Infantile amnesia: childhood memory loss and development

¶ … Infantile Amnesia and Causes

Infantile Amnesia is defined as the failure of an individual to remember events from their early years of life. According to Freud, infantile amnesia usually entails a loss of memory of events that occurred before the sixth or eighth year. (Freud 1905,1953) Freud asserted that many early childhood memories were to startling to recall and were therefore filtered out and become screen memories.(Johnston n.d.)

There are several explanations for the occurrence of infantile amnesia, which include; neurological immaturity, lack of memory ability, lack of sense of self, and amnesia caused by sexual abuse. There is no clear consensus on the causes of infantile amnesia, but most clinicians agree that any of these factors play a role in infantile amnesia. Over the next few paragraphs we will explore these factors in detail.

Neurological Immaturity

The theory of neurological immaturity suggests that the brain of a young simply isn't developed enough to process certain memories. This is a popular view for explaining the occurrence of infantile amnesia amongst clinicians. Studies have illustrated that between 8 and 24 months of age there is a synaptogenesis that occurs in the frontal cortex. (Johnston n.d.) In addition, after the age of two the process slows and allows a greater ability to recall certain events. (Johnston n.d.)

In addition, Freud suggests that throughout ones development processes through which we recall change. (Bauer 1996) Freud asserts that early childhood memories are often repressed but he also suggests that memories that young children create are different from those formed at older ages. (Bauer 1996) An article published in the journal, American Psychologists found that "Early in development, children were thought to retain traces, fragments, or images of events, but not to retain coherent representations of past experiences (Freud, 1905 / 1953). Freud suggested that childhood amnesia exists because adults failed to reconstruct or "translate" these fragments to a coherent narrative." (Bauer 1996)

Lack of memory ability

In spite of neurological immaturity in infants there is a belief that infants have a more sophisticated memory process. An experiment conducted by Meltzoff illustrated the concept of a deferred imitation paradigm. (Johnston n.d.) This paradigm asserts that children between the ages of 14 and 16 months old can remember single events over time. (Johnston n.d.) However, they will remember repetitive or habitual events even more, for which they must practice. These habitual events aid a child in the development of motor skills. (Johnston n.d.)

Another experiment conducted by Rover Collier and a group of other clinicians, explored the theory of the mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm. In this particular study the clinicians tied a ribbon, connected to a mobile, to the ankle of an infant. (Johnston n.d.) The purpose of the experiment was to see if the infant would make the connection between the movement of his leg to the subsequent movement of the mobile. The clinicians also wanted to see if the infant would remember this connection over a period of time. (Johnston n.d.) The study found that the infants were able to recall this connection over long periods of time but only when reactivation was used to help the infant with the recollection process. The study concluded that people do have the ability to recall early childhood over a lifetime, but only if these memories are constantly reactivated. (Johnston n.d.)

Lack of ability to tell story

Many clinicians also believe that infantile amnesia can be caused by limited language abilities that are present in infants. Experts contend that if a child has the ability to tell a story connected to a specific event, they are more likely to remember the event. Since infants lack this linguistic ability, they are less likely to remember events that occurred before they developed the ability to tell stories. (Johnston n.d.)

For instance, Tessler (1986) found that three-year-olds that visited a museum with their mothers were more likely to remember exhibits if the mothers had discussed them. The study found that the child's ability to remember was connected to the interactions that the mother and child had while visiting the exhibit.

The study asserts that both parties had to discuss the exhibit and the parent had to engage the child in the discussion in order for the child to remember the exhibit. (Johnston n.d.)

Lack of sense of Self

Some clinicians also assert that a lack of sense of self causes infantile amnesia. This theory, developed by Howe & Courage, insists that children younger than 2.5 years old don't have a high enough concept of themselves to develop memories. (Johnston n.d.) The clinicians assert that this theory can be proven through mirror tests which confirm that children don't have a concept of self until they are about 18 months old. (Johnston n.d.)

Amnesia caused by child abuse

Many other studies have attempted to find a connection between child abuse and infant amnesia. (Chu et al., 1999) An article located in the American Journal of Psychiatry asserts that child abuse, especially sexual abuse can cause infantile amnesia. The article asserts that traumatic events that occur in early childhood are often repressed. (Chu et al., 1999) This particular theory is extremely controversial because studies have found that people have a tendency to recall events that really never happened. These false memories can come as a result of a psychologist making suggestions about a particular event and the patient in turn creating a false memory about that event. (Chu et al., 1999)