Many psychologists used to believe that the brains of both babies and young children were not developed enough to be able to incorporate long-term, salient memories. But that notion changed during the 1980s and 1990s, when it was scientifically proven that babies were able to learn and retain information in short periods of time.
However, as the years go by, what experts call infantile amnesia appears . And it represents the inability of older children, adolescents and adults to maintain episodic memories , from infancy and early childhood, especially before they are 2-4 years old.
Both the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus are crucial for the development of autobiographical memories. And these two brain structures tend to develop around 3-4 years of age. It is this lack of neurological maturation – related to the storage and memory of different events during infancy and early childhood – that could explain this phenomenon.
But a study published a few years ago in the specialized journal Child Development found that even six years after the event in question occurred, a small percentage of children might be able to remember it.
Although there are many anecdotal cases of very early memories, it is extremely difficult for researchers to know if it is indeed a genuine memory, or if, in part, it is due to a reconstruction of the fact through the stories that their parents have told. and the images of the event in question.
The shrinking magic box
The researchers of the study devised a ‘magic’ contraption in order to attract the attention of the children, who had to place a toy on top, press a lever and a miniature version of the toy appeared at the bottom, accompanied by lights and sounds. The researchers trained the children, aged 27-51 months, for two days in a row, during which they showed them how to use the machine.
On the third day the children were asked about the box; that is, how to use it, and if they remembered it. After six years, this interview was repeated again, when the children were between 10 and 12 years old. But before mentioning the words ‘Shrinking magic box,’ the researchers first showed the children a medal they received after participating in the study, and asked if they remembered why they got it. Only about a fifth of the children were able to recall playing with the gadget.
The researchers then looked at whether any personality-related characteristics stood out mainly among children who were able to remember. And they looked at things like general memory skills and language skills .
But they also identified something interesting: After the researchers had left, the children they remembered spent many days and weeks talking to their parents about the gadget in question. And they found that, on average, children who remembered such events six years later tended to talk more about it later, which would translate into actively participating in a conversation could have helped their memory development in general, and particularly , about this specific event.
