> mostly I remember experiencing fear and anxiety, and that wooden side rail meant to keep me from falling out It's theorized that the amygdala has a "gating"

> mostly I remember experiencing fear and anxiety, and that wooden side rail meant to keep me from falling out It's theorized that the amygdala has a "gating" function for memory - we tend to recall memories more easily when they're highly emotional (especially anxiety, fear, trauma). I had a cognitive science professor who brought this up and asked people in the class what their earliest memories were - many of them were scary/anxious events (mine was moving out of an apartment and into a house).