COSMOS MAGAZINE
New research has revealed that infantile amnesia, the inability to recall early childhood memories, may be due to difficulties in retrieving memories rather than failing to form them.
Credit: Daniel Thomas
Researchers suggest that our brains are memorising the earliest times of our lives, but the memories have been packed away and just can’t be accessed.
Credit: Yuri Shirota
Yale researchers found that babies as young as four months can recognise previously seen images, suggesting their hippocampus encodes memories earlier than expected.
Credit: Janko Ferlic
Brain scans showed memory-related activity in the hippocampus, especially in infants over 12 months, linking it to episodic memory formation.
Credit: Yale University
Scientists are now investigating whether these early memories persist into adulthood but remain inaccessible.
Credit: Colin Maynard