It is generally accepted that no-one can recall their birth. Most people generally do not remember anything before the age of three, although some theorists (e.g. Usher and Neisser, 1993) argue that adults can remember important events - such as the birth of a sibling - when they occurred as early as the age of two.
Hyperthymesia is the rare ability to recall nearly all past experiences in great detail. The causes of HSAM are currently unknown, but some theories suggest that it may have biological, genetic, or psychological origins.
There is some evidence that fetal memory may begin within the second trimester after conception. Substantial evidence for fetal memories has been found at around 30 weeks after conception. Fetal memory is important for parental recognition, and facilitates the bond between child and parents.
Memories: from birth to adolescence
Adults rarely remember events from before the age of three, and have patchy memories when it comes to things that happened to them between the ages of three and seven. It's a phenomenon known as 'infantile amnesia'.
A rare condition called Hyperthymesia causes people to have such a strong autobiographical memory that they can remember everything that occurred in their lives. Every person they have seen, every emotion they experienced, and every conversation they have had, these people remember everything.
As mentioned in an article in Scientific American, the memory capacity of a human brain was testified to have equal to 2.5 petabytes of memory capacity. A “petabyte” means 1024 terabytes or a million gigabytes so that the average adult human brain can accumulate the equivalent of 2.5 million gigabytes of memory.
Hyperthymesia simply means excessive thinking. You have the 'superpower' to recall your past, images, sounds or a specific important event.
Studies show that babies can recall traumatic events, particularly those that occur during the first year of life. While they may not remember the exact details of what happened, they can retain a feeling of the experience, shaping their behavior and responses later.
When your baby's only a few weeks old, his memories usually last for up to two days. A research investigation confirmed that by the time he reaches 5 months, he can remember photos of faces for as long as 14 days.
Do babies have memories? Yes, but they don't work the way adult memories do. Babies have mainly short-term memories that last for just a few minutes. By 4 months old, your baby can remember that your face has disappeared when you play peek-a-boo, or that a ball has rolled out of sight.
What is a didactic memory? Didactic memory may simply be another term for eidetic memory. When a person has this type of memory, they can vividly recall memories as if they were a visual image or mental image that is burned into their minds.
Across a number of studies using memory implantation, about 37% of people have come to remember parts of or entire events that never actually happened. Other studies have expanded on this paradigm by introducing photos instead of narratives.
Disadvantages of having hyperthymesia
Those with Hyperthymesia are usually not the happiest folks around. Not being able to forget and focus on more important things selectively is a problem. Humans can subconsciously remember more positive memories and dilute the effects of harmful or unwanted memories.
The vast majority of the people who have been identified as possessing eidetic imagery are children. The prevalence estimates of the ability among preadolescents range from about 2 percent to 10 percent. And it is an equal-opportunity phenomenon--theres no gender difference in who is likely to be an eidetiker.
Eidetic Imagery Generally Isn't Found in Adults
According to Haber (1979), eidetic ability is found almost exclusively amongst young children, and is fairly rare even amongst them, occurring only in about 2% to 15% of American under-twelves.
Adults can generally recall events from 3–4 years old, with those that have primarily experiential memories beginning around 4.7 years old. Adults who experienced traumatic or abusive early childhoods report a longer period of childhood amnesia, ending around 5–7 years old.
They might not know exactly what happened and why, but they do know that someone important is now missing from their small worlds. Yes, even babies grieve. And when someone they love dies, children of all ages need our time and attention if they are to heal and grow to be emotionally healthy adults.
When do babies recognize their father or mother? Babies can recognize their parents pretty early actually – as young as 4 days old. By making eye contact with your baby during feeding times, cuddle sessions and throughout the day, you're helping your child memorize your face and learn to trust you.
“For instance, a baby may not remember explicitly the time they were yelled at in the kitchen booster seat when they were 6 months old, but their body remembers the way it recoiled, the way it pumped blood to increase oxygen to the muscles in response to feeling unsafe,” Keith explains.
The infant's brain is very vulnerable to stress. High stress can impact the development of the emotional parts of the brain. A baby can detect anger in a voice as early as 5 months. Parental arguing causes stress in the baby, elevating their heart rate and increasing their blood pressure.
The trauma of the birth is thus compounded by a separation from the mother. This effect on mother-child bonding so early in life has a major influence on the child's psychological development later in life.
The new research shows that dolphins have the longest memory yet known in any species other than people.
Actress Marilu Henner has a highly superior autobiographical memory, a rare condition identified in only 100 people worldwide. This trait drives her to advocate for more funding for brain research. Give Marilu Henner a random date in the past and she can recall it with amazing clarity. Take April 30, 1980.
X-Men carry an “X-gene,” which bestows upon them mutant abilities. No such gene exists in humans, and we simply don't know enough about the genetic potential of our genes to produce superhuman abilities. We do know that some humans already possess abilities that appear like superhuman powers.