Why don't I remember my childhood

Many people, when thinking about their past, do not clearly remember what they did, felt or thought. There is such a thing as a memory void that lengthens during early life and that is common among all people. It may be that you feel that you remember something but, the truth is that surely that memory will be suggested by a photograph or a comment from your relatives. No one has memories from 0 to 5 years of age. That is the conclusion they have reached in a scientific study that answers the question of "Why can't I remember my childhood? ". If you want to know the answer, keep reading this Psychology-Online article where we will discover the results of this research.

Index

1. Why don't I remember my past or my childhood
2. The study on childhood memories
3. Why I can't remember anything: the most common causes

Researchers Paul Frankland and Sheena Josselyn conducted a study about memory during the first years of life. They focused on trying to find out why we do not remember episodes from our childhood: emotions, moments or experiences from our early years are not usually remembered by our memory.

The reason for this situation is due to biological causes. Our neuron production is very high when we are small. The brain of a person who has just been born has only a capacity of 25% of what, later, it will develop. During the first 3 years of life, brain growth is very advanced since, in this period, an organ is achieved that is twice as large. Their growth continues to be very rapid until they are 5 years old, at which point their speed begins to slow down. The human brain stops growing in adolescence, but this is when it begins to mature.

This entire brain and neural training procedure is known as "neurogenesis" and it is what allows us to learn and remember more as we grow. But, according to the research carried out, another unexpected effect has been found: neurogenesis produces a effect of "erasing" memories.

In order to answer your question about why you don't remember your childhood, let's talk about the study that was published by Paul Frankland and Sheena Josselyn. Both doctors looked at the behavior of the brains of young mice and compared them with that of older mice. They observed that there were differences in neuronal generation in the hippocampus, the area of ​​the brain responsible for memories and learning.

The conclusions of this research were that in the first years of a person's age there is a massive production of new neurons in the hippocampus. This causes that, during the first 5 years of age. brain activity in the hippocampus is very high and active. Therefore, this dynamism prevents memories from being stored in a stable way.

Over the years, we begin to store new memories that take up more space and, therefore, the most primary memories disappear from our mind. This explains the reasons why we can remember situations from when we were 6 or 7 years old but, nevertheless, it is impossible for us to remember something from when we were 2 or 3 years old.

From the age of 5 is when neuronal activity stabilizes and remains more stable. Therefore, from then on we can begin to store memories.

Now that you know why you don't remember your childhood, let's go one step further. Do you feel like you don't remember things lately? Do you forget easily? Here we are going to discover some of the causes for which this situation can take place.

The first of all is to indicate that, to a greater or lesser extent, everyone forgets some things. Above all, over the years, our brain can start to work more slowly and make some memories more easily forgotten. However, forgetting is something common and everyday, as long as it is punctual and spontaneous.

Causes why you don't remember things

In our day to day, it is common for us to suffer some forgetfulness. Our memory is working every day and at all hours but, it is likely, that it will fail us at some point. Above all, when we change our routine or habits, we can notice how our brain has a harder time adapting to new memories. The cause of these small daily forgetfulness can be many. Here we discover the most frequent ones:

• Suffering from stress and / or anxiety: an altered state of the nerves can lead to memory loss. Your body is in tension and your mind will have a thousand things to take care of at the same time. So much pressure can end up causing some "failure", that is, some forgetfulness.
• Depression: When you are in depressive states, it is common for the brain to not function properly and naturally. Then, some functionalities such as storing memories can be affected by this mood. In this article we help you learn to get out of a depression by yourself.
• Menopause: Women with menopause may feel that their brain functions are affected. The reason is that the hormonal change that occurs in this stage can affect the natural state of organs such as the brain.
• Head injuries: having suffered a trauma in this area of ​​the body can lead to some complication with the storage of memories. In these cases, it is best to see a neurologist for a detailed examination.
• Alcohol and drug abuseThese two toxins affect the state of our brain and, therefore, can damage some of its vital functions such as memory.
• DiseasesSome conditions such as hypertension, kidney problems, the presence of cholesterol in the blood or thyroid disorders can also damage the health of our brain.

In this other article we will discover the memory loss treatment so that you know what you can do in this situation.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Why don't I remember my childhood, we recommend that you enter our category of Neuropsychology.

1. https://www.elconfidencial.com/alma-corazon-vida/2012-08-27/un-estudio-explica-por-que-no-tenemos-recuerdos-de-cuando-eramos-pequenos_401403/
2. http://www.lavanguardia.com/vivo/psicologia/20160831/403459829577/por-que-no-recordamos-antes-tres-anos.html