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Have you ever pondered what life was like as an infant? No matter how much effort you put into trying, you just can’t recall any specifics?
The issue isn’t that infantile memories don’t exist; rather, it’s that they become inaccessible as one grows older, according to recent studies.
The research, released on Thursday in the journal
Science
reviewed 26 infants between 4.2 and 24.9 months old, divided into two categories: under 12 months and 12 to 24 months.
In the course of the experiment, infants were positioned inside an
fMRI
The machine was presented with a sequence of distinct images, each displayed for two seconds. The researchers intended to document the activity occurring in the brain during this process.
hippocampus
—the part of the brain linked to emotions, memory, and the control of bodily functions.
The hippocampus is a deep-brain structure that can’t be seen using conventional techniques, so we needed to create a novel method for performing memory studies on babies within an MRI scanner,” explained Dr. Nick Turk-Browne, the principal investigator and a psychology professor at Yale University, through email correspondence. “Past research typically conducted these kinds of investigations when infants were sleeping since they tend to move around frequently, do not comply with directions, and possess brief concentration periods.
Dr. Simona Ghetti, who works as a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Davis, specializes in studying how memory develops during childhood. She noted that although numerous investigations have shown that infants can form memories, this recent study stands out because it connects memory formation with activity in the hippocampus. Dr. Ghetti did not participate in conducting this particular research.
Following a brief pause, the infants were presented with two pictures placed next to each other; one picture featured familiar objects they had previously observed, while the other displayed something novel. The scientists monitored the babies’ eye movements, recording which image captured their attention for a more extended period.
If a baby gazed longer at the recognizable picture, it indicated they remembered seeing it before, showing evidence of memory retrieval. Conversely, if they showed no particular interest in either image, it might suggest that their ability to remember was not as advanced, as per the research findings.
Researchers have utilized eye movements in numerous studies examining infant memory and categorization,” Ghetti stated through an email exchange. “Babies focus on things that capture their interest, and scientists have consistently taken advantage of this natural tendency to gather insights into how infants’ memories operate.
Analyzing hippocampus activation
After gathering the preliminary information, the group examined fMRI scans from infants who gazed more intently at the recognizable picture against those showing no particular inclination. Instances where the infant was not paying attention to the display due to frequent movement or blinking were left out.
The research showed that the hippocampus displayed higher levels of activity in older infants during memory encoding. Moreover, only the older infants demonstrated activity in this region.
orbitofrontal cortex
, which is crucial for processes related to memory-based choices and identification.
One key insight from adult studies regarding memory is that what gets captured and encoded tends to be closely tied to personal experiences,” explained Dr. Lila Davachi, a psychology professor at Columbia University who did not participate in the research. “What makes this particular study remarkable is how effectively it demonstrates hippocampal encoding activities in infants even when dealing with stimuli that aren’t particularly significant to their lives.
Even though the exact reason remains uncertain, it appears that memory encoding is particularly robust in infants older than 12 months due to significant changes occurring within their bodies.
“The baby’s brain experiences numerous transformations related to perception, language, movement, biology, and more during this period, such as the swift development of the hippocampus,” explained Turk-Browne.
Turk-Browne and his colleagues are currently investigating why the brain struggles to access these initial memories throughout our lives. He theorizes that during infancy, the way the brain processes information might indicate that the hippocampus doesn’t receive precise “search terms” needed to locate the memory as it was originally encoded according to the infant’s experiences at that moment.
What is the significance of this phase for mothers and fathers?
Ghetti urges parents to consider how infancy influences their kids, despite the fact that the children might not be able to recall these formative experiences later in life.
Ghetti mentioned that babies are absorbing vast amounts of information at this stage, which enables them to start comprehending an entire language by linking sounds to their meanings. Additionally, she noted that infants are developing anticipations about their relatives and are exploring the characteristics of various items and their environment.
Moments like these occur frequently for parents who repeatedly sing the same lullaby or read the same storybook aloud, eliciting a sense of familiarity in their slightly older kids, as pointed out by Davachi.
“Using repetition with babies will open up a greater connection between parent and baby,” she said via email.
Even though you can’t recall those earliest memories as an adult, it’s fair to say that you’re learning from those experiences, which can be true for both neutral and emotional information, Ghetti said.
This can serve as a reminder to parents that early childhood isn’t unproductive time, since infants learn quite a lot,” Ghetti stated. “Providing chances for visual exploration might play an essential role in fostering these learning abilities.
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