Mrs Price can instantly recall everything about every day since 1980 - what time she got up, who she met, what she did, what she ate. In effect, she is a human diary.
For years she remained anonymous, referred to only by initials in scientific journals while experts tested her ability.
She is so unusual that the scientists at the University of California-Irvine coined a term for her condition - hyperthymestic syndrome from the Greek thymesis, for remembering, and hyper, meaning well above normal.
Mrs Price said her memory started working overtime after her family moved to Los Angeles when she was eight.
And from the time she was 14, in 1980, she can remember absolutely everything.
Neuroscientists say a trauma such as moving the family home can trigger major, lingering changes in the brain, especially in children who cling to memories of how their life had been. Mrs Price said: 'Some memories are good and give me a warm, safe feeling.
"But I also recall every bad decision, insult and excruciating embarrassment. Over the years it has eaten me up. It has kind of paralysed me."
Professor McGaugh was astonished.
He said: "You could give her a date picked at random from years ago and within seconds she'd tell you what day of the week it was, and not only what she did but other key events of the day."
From the age of ten until she was 34, Mrs Price kept a daily diary, which allowed scientists to check events as she remembered them now against what she wrote down at the time.
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