Marilu Henner on Life with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-04-30/marilu-henner-life-highly-superior-autobiographical-memory
Actress Marilu Henner is one of the rare documented cases of Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory in the world. It's an ability that allows her to vividly recall every detail of every day of her life since childhood. Henner is a consultant to the CBS tv show "Unforgettable," in which the main character has HSAM. Diane also speaks to Dr. James McGaugh who diagnosed this ability and studies people who have it. A discussion with Marilu Henner on what it means to remember your life in detail and what HSAM tells us about the brain.
Guests
Marilu Henner
actress, consultant for the CBS show “Unforgettable,” one of a dozen documented cases of Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory in the world.
Dr. James McGaugh
Research Professor at the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, and Research Professor at the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine
Comments
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I once had this ability until I had 3 years of chemo. I'm hoping it will return. I'm also still hoping for the return of my hair.
Cheers!
Lisa Ziegler
The memory thing is almost frightening! To remember everything! there is much I would love to remember but a lot I am glad I forgot. As far as that clip from a TV sitcom...just another reason I am glad I gave up TV watching in the late 80s
I too have been blessed with great autobiographical memory. In fact, my family relies on me as tyhe family historian because I'm able to recall the most minute things exactly as they happened. I remember things that happened when I was a child. Sometimes I wonder if my recolections are from stories that have been repeated over and over by family members.
How nice to hear a story about a brain condition that isn't "doom and gloom".
I have always been able to remember details from before I was two years old. I remember things from growing up that no one else does. If I actually sit down and concentrate I can literally recreate an entire summer.
Sometimes when I go through details my siblings will then remember the event. I still remember entire passages and pages of books I read as a teenager. Currently I am a theatrical costume designer and have no problem remembering every character, every scene requirement and keeping track of literally thousands of costume pieces, which always astounds my co-workers, but it's just the way my brain works.
My husband, on the other hand, remembers almost nothing. I did not realize for many years that my memory was unusual.
Until listening to this program I did not know that there was a name for my memory. Wonderful program!
Thank you for your show this morning! I was called the "memory Kid" too! (ha)...Then as I got older, "Narc, mole, the philosopher, etc" because I never forgot anything and at times can have a big mouth when I forget to use discernment in my disgust of how some can get away with things most others cannot. I do recall many memories because of strife or mental abuse by my disfunctional family (like one of your callers). I was an A student, but have had anger or depression issues since the seventees and this stifled my chances for college due to my bitterness at the more affluent. Some people relate my personality as being partly autistic or lately as aspergers, but who really knows...its just me. I have a strong conscience, seek truth, and question authority about their motives and judgment constantly. I am well known for my stubborn personality with dealing with seeking justice. My memory has been a curse many times and I started to drink heavily to dull my senses about 12 years ago. This did not work and only made me an alcoholic, which I am still working on to remedy. I am mostly right handed, but can write with my left and can do artistic things, but have a high ability for math and philosophy. Some call it left brain - right brain. I do not like to explain myself and generally try to make peace with anyone willing to stop long enough to consider it. My co-worker has been amazed how new employees will instantly like me or loath me withing the first five minutes...apparently due to my judging appearance and direct questions about their life. Therefore, I also have a memory that is acute, but I selectively try not to burden my mind with what I ate on the 17th of February at noon. I think this is because decifering motives and problem solving requires me to not be distracted too much by memories. This is a pile of stuff, but I hope it helps with your subject, Ms. Henner. Sincerely, Brett (dahmooren3@yahoo.com)
I found today's show absolutely riveting as I have known since I was a child that I possess an exceptional memory. For lack of a better term I used to call it semi-photographic before someone suggested eidetic. Yet, upon listening to today's show and the description of HSAM, this may be the best fit.
Thank you for featuring this on your show. My husband is a loyal listener to the Diane Rehm Show & upon recognizing my similar traits, had to call and tell me to listen in. I will look into being tested at UC-Irvine and plan to pick up Ms. Henner's book.
Listening to 60 minutes and NPR about Marilu Henner and her HSAM memory, I'm convinced my son has this kind of memory, but not exactly the same. He has always mentioned his "memory videos" and how he'll watch them when he's trying to remember something. He can remember all sorts of things throughout his life that amaze me, starting with the sounds and sights in the womb and in his incubator when he was born premature. (which, of course, nobody believes but me - because I've been studying and noticing unusual things about him all his life.) But unlike Marilu, he cannot remember everything by dates and time, and his memory isn't always that clear about everything. He has a fantastic memory about some things and a horrible memory about other things. He has an incredible memory for sounds, music, colors, people, but a horrible memory for text, math and directions and most things academic. He can listen to a song once and he'll go around the house singing it continually, but he has trouble learning songs for choir or school. He'll listen to a comedy routine once, but takes forever to learn his lines for his drama class. He said he searches for his memory videos by his age at the time, not by date - because he seldom pays attention to dates. Things he doesn't remember well he said the reason was because the video is all fogged up. Since he has ADD, this makes absolute sense. The clarity and fogginess of his memory video would depend on how much attention he was paying to it at the time.The effect his other abilities and disabilities would have on his attention and subsequent memory, then, also make sense. His abilities/disabilities include: ADD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, Irlen's syndrome (perceptual dyslexia or Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome which is treated with individualized colored "filters") , synesthesia (which involves stimulation of perception of colors when seeing or imagining text, numbers, etc.), hypersensitive hearing, poor sense of direction and time.
Curious how can anyone really measure that ability? No one was born with a camera stuck on their head so as to record every event of one's life. I am very suspicious of such claim particularly as I witness so many people claiming to remember things that it actually never did occur and that is thanks to our current environment of camera all over the place.
All what you say is true - which is a huge problem for witnesses in court cases. As I've found out from my son, the issue is not what actually has happened - but how good the original perception of events is, and how quickly that perception corrupts and degrades. And, of course, for doubters, how truthful the person is trying to be. To give you an example from my son's life of how perception can cause incorrect memories: When he was in 2nd grade, his teacher would give the students 20 words to memorize for a weekly spelling test. I would spend multiple hours with him so he would do well - but he would always fail. One week, suddenly, he got 100%. From then on, with minimal effort, he got 90 to 100% on those. After he was grown, I finally asked him what had happened. He said that he finally realized that his brain (perception from dyslexia) had been switching many of the letters. So, he switched the letters back in his head and memorized the new spelling. This was several years before we, the smart adults, found out he was dyslexic. Another example: He has always had trouble with getting lost. I asked him after watching the 60 minutes show and questioning him about his memory videos - Why not just use them to find his way? What he said was that his directional memory depended on his perceptual dyslexia (Irlen's), which causes his visual field to flip periodically (. So if his visual field flips left to right or back while he is moving, that is what he remembers - which, of course, is wrong. Fortunately, in the last few years, he has been getting progressively better with lefts and rights and directions, (as well as dyslexia), after starting to wear personalized "Irlen filters (glasses)".
I loved this show. Listened to it today as I strolled my grandson in the mall. I am finishing a memoir about my childhood and find it very difficult to recall memories not on the "track." I will be buying the book and looking for opportunities to take a class with Marilu.
One thing to consider along literary lines. Some of the memoirists of the past must have had a version of this gift. Read Vladimir Nabokov's Speak, Memory to see an amazing recall of every sense over decades of time.
Thanks, Diane, for choosing Marilu to come on your show. Thanks, Marilu, for sharing your gift.