Infantile amnesia is referred to as the incapability of adults to recall their memories during childhood. The loss of memories during childhood is usually rapid. Some researchers have suggested that infantile memory loss is due to the fact the infant brain is still developing and therefore it does not have the ability to consolidate memory or at times lead to deficiencies in the recall process.
It is also postulated that although adults are not able to remember episodic memories from their earlier years, they however have the ability to remember events from their early lives such as hurtful and stressful experiences, which cannot only influence the development of the young brain, but also increase the risk factors associated with psychopathologies and adult behavior (Fisher, 2016). It is still not clear how a brain that tends to forget almost instantaneously and is also not able to develop long term memories has still the ability to cause such a permanent impact on the psychological constituent of the individual. (Pollak, 2015).The following paper is a brief look at some of the factors that may cause infantile amnesia.
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During the early developmental years neglect of the young individual can lead to the development of several intense psychopathologies such as mania, depression, bipolar mood disorder, and anxiety disorders. Learning and cognitive abnormalities can also be a result of neglect of the individual in early years. (Bos, Zeanah, Smyke, Fox & Nelson, 2010). All these factors show that neglect during early childhood years can also lead to infantile amnesia.
The Bucharest Early Intervention Project that evaluated children who presented with infantile amnesia for over two decades noticed that these children had earlier in their lives had reduced social interactions, social support, or personal care from their parents or guardians. The project also established that the early neglect and social deprivation led to increased rates of mortality, cognitive and developmental disorders (Fisher, 2016). The project also established that children, who were institutionalized in health centers during the first five years of their lives, also had lower Intelligence Quotient, poor social-economic skills and behavior, and cognitive or developmental abnormalities (Pollak, 2015). The electrical activity in these children’s brains was also significantly reduced. The report also showed that children who were thereafter transferred to foster homes improved in terms of language development, cognition, brain electrical activity, and social interaction. The report therefore concludes that there was better recovery for children who were transferred to foster homes earlier enough.
Developmental cognitive impairments throughout the lifetime are not limited to extreme cases, such as institutionalized children with poor resources. Poverty was also considered to play a significant role in infantile amnesia (Bos, Zeanah, Smyke, Fox & Nelson, 2010). Poverty has been shown to lead to impairment in both learning and cognitive functions. Therefore, it is important to alleviate poverty if both societal and psychosocial issues are to be reduced as in the society.
References
Bos K.J, Zeanah C.H Jr, Smyke A.T, Fox N.A, Nelson C.A 3rd. (2010) Stereotypies in children with a history of early institutional care. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 164:406–411. 10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.47[ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ]
Fisher PA. (2016) Translational neuroscience as a tool for intervention development in the context of high-adversity families. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 153:111–125. 10.1002/cad.20165 [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef]
Pollak SD. (2015) Multilevel developmental approaches to understanding the effects of child maltreatment: recent advances and future challenges. Dev Psychopathol 27:1387–1397. 10.1017/S0954579415000826[ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ]
