For decades, researchers have believed that infants can’t remember specific events from their early years due to a developing brain. However, new Yale research suggests this notion might be incorrect.
In a study published in Science, scientists tested 26 infants’ memory by showing them images and measuring the activity of their hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for encoding memories. The results indicate that memories can indeed be encoded in infants’ brains during their first years of life.
The researchers found that when an infant’s hippocampus was more active while viewing a new image, they were more likely to recognize it later. This suggests that early memories might not disappear as previously thought, but rather remain dormant until they can be accessed.
Previous research has shown that infants as young as three months old display “statistical learning,” which involves extracting patterns across events. The new study’s findings suggest that episodic memory, or the ability to recall specific events, may develop later in infancy, around one year or older.
The researchers are now exploring what happens to these early memories and whether they persist beyond childhood. Their ongoing work suggests that infants might retain memories of home videos taken from their perspective until preschool age before losing them.
These new discoveries provide an important connection between human and animal research, shedding light on the mysteries of infantile amnesia.
Source: https://news.yale.edu/2025/03/20/why-dont-we-remember-being-baby-new-study-provides-clues