Why can't we remember what we experienced in infancy?

How strange it would be to remember that moment when we opened our eyes to life? Have you ever wondered why we can't remember what we experienced as babies? In fact, we often don't remember our memories not only as babies but also up to the age of 5. But why?

We cannot remember any of these precious moments: crying because of the pain in our lungs caused by the first breath of oxygen, being placed in our mother's arms, tasting breast milk for the first time. But shouldn't these unique moments have left a deep imprint on us?

In infants, implicit memory is more effective, which falls under the domain of procedural memory, which enables the performance of simple tasks. For example, it is through implicit memory that we remember how to walk. This is also influenced by the low number of neurons in babies' brains.

However, a 10-year-old child cannot even remember what happened only 9 years ago, whereas a 30-year-old individual can easily remember what happened 9 years ago for many years. So it has nothing to do with the distant past. The main reason for this is that babies' memory has an expiration date. At this age, memory does not develop sufficiently. Our ability to remember things gradually increases during childhood. In an experiment, it was found that 6-month-old babies can remember the behavior they have learned for 24-48 hours, 9-month-old babies for 1-3 months, and 2-year-old children for more than 1 year.

In infants, implicit memory is more effective, which falls under the domain of procedural memory, which enables the performance of simple tasks. For example, it is through implicit memory that we remember how to walk. This is also influenced by the low number of neurons in babies' brains.

A newborn's brain is a quarter the size of an adult's brain. By the age of 2, this ratio increases to three quarters. Thanks to this growth, neurons develop and new connections are made in the brain. The hippocampus in our brain plays a decisive role in the formation of our knowledge about our experiences. In the first years of life, the dentate gyrus, an important part of the hippocampus, rapidly produces new neurons. These fresh neurons are integrated into hippocampal circuits.

Neuron production continues into adulthood but declines as we age. When newly produced neurons integrate into hippocampal circuits to form new connections, they disrupt existing memory networks. The disruption of memory networks leads to the loss of infant memories. Studies by neuroscientists Paul W. Frankland and Sheena A. Josselyn have confirmed that the rapid growth of neurons inhibits the brain circuitry that stores memories during infancy.

As babies grow, neurogenesis, the process of neuron production, slows down. Thus, the hippocampus stabilizes and retains memories better. According to scientist Paul W. Frankland, most of the things we experience in our lives are too mundane to be worth remembering. For an adult's memory to be healthy, it is important not only to remember things, but also to clear out many of these unnecessary and mundane memories. Sometimes forgetting can be much more useful for our memory.