No truth to it at all, Ryan.

The ECM does not increase the fuel to reduce detonation.
That would result in increased hydrocarbon emissions.  The
ECM retards the ignition timing and, in some cases,
increases the EGR flow to combat detonation or ping.  The
octane rating indicates the fuel's resistance to
autoignition or detonation.  The major, but not only,
determining factor for the requirement for increased octane
is the effective compression ratio of the engine.  All
manufacturers recommend the correct octane for their
vehicles.  If there is a little ping, there is no problem
and is, usually, expected where an engine is optimally
tuned.  Just because you hear an occasional, ping does not
mean you engine needs or will perform better with a higher
octane fuel.  In many cases a bit of ping is, in fact
desireable as it will many times dislodge carbon before it
becomes a problem.  All gasolines produce carbon as a part
of the combustion process.  It is, therefore, necessary that
it somehow be maintained at an acceptable level.  Occasional
light ping can get this job done.  That is also why many
techs and engineers recommend that the engine be "blown out"
occasionally by operating at full throttle for a few
seconds.  That is also why a vehicle that has always been
"babied" or always just used around town can turn out to be
a mechanical train wreck when a regular driver gets into it
for a while.  Best performance and fuel economy are almost
always found with a good quality gasoline of the vehicle
manufacturers recomendation.  If the engine persist in
excessive detonation or ping when driven normally, it should
be checked for proper operation of the EGR system, proper
state of tune and correct ignition timing.  If these items
are in spec, it may be time for a decarbonising which can be
accomplished in many cases by simply "running it through th
gears" a couple of times.  You almost never see a
performance engine with a carbon problem.  In some cases a
fuel additive can do this.  There are several commercial
carbon removal processes.  

If these fail, it may be time to pop the heads and
mechanically clean it.  The bottom line is that, if the
manufacturer recommends a particular octane fuel, it is most
likely what that engine needs.    Anything more is overkill
and detrimental to you wallet if not the engine. Using a
fuel with a higher than recommended octane rating is only a
coverup for a problem that either does not exist or needs
attention to be properly corrected.

Regards
Lugnut

This is the same kind of misunderstanding that folks talk about with the
high volatility racing fuel- methanol.  Or the high energy jet fuel,
etc. If something has high performance it must be because the fuel must
be providing more energy, right?  Size of engine, its makeup, power to
weight ratio, all that is too hard to think about- performance must mean
high energy, high volatility, high danger, fuel.

its all that sulfer and additives....

If you were going to use the knock sensor instead of the O2 sensors to
calibrate the mixture, wouldn't you want to LEAN the mixture until it started
knocking, and then slightly richen it from that point?  How would you ever get
knocking by continuing to enrich a mixture which is already not knocking?