Event Details:
The infantile amnesia paradox: a critical period of learning to learn and remember
Cristina M. Alberini, PH.D
Professor of Neural Science,
New York University
Host: Tom Sudhof
Abstract
Infantile amnesia, the inability of adults to recollect early episodic memories, is associated with the rapid forgetting that occurs in early development. It has been suggested that infantile amnesia is due to the underdevelopment of the infant brain, resulting in an inability to consolidate memories, or to deficits in memory retrieval. On the other hand, early-life events, especially neglect or aversive experiences, greatly impact adult behavior and may predispose individuals to various psychopathologies. Thus, it is unclear how a brain that rapidly forgets, or is not yet able to form long-term memories, can exert such a long-lasting and important influence. I will discuss recent data from my laboratory indicating that the hippocampal memory system is highly active during infancy and recruits special biological mechanisms that may explain the paradox of infantile amnesia. These results lead us to propose that infantile amnesia reflects a developmental critical period during which the learning system is learning how to learn and remember.
Related Papers
[1] Travaglia, A., Bisaz, R., Sweet, E.S., Blitzer, R.D., Alberini, C.M. (2016) Infantile amnesia reflects a developmental critical period for hippocampal learning. Nature Neuroscience 19,1225-1233. doi:10.1038/nn.4348
[2] Travaglia, A., Steinmetz, A.B., Miranda, J.M., Alberini, C.M. (2018) Mechanisms of critical period in the hippocampus underlie object location learning and memory in infant rats. Learn. Mem. 25:176-182. [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1038/nn.4348