A groundbreaking study by Yale and Columbia researchers has shown that infants as young as 12 months can form memories using the hippocampus, a brain region associated with memory storage in adults. Conducted on 26 infants aged four to 25 months, the study employed a special brain scanning technique that enabled real-time observation of brain activity while babies viewed images. Findings indicated that more active hippocampal responses correlated with longer gazes at previously seen images, suggesting a capacity for memory formation. However, the duration of these memories remains uncertain, marking significant advancements in understanding infant cognition.
Our results suggest that babies' brains have the capacity for forming memories—but how long-lasting these memories are is still an open question.
This is the first time scientists have directly observed how a memory begins to take shape in an awake baby's brain.
Collection
[
|
...
]