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Sorta. Children don't form any memory of their early years because knowledge only makes sense in context of other knowledge. Synapses have to have something me

Sorta. Children don't form any memory of their early years because knowledge only makes sense in context of other knowledge. Synapses have to have something meaningful to connect to. Children don't have knowledge, so it's difficult to form new memories in their minds because there's nothing in their minds to connect the new memories to. As children, our first memories are vitally important because they are quite literally building the foundation for every memory that will come thereafter.

thaumasiotes 12y ago
Children don't form memories of their early years? How do children in their early years recognize their parents?
- pedrosorio 12y ago
  I believe the parent is referring to episodic memory [1]. Of course we are forming "memories" as we are making sense of the world since day 1 (and this includes learning about our bodies). The concept we usually refer to when speaking about "memories" is that of episodic memories which have a lot of context associated with them. These types of "memories" are formed and retained reliably mostly after children reach school age [2]. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episodic_memory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episodic_memory [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_development#Episodic_Memory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_development#Episodic_Mem...
  - thaumasiotes 12y ago
    OK, early memories are commonly not retained, but parent specifically claimed they're not formed, which is ludicrous. Ask a speaking child what happened last week and they'll tell you. Show a non-speaking infant something with a result they should be able to predict, and they'll be surprised if that result doesn't happen. Memories from your 30s are also commonly not retained, but I don't hear anyone saying 35-year-olds can't form memories.
smokel 12y ago
Note that children do form memories. From the article: "Then in 1987, a study by the Emory University psychologist Robyn Fivush and her colleagues dispelled that misconception for good, showing that children who were just 2.5 years old could describe events from as far as six months into their past." Perhaps your argument still holds, though. It seems plausible.

thaumasiotes 12y ago

Children don't form memories of their early years? How do children in their early years recognize their parents?

pedrosorio 12y ago
I believe the parent is referring to episodic memory [1]. Of course we are forming "memories" as we are making sense of the world since day 1 (and this includes learning about our bodies). The concept we usually refer to when speaking about "memories" is that of episodic memories which have a lot of context associated with them. These types of "memories" are formed and retained reliably mostly after children reach school age [2]. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episodic_memory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episodic_memory [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_development#Episodic_Memory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_development#Episodic_Mem...
- thaumasiotes 12y ago
  OK, early memories are commonly not retained, but parent specifically claimed they're not formed, which is ludicrous. Ask a speaking child what happened last week and they'll tell you. Show a non-speaking infant something with a result they should be able to predict, and they'll be surprised if that result doesn't happen. Memories from your 30s are also commonly not retained, but I don't hear anyone saying 35-year-olds can't form memories.

smokel 12y ago

Note that children do form memories. From the article: "Then in 1987, a study by the Emory University psychologist Robyn Fivush and her colleagues dispelled that misconception for good, showing that children who were just 2.5 years old could describe events from as far as six months into their past." Perhaps your argument still holds, though. It seems plausible.