Multiple studies have shown that both human and nonhuman infants learn simple tasks (a form of memory) at a rate similar to adults. Infantile amnesia also cannot be explained by a complete lack of memory formation at early ages. However, research has shown that infantile amnesia also occurs in animals ranging from mice to monkeys, making a lack of language explanation very unlikely. One early theory suggested that early memories fade quickly because infants and young children haven’t learned to speak yet, and without these language abilities to describe what is happening to or around them, it becomes very difficult to organize and store memories. Scientists have been trying to explain why infantile amnesia occurs since the late 1800s. Experiences in the first years of life are crucial for proper development, so why can’t we remember these events that play such a major role in shaping who we are today? These memories are sometimes also referred to as declarative memories, since they involve information that must be consciously declared. Infantile amnesia specifically affects episodic memories, which are memories that involve information about the “who, what, when, and where” of an experience. Nearly impossible, right? This inability of adults to remember detailed memories from infancy and early childhood (usually birth to 3 or 4 years old) is called infantile amnesia. Now try to remember a summer weekend from when you were 1 or 2 years old. Maybe you went to the pool with a friend and swam all day, or maybe you went camping with your family and made s’mores by the fire. Think back to a fun summer weekend you had when you were in elementary school.
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