Do you remember your first trip to Disneyland when you were just 18 months old? Or the time you had chickenpox at the age of 2? These may seem like vivid and cherished memories, but they are most likely not real. In fact, your earliest childhood memories were probably implanted by seeing photos or hearing stories from your parents.
Flavio Donato is a neuroscientist at the University of Basel. He explains that most people don’t remember events from before they were 3 years old. Additionally, he points out that a child’s memory fully matures around the age of 7. This situation has puzzled experts for many years. They wonder why memories vanish when the brain is learning the most.
In the moment that the brain is learning at a rate it will never show again during the whole lifetime, those memories seem not to stick in the brain.
People used to think that babies couldn’t form lasting memories because their brains weren’t fully developed. But recent studies show that’s not true. Even before turning 3, the brain can form memories. These memories, however, are not like those of adults and can’t be brought to mind on purpose.
Sigmund Freud thought differently. He believed infants do make memories. However, the brain suppresses these memories. This is to forget the trauma of being born. He named this process infantile amnesia. Although Freud’s theory might not be completely correct, new research shows that many other mammals forget too. This suggests forgetting is not about language or self-awareness.
Why does infantile amnesia happen? Researchers think it has an evolutionary reason. It might help young brains learn what events are important. It could also help develop a memory system for use throughout life.
To understand this natural process, scientists are conducting experiments on toddlers and rodents. They are using modern tools like optogenetics to manipulate memories and see how early experiences can shape our later lives. These experiments could also shed light on how factors like infections and stress in early life can affect our memory capacity.
Sarah Power’s lab is at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. It’s special because children aged 18 to 24 months come here for memory tests. The lab has walls with colorful and magical scenes. The goal is to learn why early memories are forgotten. Another aim is to see if lost memories can be brought back.
Reference link: https://www.science.org/content/article/are-your-earliest-childhood-memories-still-lurking-your-mind-or-gone-forever
