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1、Some people can recall whathappened on almost every day of their lives. Unlocking their secrets could shedlight on the way all our memories workIT WAS an email that memory researcher James McGaugh found hard to believe. The sender, a 34-year-old housewife named Jill Price, was claiming that she coul
2、d recall key events on any date back to when she was about 12, as well as what she herself had done each day.Some people call me the human calendar, she wrote, while others run out of the room in fear. But the one reaction I get from everyone who finds out about this gift is amazement. I run my enti
3、re life through my head every day and it drives me crazy!McGaugh invited Price to his lab, making sure he had to hand a copy of 20th Century Day by Day, a book that lists important events by date. He opened the book to random pages and asked Price what had happened on those days. Whether it was a pl
4、ane crash or some elections or a movie star doing an outrageous thing, she was dead on, he recalls. Time and time again.That was in June 2000. McGaughs group has worked closely with Price ever since, and has discovered she is one of a select few with similar abilities. These individuals are neither
5、autistic savants nor masters of mnemonic-based tricks of recall, yet they can remember key events from almost every day of their lives. Learning more about their abilities and how their brains are wired should lead to insights into the nature of human memory.Intrigued by McGaughs findings, I arrange
6、d to visit his lab at the University of California, Irvine, to find out how these people live with such unusual abilities and what it is like for the researchers working with them. It never ceases to amaze me, says McGaughs colleague, Aurora LePort. Some of them can remember every day you give them.
7、 She says studying people whose powers of recall seem to be enhanced, rather than impaired, offers us a new tool to explore memory.It is certainly fair to say that most of our knowledge of memory derives from looking at memory loss. The classic case is that of Henry Molaison (better known as HM), wh
8、o had surgery nearly 60 years ago to treat severe epilepsy. In a misguided attempt to remove the source of the seizures, several parts of the brain were cut out, including both hippocampi, curled up ridges on either side of the brain.For HM, the consequences were catastrophic. Although he could stil
9、l recall his early life, he was no longer able to lay down memories of things that happened to him after the surgery. Every day, the researchers studying his condition had to introduce themselves anew. Intriguingly, though, he could perform tasks that used short-term memory, like retaining a phone n
10、umber for a few minutes.Thanks to HM and many other people with neurological problems caused by head injuries and strokes, we now know that there are different kinds of remembering. Our short-term memories last up to about a minute, unless they are reinforced, or rehearsed through further repetition
11、. While much about the neuroscience of memory remains mysterious, our hippocampi seem to be involved in turning these fleeting impressions into long-term memories, which are thought to be stored in the temporal lobes on either side of the brain.Long-term memories can be subdivided into semantic ones
12、 to do with concepts, such as the fact that London is the UK capital, and autobiographical memories, about everyday events that we experience. Price has no special abilities with regard to her short-term or semantic memory, but when it comes to autobiographical memory, her scores are off the chart.D
13、etective workNaturally, McGaughs team did not take Prices recollections at face value. In a routine they have since honed on other individuals, they check facts using subjects diaries and photo albums, interviews with their families, and online research. For instance, they might check someones descr
14、iption of their first home against images on Google Street View and the family photo album.Some of them are really good, says LePort. For instance, one subject claimed she could recall what she was thinking when brushing her teeth on a particular date. She said: Oh yes, I was thinking about going to
15、 dinner. I cant confirm that, but from all the other testing that weve done, I do believe her.In 2007, McGaughs team published their findings about Price in the journalNeurocase (vol 12, p 35), concluding that she was the first known case of someone with highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM
16、). They have since discovered 33 others with similar talents. As with Price, the detailed memories date back to around the age of ten.Interviewing Price on the phone, I ask what it feels like to have this ability. My memory really has ruled my life, she says. Its brought me great joy, but it has tormented me. Being able to hold on to all of the amazing moments is something that gives me comfort. But you remember the bad t
