Chapter 7 covers Memory and how we construct and reconstruct our past. While skimming through the pages one thing that really caught my eye was Infantile Amnesia. This is the inability of adults to retrieve accurate memories before an early age. Most Psychologists believe the reason for this is the hippocampus, the part of the brain that plays a key role in long-term memory is not fully developed in infancy. Also infants possess no concept of self, before the age of two they do not even recognize themselves in a mirror. Some Psychologists argue that without a sense of self, infants cannot store memories of their experiences.
This got me thinking of my first memory. It took awhile but I decided my first memory was when I was four years old on a family vacation in Arizona. The memory is pretty vague but I do remember having chicken pox during the entire vacation. I continued to read and found that most people's earliest memory fall between the ages of 3-5 years old. This is when the brain is developed enough to retain memories of events.
Does this mean that the first 3-5 years of our life are lost to us forever? I am interested in reading what other people think of this.
Also when was your first memory? Do you think it is possible for someone to have a memory at a younger age than 3 years old?
I see this point as a really interesting topic to discover. As a very diverse culture and world I believe that our first 3-5 years of our lives are lost for some and go to very clear for others. The development of the hippocampus can vary from baby to baby and some have genetic traits that allow them to develop faster than others. When children begin to process memories of their early life they then can go back to their early years and try to pull out those memories. This is how I believe some can remember more than others. My first memory did not come until I was about five so I think I had a very slow developing hippocampus and I do not think it is possible to have someone remember before three years of age either.