorder, which researchers believes will help them in further memory studies.

“He’s germ-avoidant. If he drops his keys, he has to wash them. He can’t wear shoes that have shoestrings, because shoestrings touch the ground,” McGaugh told NPR about Petrella.

NPR added that MRI scans of these individuals’ brains found the area linked with OCD seems to be larger.

Scientists plan to continue studying these 11 participants and nine specific regions of their brains that appear different compared to those in the control group to better understand memory as a whole and why theirs seem to be so good.

Listen to NPR’s full report on Morning Edition:

Comments (24)

  • term limits for congress
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 10:41am

    I have HSAM, but I self-medicate and keep it under control with mass quantities of Miller Lite. Those pesky brain cells don’t stand a chance.

    Report Post »  
  • cathmorgan
    Posted on August 21, 2012 at 7:05am

    Check out Amazon for this book, Princess Diana The Day She Didn’t Die, it was fab!

    Report Post »  
  • oinia
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 9:56pm

    I can‘t even remember what day of the week last month’s days fell on, let alone 20 years ago…

    Dang, pretty amazing brainwork. Orson Scott Card, sci-fi writer, has a book about a planet full of people genetically modified to enhance their intelligence, but which is also linked to OCD to prevent these people from figuring out they are being used by the group that modified them. Just sayin.

    Report Post » oinia  
    • Wolf
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 7:51am

      I can’t remember yesterday and seldom know what day of the week it is. The thing that irks me most, though, is that I used to remember conversations verbatim, could tell what page of a text book had a particular fact. Now… forget it… :-\

      Report Post »  
  • MrKnowItAll
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 8:36pm

    The 80′s made me forget Everything!!!!!

    Report Post » MrKnowItAll  
  • Valuable
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 5:44pm

    Marilu Henner has this.

    http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/05/01/seen-at-11-rare-mental-condition-gives-actress-henner-super-human-memory/

    Report Post »  
  • christos
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 5:14pm

    If NPR can remember they are one of the worst radio programs ever,fully knowing they are an arm of the anti +CHRIST+ ,,,the only reason they/U.C.I are studying memory they want to turn everyone into the Planet of the Apes – Useful Idiots,surely their favorite show is Soylent Green.TA

    Report Post » christos  
  • Centralsville
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 4:21pm

    I do believe them when they say some people can remember every detail of every day of their lives. I think these same people could tell us where the aliens live and could help us locate bigfoot homes. They can also bend spoons with their minds.

    Report Post »  
  • KENTUCKIANAPATRIOT
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 3:17pm

    Eleven people?…NPR has ELEVEN listeners!!! Or was that some other “NPR”–I forgot.

    Report Post »  
  • Daveed
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 3:00pm

    My husband can do that, even after his massive stroke. I don’t like NPR. If they can’t be successful with out tax payers money they did to shut er down.

    Report Post »  
  • KENTUCKIANAPATRIOT
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 2:54pm

    Wait a minute here–age & time–I have distinct memories of a LONG time ago, but the reason I know how old I was is because of where we lived–so by that I “know” how old I was. Where does that fit in with this? I can recall things that happened 50+ yrs ago–can’t tell you what I had for lunch on any given day last week. (Is the following more a woman thing–YES–I’m “sexist”), but doesn’t everybody relate certain events or memories to…”so & so had just had so & so…let’s see–that would be,,,1983…” Or, “We had just moved from…“ All those ”identifiers”–wouldn’t all that figure into this “subject”? And we can’t leave out the ever popular time-piece of “so & so was President…so…”; Everybody has memories, but there is always something attached–a “marker” for lack of a better term. Otherwise humans would be machine-like, wouldn’t they. Is that in the “study”? (Oh–I Do indeed recall the first book I ever read–sorry, but that I don’t see how anyone forgets that.) I know how old I was and the fireplace was roaring, narrows it down, but exact day/date I started reading that book–no way.)

    Report Post »  
    • Melika
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 11:31am

      Yeah, this doesn’t sound like they have a better memory, just better recall for specifics from their life. I have a great recall for facts I learned, and I can usually pinpoint the exact page of things I’ve read years ago, but I make the effort to remember these things. I do remember what I consider important things from my life – names, people, events, and dates that help me pinpoint certain events. Knowing what day a certain date falls on is easy if you know the math of it, so I’m not impressed by that. He could simply have OCD regarding things that happen in his life that most of us consider unimportant, so we tend to “forget” them.

      Report Post »  
  • IMCHRISTIAN
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 2:41pm

    I was going to type something but forgot what it was now, Have a good day, yeah!!!! that was it.

    Report Post »  
  • wisehiney
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 2:23pm

    I can’t look at a television because I am afraid that I will see a filthy president. I feel safer looking at The Blaze, but……AAIIIIEEEEE!

    Report Post »  
  • woodyee
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 2:08pm

    “Ever Wonder How Some People Remember Every Day of Their Life?”

    No, but now I wonder if you’d ask them what it was like traveling from womb to breast?
    What crossed their mind when the doctor smacked their bottoms (or their mama’s if they were that ugly)?
    When first pressed to bottle, did they find it preferable to breast?
    What happened on their 2ND day of school?
    What did they have for breakfast the first day they used silverware?
    What was the title of the first book they ever read?…

    Report Post » woodyee  
  • Sirfoldallot
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:57pm

    So it’s not beer ? WTH

    Report Post » Sirfoldallot  
  • SREGN
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:56pm

    I used to have a photographic memory. Then a few years ago I ran out of film.

    Report Post »  
    • 4xeverything
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 2:10pm

      My younger brother told me that he had a photogenic memory. Hahaha. Gotta love the state of our schools.

      Report Post » 4xeverything  
  • Mo Better
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:52pm

    Big deal, I remember August 19, 2012 like it was yesterday!

    Report Post » Mo Better  
  • Eric_The_Red_State
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:45pm

    Slow news day?

    Report Post » Eric_The_Red_State  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 2:08pm

      I find out news items like this helps bring up children. It makes life hard for authors if their protagonists can’t have photographic memories, play 7 chess games at one, etc.

      It is much easier to explain this 7 then tell them persistence masking friends hard work having & executing a plans & studying will get them to the American Dream.

      Report Post »  
    • woodyee
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 2:09pm

      It’s why they want us to listen to NPR…

      Report Post » woodyee  

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