You know your life story. Can you relive it?
If your past feels like facts, not scenes, there's a name for that: severely deficient autobiographical memory (SDAM). Take the free SDAM test in about 5 minutes, then give your memories a home.
Knowing, not reliving
SDAM stands for severely deficient autobiographical memory. You can know a lot about your own life: where you lived, who was at the wedding, what happened next. What's missing is stepping back into those moments and living them again. It was first described in 2015, in healthy adults with otherwise normal memory.
Your past is a set of facts
You can tell the story of your childhood. It feels like telling someone else's.
Friends remember for you
Someone brings up "that night in Lisbon" with a grin. You nod along, going on what you've been told.
Photos and notes do the remembering
You keep records not because you're tidy, but because without them the moment is gone.
Nobody knows yet how common SDAM is. It was first described in just three people in 2015, and research is still catching up.
How do you remember your life?
Two short questionnaires built on published research. No right answers, only your own way of remembering.
How you remember your life
Reliving events, knowing facts, finding your way and imagining the future. See where you're strong.
About 5 minutes · 20 questionsStart the SDAM test8-sense imagery profile
How vividly you imagine across eight senses, from sight and sound to taste, smell and body feelings.
About 6 minutes · 32 questionsStart the senses profileSelf-report questionnaires, not a diagnosis. Anonymous: no account, no name, no email.
The moments you can't relive, kept for you
If memories don't come back as scenes, they need somewhere to live. Linkbase is an outside memory for your people and your life, in your own words.
Your life, as a timeline
Tell Linkbase about a dinner, a trip or a wedding. It writes it up, links who was there and keeps the photos together. Everything lands in one scrolling Timeline.
What people told you
Their partner's name, the job they just started, the book they recommended. Save it while it's fresh. Never ask twice.
Reminders for what matters
Birthdays, follow-ups, "call Mum on Sunday". Linkbase reminds you at the right time, with a checklist of what you wanted to ask.
Search your past by asking
Ask "who was at Sam's 30th?". Linkbase brings back the memory, the people and the photos, even if you don't remember the exact words.
What researchers have found
Knowing your past and reliving it are two different things. SDAM is having the first without the second.
First described in 2015
Researchers described three healthy adults, aged 40 to 52, who scored normally on memory tests but could not relive a single moment of their lives. They named it severely deficient autobiographical memory.
Palombo et al., Neuropsychologia, 2015Two kinds of memory
In 1972, Endel Tulving split memory into episodic (reliving events) and semantic (knowing facts). Our memory test is based on the four areas of the Survey of Autobiographical Memory, tested on 598 adults.
Palombo and Levine, Cortex, 2013Linked to aphantasia, but separate
Physicist Nicholas Watkins, who has both, argues they are linked but separate. A 2026 study of 6,436 people found an "aphantasia plus" group with memory, navigation and face difficulties. How often the two overlap is not yet known.
Watkins, Cortex, 2018; Digard et al., Neuropsychologia, 2026
Questions, answered
Is this a diagnosis?
No. These are self-report questionnaires based on research tools. They show how you describe your own remembering and imagery. They can't diagnose SDAM or anything else. If your memory has changed suddenly, please talk to a doctor.
How long does it take?
"How you remember your life" has 20 questions and takes about 5 minutes. The 8-sense imagery profile has 32 questions and takes about 6.
Do I need an account?
No. You don't sign up, log in or give an email. Open a test and start.
What happens to my answers?
They're saved without your name, your email or an account. Your result gets its own page with a link. Anyone with the link can see it, so share it only with people you choose.
What do I do with my result?
Whatever helps. Some people share it with a partner or family to explain why "remember when" lands differently for them. Others take the second test for a fuller picture. If you want somewhere to keep the people and moments you can't relive, that's what Linkbase is for.
What is Linkbase, and is it free?
Linkbase is a mobile app for remembering the people you meet and the moments you share: names, details, birthdays, photos and the stories behind them, all searchable, and you can add them by voice. It's free to start, with no account needed. Paid plans give you more room.
Give your memories somewhere to live
Write moments down as they happen, link who was there and find them again by asking. Linkbase keeps the details your mind doesn't replay.