March 20, 2025 – For the first time, scientists have found that babies are able to store memories in the brain region called the hippocampus. The ability appears to start around 1 year old.
What still remains a mystery is why these early memories elude us, unable to be retrieved or recalled. Our earliest childhood memories emerge around 3½ to 4 years old, a phenomenon that has long drawn popular and scientific fascination.
“There’s a general science curiosity about why we have this blind spot in our life,” said Nick Turk-Browne, PhD, co-author of the study and a Yale University psychology professor. He’s an expert in how the human brain learns and remembers.
“Why it matters scientifically is because it tells us something about how the brain develops and the priority that the brain places on certain kinds of…