Monday, May 27, 2013

An Explanation for Infantile Amnesia

A study presented Friday at the Canadian Association of Neuroscience offers and explanation for what children cannot remember events before age three, a characteristic called "infantile amnesia."

Paul Frankland, a co-author of the study, suggests that the growth of cells in the hippocampus area of the brain offers the explanation. The rapid growth of this area at age two changes and improves the way new experiences are filed as long-term memories.

To test this theory, mice were gathered and the rate of cell formation in their hippocampuses was slowed.
The ability of mice to remember how to get through a maze remained steady. This was not the case for mice who were experiencing explosive growth in their hippocampus cells.

Further research is expected. An article by Linda Carroll of NBC News on this research is available at:
 
http://bodyodd.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/24/18453169-brain-overload-explains-missing-childhood-
memories?lite

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