Avis Favaro interviews Emily Nash, a Canadian teen who has a highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM). These people absorb information normally, but their memories do not decay. Scientists are trying to identify the regions of the brain that appear more active in people with HSAM, and thus develop treatment for people suffering from memory loss of dementia and Alzheimer’s. In sleep studies of HSAM people, EEG detects more sleep spindles which may help the brain synchronize memories and secure them more efficiently.  

Emily hopes to pursue a career in biomedical scientific research and is enjoying meeting other people with her “gift”, as they struggle with the anxiety resulting from never forgetting the bad. Her mother, a psychiatric nurse, is also coaching her daughter on how to manage that burden.