Most people cannot recall memories of being baby, nor of their infancy. However, some people claim they can remember things that happened in first year of their lives. Researchers at Yale and Columbia University in United States studied why people have no recollection of things that happened in first four or five years of their lives. research team also investigated whether or not babies formed memories at all. Researcher Dr Tristan Yates suggested we may not be able to remember being baby. He said: "Our results suggest that babies' brains have capacity for forming memories, but how long-lasting these memories are is still open question."
The research has been published in journal "Science". It suggests that babies as young as year old can form and store memories. Researchers used specially designed scanner to observe activity in area of babies' brains called hippocampus. This is where memories are created and stored. The research found that babies can form limited types of memories from age of two months. It is possible that infants can detect patterns in people's faces, language and in daily routines. However, episodic memory, which allows us to recall specific events, may take longer to form. researchers say this kind of memory may not occur until hippocampus has more fully matured.
