Ahandfulofpeoplecanrecallalmosteverydayoftheirlivesinenormousdetail一andafteryearsofresearch，neuroscientistsarefinallybeginningtounderstandhowtheydoit.A)Formostofus,memoryisamessofblurredandfadedpicturesofourlives.Asmuchaswewouldliketoclingontoourpast,eventhesaddestmomentscanbewashedawaywithtime.B)AskNimaVeisehwhathewasdoingforanydayinthepast15years,however,andhewillgiveyouthedetailsoftheweather,whathewaswearing,orevenwhatsideofthetrainhewassittingonhisjourneytowork.'Mymemoryislikealibraryofvideotapes,walk-throughsofeverydayofmylifefromwakingtosleeping,'heexplains.C)Veisehcanevenputadateonwhenthosetapesstartedrecording:15December2000,whenhemethisfirstgirlfriendathisbestfriend's16thbirthdayparty.Hehadalwayshadagoodmemory,butthethrillofyoungloveseemstohaveshiftedagearinhismind:fromnowon,hewouldstartrecordinghiswholelifeindetail.'Icouldtellyoueverythingabouteverydayafterthat.'D)Needlesstosay,peoplelikeVeisehareofgreatinteresttoneuroscientists（神经科学专家）hopingtounderstandthewaythebrainrecordsourlives.Acoupleofrecentpapershavefinallyopenedawindowonthesepeople'sextraordinaryminds.Andsuchresearchmightevensuggestwaysforusalltoreliveourpastwithgreaterclarity.E)'Highlysuperiorautobiographicalmemory'(orHSAMforshort),firstcametolightintheearly2000s,withayoungwomannamedJillPrice.EmailingtheneuroscientistandmemoryresearcherJimMcGaughoneday,sheclaimedthatshecouldrecalleverydayofherlifesincetheageof12.Couldhehelpexplainherexperiences?F)McGaughinvitedhertohislab,andbegantotesther:hewouldgiveheradateandaskhertotellhimabouttheworldeventsonthatday.Truetoherword,shewascorrectalmosteverytime.G)Itdidn'ttakelongformagazinesanddocumentaryfilm-makerstocometounderstandher'totalrecall',andthankstothesubsequentmediainterest,afewdozenothersubjects(includingVeiseh)havesincecomeforwardandcontactedtheteamattheUniversityofCalifornia,Irvine.H)Interestingly,theirmemoriesarehighlyself-centred:althoughtheycanremember'autobiographical'lifeeventsinextraordinarydetail,theyseemtobenobetterthanaverageatrecallingimpersonalinformation,suchasrandom（任意选取的）listsofwords.Noraretheynecessarilybetteratrememberingaroundofdrinks,say.Andalthoughtheirmemoriesarevast,theyarestilllikelytosufferfrom'falsememories'.Clearly,thereisnosuchthingasa'perfect'memory—theirextraordinarymindsarestillusingthesameflawedtoolsthattherestofusrelyon.Thequestionis,how?I)LawrencePatihisattheUniversityofSouthernMississippirecentlystudiedaround20peoplewithHSAMandfoundthattheyscoredparticularlyhighontwomeasures:fantasyproneness(倾向）andabsorption.Fantasypronenesscouldbeconsideredatendencytoimagineanddaydream,whereasabsorptionisthetendencytoallowyourmindtobecomefullyabsorbedinanactivity—topaycompleteattentiontothesensations(感受）andtheexperiences.'I'mextremelysensitivetosounds,smellsandvisualdetail,'explainsNicoleDonohue,whohastakenpartinmanyofthesestudies.'Idefinitelyfeelthingsmorestronglythantheaverageperson.'J)Theabsorptionhelpsthemtoestablishstrongfoundationsforrecollection,saysPatihis,andthefantasypronenessmeansthattheyrevisitthosememoriesagainandagaininthecomingweeksandmonths.Eachtimethisinitialmemorytraceis'replayed',itbecomesevenstronger.Insomeways,youprobablygothroughthatprocessafterabigeventlikeyourweddingday—butthedifferenceisthatthankstotheirotherpsychologicaltendencies,theHSAMsubjectsaredoingitdayin,dayout,forthewholeoftheirlives.K)NoteveryonewithatendencytofantasisewilldevelopHSAM,though,soPatihissuggeststhatsomethingmusthavecausedthemtothinksomuchabouttheirpast.'Maybesomeexperienceintheirchildhoodmeantthattheybecameobsessed(着迷）withcalendarsandwhathappenedtothem,'saysPatihis.L)ThepeoplewithHSAMI'veinterviewedwouldcertainlyagreethatitcanbeamixedblessing.Ontheplusside,itallowsyoutorelivethemosttransformativeandenrichingexperiences.Veiseh,forinstance,travelledalotinhisyouth.Inhissparetime,hevisitedthelocalartgalleries,andthepaintingsarenowlodgeddeepinhisautobiographicalmemories.M)'Imaginebeingabletoremembereverypainting,oneverywall,ineverygalleryspace,betweennearly40countries,'hesays.'That'sabigeducationinartbyitself.'Withthiscomprehensiveknowledgeofthehistoryofart,hehassincebecomeaprofessionalpainter.N)Donohue,nowahistoryteacher,agreesthatithelpedduringcertainpartsofhereducation:'IcandefinitelyrememberwhatIlearnedoncertaindaysatschool.Icouldimaginewhattheteacherwassayingorwhatitlookedlikeinthebook.'O)NoteveryonewithHSAMhasexperiencedthesebenefits，however.Viewingthepastinhighdefinitioncanmakeitverydifficulttogetoverpainandregret.'Itcanbeveryhardtoforgetembarrassingmoments,'saysDonohue.'Youfeelthesameemotions—itisjustasraw,justasfresh...Youcan'tturnoffthatstreamofmemories,nomatterhowhardyoutry.'Veisehagrees:'Itislikehavingtheseopenwounds—theyarejustapartofyou,'hesays.P)Thismeanstheyoftenhavetomakeaspecialefforttolaythepasttorest.Bill,forinstance,oftengetspainful'flashbacks',inwhichunwantedmemoriesintrudeintohisconsciousness,butoverallhehaschosentoseeitasthebestwayofavoidingrepeatingthesamemistakes.'Somepeopleareabsorbedinthepastbutnotopentonewmemories,butthat'snotthecaseforme.Ilookforwardtoeachdayandexperiencingsomethingnew.'36.PeoplewithHSAMhavethesamememoryasordinarypeoplewhenitcomestoimpersonalinformation.37.FantasypronenesswillnotnecessarilycausepeopletodevelopHSAM.38.Veisehbegantorememberthedetailsofhiseverydayexperiencesafterhemethisfirstyounglove.39.ManymorepeoplewithHSAMstartedtocontactresearchersduetothemassmedia.40.PeoplewithHSAMoftenhavetomakeeffortstoavoidfocusingonthepast.41.Mostpeopledonothaveclearmemoriesofpastevents.42.HSAMcanbebothacurseandablessing.43.Ayoungwomansoughtexplanationfromabrainscientistwhenshenoticedherunusualmemory.44.SomepeoplewithHSAMfinditveryhardtogetridofunpleasantmemories.45.ArecentstudyofpeoplewithHSAMrevealsthattheyareliabletofantasyandfullabsorptioninanactivity.