Why Do We Have No Memories of Being a Baby?

Illustration: Nick Nguyen - Flickr

We have memories of our childhood, yet it seems that we can't remember anything about the time when we were in our diapers. This is obviously not a surprising thing - but how about we take a deeper look at why it is that way.

Older Theories

There are always numerous theories about something when it comes to psychology. First ideas were crafted by Sigmund Freud who reasoned it as repression of early sexual experiences, however modern psychology discards that as an option.

Recent researches blame our forgetfulness on lack of “tools” which a baby can use to store its memories, such as self-perception and language.

Illustration: Adriano Aurelio Araujo - Flickr

However, Paul Frankland and Sheena Josselyn, neuroscientists at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto disagree with this theory. They interpret our “infantile amnesia” as a consequence of many new neurons being created quickly in a young brain which “overwrites” memories.

Similarities to animals

It turns out human species isn’t an exception, because series of experiments have shown that many animals, including monkeys and mice, can’t recall their infant days either.

There’s a certain part of the brain called hippocampus which records autobiographical events. Scientists experimented with rate at which those neurons grew in young and adult mice. The baby mice who had their hippocampal neuron growth rate slowed down had a better long-term memory, which backs up Frankland and Josselyn's theory.

Illustration: Michele W - Flickr

Wider Picture

But is that everything? There indeed are certain loopholes with these theories. It is strongly shaken by the very fact that scientists aren’t sure how to define memory. They all agree on one thing, though: memories are not screenshots of our past. When we recall a memory, the memory is adjusted to the present situation.

There’s another question to think about. If babies quickly forget their experiences and thus adults have no memories of their infant days, how do babies learn to talk or walk? What stops us from calling those actions memories?

But in the end, let’s just face it: we were mostly crying, crawling and sleeping. Not like we missed much. This way, we get to enjoy hearing the cute stories about our young days from our parents.

Description: We can't remember our early days as a baby and we take that for granted. But what's the real reason? Explore different theories.