New research reveals that infants can form memories using the same brain structure as adults, paving the way for a deeper understanding of how these early memories are formed and stored.
Memories from a Young Age: How Babies Form and Store Them
A baby’s early life is filled with milestones, such as the first giggle, first tooth, and first step. Now, researchers have added another milestone to this list: the first memory.
Infants can form memories using a structure in the brain called the hippocampus, which was previously thought to be more developed in adults. The study, published in Science, suggests that the hippocampus is mature enough to encode early memories, paving the way for further research into how these memories are formed and stored.
The hippocampus is a small, seahorse-shaped structure in the brain that plays a crucial role in memory formation and learning.
Located within the temporal lobe, it is responsible for processing and consolidating new information into short-term and long-term memories.
Damage to the hippocampus can lead to difficulties in forming new memories, a condition known as anterograde amnesia .
Research has shown that exercise, sleep, and cognitive stimulation can help strengthen hippocampal function and improve memory.
Understanding Hippocampal Encoding
The hippocampus plays a crucial role in memory formation, and its development has been a topic of interest among researchers. In this study, 13 babies under one year old and 13 older babies were scanned while they viewed images of people, places, or objects. The scientists recorded blood flow in the babies’ brains, which indicated neural activity.
The results showed that when the babies looked longer at an image they had seen before, it was a sign that they remembered it. This memory strength correlated with brain activity in the hippocampus. The study found that older babies could remember about half of the images they had seen before, suggesting that the hippocampus is involved in encoding early memories.
Infantile memory formation refers to the process by which infants develop and store memories.
Research suggests that infants as young as a few months old can form and retain 'memories.'
Studies have shown that infants are able to recall familiar faces, objects, and routines after several weeks or even months.
This is attributed to the development of neural connections in the brain's hippocampus, a region critical for memory formation.
By around 12-18 months, infants' ability to recall and recognize previously encountered stimuli significantly improves.
Implications and Future Research
The study’s findings provide evidence that infants can form memories using the same structure as adults. However, it still doesn’t explain why we often struggle to recall our earliest memories, a phenomenon known as infantile amnesia. It’s possible that these memories aren’t stored effectively in other parts of the brain or that neural traces persist but can’t be retrieved.
The researchers are now studying how long babies’ memories might last and exploring ways to reactivate infant memories in humans. While reactivating memories has been successful in mice, it remains unclear whether this method could work for humans.
Memory reactivation refers to the process of recalling and reliving past memories with increased vividness and emotion.
This phenomenon is often associated with advanced age, neurological disorders, or traumatic experiences.
Research suggests that memory reactivation can be triggered by various factors, including sensory stimuli, emotional arousal, or cognitive reappraisal.
Studies have shown that frequent memory reactivation can lead to improved memory consolidation, but may also contribute to the development of memory-related disorders.
The Search for Infant Memories
The process of recalling memories is complex, and scientists have found that the search terms our brains use to access memories can be wrong or different from what they were when we initially stored them. This idea is supported by research on mice, where stimulating memory traces with light has successfully reactivated infant memories.
While this research is promising, more studies are needed to fully understand how babies form and store memories. The study’s findings have significant implications for our understanding of brain development and the complex process of memory formation.
- sciencenews.org | Babies can form memories, and they do it a lot like adults
