Memories are an essential aspect of our lives, as they allow us to remember past experiences, learnings and important moments. However, many of us have no memories of our first years of life, before the age of 3 or 4. Why does this happen? Is it possible to remember events that occurred before this age?
To understand why we have no memories of our first years of life, it is necessary to consider the cognitive and neurological development that occurs in childhood. In this sense, neuroscience and psychology have carried out various research that allows us to better understand how memory works and why some memories are formed and others are not.
One of the main factors that influence the formation of memories is Capacity of attention and concentration. Babies and young children have a limited attention span, which causes them to be easily distracted and unable to process all the information they receive. Additionally, young children do not yet have the ability to encode memories in the same way as adults, meaning that memories formed at this stage are often less detailed and less accurate.
Another important factor that influences the formation of memories is brain maturity. Memory is stored in different areas of the brain, and these areas continue to develop throughout childhood and adolescence. For example, the hippocampus, a part of the brain that plays a key role in forming memories, does not reach full maturity until 3 or 4 years of age. Therefore, memories formed before this age may be more difficult to retain and retrieve in the future.
In addition to these factors, there are other reasons why we do not remember events from our first years of life. In some cases, information is simply not stored in long-term memory, which means it is quickly forgotten. In other cases, memories may be repressed or blocked due to traumatic or stressful experiences.
In short, we do not remember events from our early lives due to a combination of factors, such as limited attention and concentration capacity, immaturity of the brain, and the inability to encode memories effectively. Although some studies suggest that it is possible to remember events that occurred before age 3 or 4, these memories are often less detailed and accurate than memories formed later in life.
Bibliographic references
Bauer, P.J. (2015). Remembering the Times of Our Lives: Memory in Childhood and Beyond. Psychology Press.
Bauer, P.J. (2014). Constructing a past in childhood: A neuro-developmental account. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18(10), 396-403.
Fivush, R., & Wang, Q. (2005). Emotion talk in mother-child conversations of the shared past: The effects of culture, gender, and event valence. Journal of Cognition and Development, 6(4), 489-506.
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