Baby Memories

For decades, it's been a commonly held belief that our earliest years are a blank slate—a time of learning and growth, yes, but not of lasting memories.

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The phenomenon known as "infantile amnesia" has puzzled scientists and parents alike: Why can't we recall our first steps, our first words, or the faces that surrounded us in infancy?

A groundbreaking study published in Science is now challenging this assumption, revealing that infants as young as 12 months old are not only capable of forming memories but do so using the same brain structures as adults.

Conducted by researchers at Yale University, the study utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to observe the brains of 26 awake infants aged between 4 and 25 months. The infants were shown a series of images—faces, objects, and scenes—while their brain activity was monitored. Later, they were presented with familiar and new images side by side.