Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)

Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), also referred to by the neologism hyperthymesia, is a form of conditional memory characterised by deep consolidation of personal experiences coupled with vivid recall provoked by uncontrolled association, whereby an individual with such memory will experience extraordinary recall of personal life events on an involuntarily basis to the detriment of ability to focus on non-personal information or abstract possibilities.

Reading

• Parker, E. S.; Cahill, L.; McGaugh, J. L. (2006), "A Case of Unusual Autobiographical Remembering", Neurocase: The Neural Basis of Cognition 12 (1): 35-49 
• Ally, B.A.; Hussey, E. P.; Donahue, J.M. (2013), "A Case of Hyperthymesia: Rethinking the Role of the Amygdala in Autobiographical Memory", Neurocase: The Neural Basis of Cognition 19 (2): 166-181 
• Patihis, L. (2015), "Individual Differences and Correlates of Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory", Memory 24 (7): 961-978 
• Santangelo, V.; Cavallina, C.; Colucci, P.; et. al. (2018), "Enhanced Brain Activity Associated With Memory Access in Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) 115 (30): 7795-7800 
• Baglieri, Daria (2020), "Wardens and Prisoners of Their Memories: The Need for Autobiographical Oblivion in Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)", Phenomenology and Mind (18), https://journals.openedition.org/phenomenology/1358