How strange it would be to remember that moment when we opened our eyes to life, wouldn’t it? We cannot remember any of the precious moments such as crying because of the pain caused in our lungs by the first oxygen we breathe, being placed in our mother’s lap, tasting the taste of breast milk for the first time. However, shouldn’t these unique moments leave a deep mark on us?
We remember our childhood memories very rarely between the ages of 2-3, and very vaguely between the ages of 4-7. The scientific name of this condition is “infatilous amnesia” or “childhood amnesia”. The answer to this curious question is hidden in the complex functioning of the brain.
One of the first possibilities that comes to mind is that these memories cannot be recalled because they happened so far in the past.
However, a 10-year-old boy can only remember 9 years ago. A 30-year-old individual can easily remember what he experienced 9 years ago for many years. So it has nothing to do with the distant past.
In fact, the main reason for this is that babies’ memories have an expiration date. During these ages, memory does not develop enough. Our ability to remember things gradually increases during childhood. In an experiment; It has been determined that 6-month-old babies can remember the behavior they have learned for 24-48 hours, 9-month-old babies for 1-3 months, and 2-year-olds for more than 1 year.
In infants, implicit memory is more effective, which falls within the domain of procedural memory, which enables simple tasks to be performed. For example, we remember how to walk through implicit memory.
The low number of neurons in the brains of babies also affects this situation.
A newborn’s brain is a quarter of the size of an adult’s brain. At the age of 2 years, this rate increases to three quarters. Thanks to this growth, neurons develop and new connections are established in the brain.
The hippocampus in our brain plays a decisive role in the formation of our knowledge about our lives. The “dentate gyrus”, which is an important part of the hippocampus in the first years of our life, rapidly produces new neurons. These fresh neurons integrate into hippocampal circuits.
Neuron production continues into adulthood, but as we age, their production decreases. When newly produced neurons integrate into hippocampal circuits to form new connections, they cause disruption of existing memory networks. Disruption of memory networks also leads to the loss of infancy memories.
The work of neuroscientists Paul W. Frankland and Sheena A. Josselyn has confirmed that the brain circuit in which memories are stored is blocked during infancy due to the rapid growth of neurons.
As babies grow, neurogenesis, the production process of neurons, slows down. Thus, the hippocampus gains balance and preserves memories better.
According to scientist Paul W. Frankland; Many of the things we experience throughout our lives are actually too ordinary to be remembered. In order for an adult’s memory to be healthy, it is important that these many unnecessary and mundane memories are cleared, as well as the function of remembering things. Sometimes forgetting can be much more beneficial for our memory.
Would you like to remember your childhood memories? Even your memories in the womb?
Sources: National Library of Medicine, Nature NeuroScience, Outstanding Evidence, Society for Research in Child Development, The University of Queensland
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