Children's memories are formed very early, in the first months of life, according to recent research - Photo: NEUROSCIENCE NEWS
This study on memory was published by a group of scientists from Yale University (USA) in the journal Science.
Until now, scientists believed that the phenomenon of "infantile amnesia" was due to the hippocampus - the brain region responsible for processing and storing long-term memories - not being fully developed in the early stages of life.
However, the results from this new study have overturned the above hypothesis.
Led by Professor Nick Turk-Browne, the research team conducted experiments on 26 infants aged 4 to 24 months.
Babies were shown different images such as human faces, objects and scenes, while their brain activity was recorded using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology.
The team found that infants' hippocampi were particularly active when they were exposed to new images. When the images were later repeated, the babies showed longer attention spans, suggesting they had memorized and recognized them.
"This demonstrates that the child's hippocampus is involved in encoding memories from the very early stages of infancy," said Professor Turk-Browne.
In particular, the posterior part of the hippocampus - which is directly involved in symbolic memory in adults - showed strong activity very early, especially evident in children over 12 months old.
Research also shows that the infant brain develops two types of memories in parallel.
One is statistical memory, which helps children recognize repeating patterns and supports language and cognitive development. The other is episodic memory, which stores specific events and begins to develop around age 1.
Although infants are capable of forming memories, scientists have yet to find a satisfactory answer as to why these memories gradually fade as they grow older.
One hypothesis put forward by the research team is that “memories persist but are locked away,” making them less accessible as we get older.
The team is now continuing to test on preschoolers to determine whether they can recall memories from a childhood perspective. Preliminary results suggest these memories can last until the age of 3-5 before fading.
Research from Yale University not only sheds light on the role of the hippocampus in early memory formation, but also opens up many questions about the ability to retrieve childhood memories.
This finding could contribute to the development of early intervention methods in education , treatment of psychological trauma or memory disorders.
"These results help us better understand how young children's brains record and store information, which could help improve child care and education methods from the early years," said Professor Turk-Browne.
This is considered an important step forward in the field of neuroscience and developmental psychology, opening up many potential applications in practice.
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