In early childhood, memory formation is an explosive process, yet we usually do not retain memories from before the age of three. This phenomenon, termed infantile amnesia by Freud, has been theorized as a result of repression or simply due to the immaturity of the brain's hippocampus. A recent study challenges the idea that children do not form memories, suggesting instead that they do, but the ability to retrieve these memories declines as they age, prompting a reevaluation of our understanding of early memory formation and retention capabilities.
Our capacity for recall is less like a recording device capturing reality and more like a narrative we construct to shape our identity.
Sigmund Freud coined the term infantile amnesia, attributing it to repression of thoughts related to childhood sexuality or aggression.
The article challenges the notion child memory isn't formed, arguing that children do remember but cannot retrieve those memories later.
The immaturity of the hippocampus may prevent encoding episodic information, yet evidence suggests memories are formed but not accessible later.
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