![]() ![]() As discussed, there is little evidence that infant's declarative memories are episodic, as they could lack the specificity that defines an episodic memory (see, however, Bauer, 2015a). The multistepped development of episodic memory suggested by infantile and childhood amnesia is mirrored by several laboratory findings. Childhood amnesia is hence characterized by the rapid forgetting of early memories ( Bauer, 2015a,b), while later in development, more robust and long-lasting memories are formed and recalled. In older children and adults, “ equal ratios of time result in equal ratios of recall” ( Bauer and Larkina, 2014), meaning that memories are forgotten progressively according to the passage of time. ![]() In young children, the temporal distribution of recalled memories is explained by an exponential function, meaning that memories are forgotten exponentially as time passes. Childhood amnesia, however, concerns a period during which children have rudimentary episodic memory abilities. If the infant's early declarative memories are more semantic than episodic, then there are no specific memories to recall. Infantile amnesia could be explained by an absence of an episodic-like memory system during infancy. The exact causes of infantile and childhood amnesia are not known and the similarity between the underlying mechanisms of these phenomena is unclear. These phenomena have been known for a long time (e.g., Strachey, 1953) and were demonstrated experimentally by studies asking participants to recall personal memories, regardless of their age at the time of the event: the temporal distribution of thousands of memories recalled by hundreds of participants showed that very few occurred between the ages of 2–6 years old (childhood amnesia), and that none occurred prior to the age of 2 (infantile amnesia) ( Rubin, 2000 Newcombe et al., 2007 Bauer, 2015b). Childhood amnesia refers to the scarcity of personal memories that occurred between the ages of 2 and 6 that can be recalled by adults. Infantile amnesia refers to the absence of recall, by adults, of personal memories that occurred before the age of 2. The most striking evidence for a multistepped development of episodic memory comes from infantile and childhood amnesia. This family resemblance definition of autobiographical memory (i.e., a concept specified by characteristic, as opposed to defining, features) has important implications for how we conceptualize its developmental course (see section entitled ‘Explaining autobiographical memory development’).Īntoine Bouyeure, Marion Noulhiane, in Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 2020 Development of episodic memoryĮvidence suggests that the cognitive development of episodic memory is multistepped: improvements are not linear but delineate distinct periods separated by qualitative transitions (see Newcombe et al., 2007 ). They tend to (1) be of unique events that happened at a specific place, at a specific time (2) entail a sense of conscious, autonoetic, or self-knowing awareness that one is re-experiencing an event that happened at some point in the past (3) be expressed verbally (4) be long-lasting and (5) be veridical. In addition to the defining feature of self-relevance, autobiographical memories have a number of characteristic features. Childhood amnesia thus presents itself as apparent evidence of discontinuity in development. That moment in time is the boundary of childhood amnesia. Although we consider ourselves as continuous in space and time, there is a point in development at which that continuity ends. From a theoretical standpoint, childhood amnesia is interesting and important because of its implications for one’s sense of self. Autobiographical memories relate to events that happened to one’s self events in which one participated and about which one had emotions, thoughts, reactions, and reflections. Bauer, in Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Childhood Development, 2008 For What Is There Amnesia?Ĭhildhood amnesia is a paucity of a certain type of memory known as autobiographical memory. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |