Our first three years are a blur and we don’t recall much before the age of seven. It turns out those early memories aren’t merely tucked away.
I’M THE YOUNGEST by far of five children. By the time I started first grade, my siblings were gone and we went from a very noisy household to a very quiet one.
My family has told me stories about those early years before my siblings left. How my brother ambushed me around corners with a toy crocodile. How my oldest sister carried me like a kangaroo with her joey. But I can offer very few stories of my own from that time.
Hardly any adult can. There is a term for this —infantile amnesia, coined by Sigmund Freud to describe the lack of recall adults have of their first three or four years and their paucity of solid memories until around age seven. There has been a century of research about whether memories of these early years are tucked away in some part of our brains and need only a cue to be recovered. But research now suggests that the memories we form in these early years simply disappear.
Psychologist Carole Peterson of Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, has conducted a series of studies to pinpoint the age at which these memories vanish. First, she and her colleagues assembled a group of children between the ages of four and 13 to describe their earliest recollections. The children’s parents stood by to verify the memories and even the youngest kids could recall events from when they were around two years old.
The children were interviewed again two years later. Nearly 90 per cent of the memories initially offered by those 10 and older were retained. But the younger children had gone blank. “Even when we prompted them about their earlier memories, they said, ‘No, that never happened to me,’” Peterson said. “We were watching childhood amnesia in action.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2017 من Reader's Digest India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2017 من Reader's Digest India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
READER'S DIGEST-BOOKS
These book summaries highlight Siddharthya Roy's exploration of conflict and violence, Michael Castleman's deep dive into the history of publishing, and Swadesh Deepak's examination of social issues and masculinity through Hindi literature.
Man with printed sarong
A lawyer, pianist, critic, and mentor to artists, Lionel Wendt is best known for his photographs of Sri Lanka, especially those of people indigenous to the island, captured amidst the lush landscape or posing in his studio.
Too Much?
New studies show that even moderate drinking is a health hazard. Here’s a frank look at the toll alcohol takes on the body
ME & MY SHELF
Coimbatore-born Prashanth Srivatsa is a science fiction/fantasy writer whose stories have appeared in magazines such as Asimov’s, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and Three-Lobed Burning Eye, among others. Prashanth’s debut fantasy novel, The Spice Gate chronicles the journey of Amir, a young man born with special abilities who unravels the power that keeps the world in balance. magazines such as Asimov's, Magazine of Fantasy Science Fiction and Three-Lobed Burning Eye, among others. Prashanth’s debut fantasy novel, The Spice Gate chronicles the journey of Amir, a young man born with special abilities who unravels the power that keeps the world in balance.
Small Business, Big Heart
Caring for people is part of the deal at family-run shops
Spill the Beans
Everyone has secrets. Here's why you should share yours
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
Angry lovers are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.
FULL STEAM AHEAD!
I GOT THE CHANCE TO DRIVE THE WORLD'S LAST SCHEDULED STEAM TRAIN
Stressed and Worn Down
More and more people are clenching and grinding their teeth. Here's what to do about it
THIS BACON FAKERY MUST STOP
I was recently given bacon-flavoured dental floss for my birthday.