Childhood Amnesia

Do you remember that one time when you ate that dead ant? No, not really. What about those times when you ate a cricket. No, not really, not at all.

It always saddens me that I cannot remember anything from when I was a small baby. Although some of my friends claim that they remember being born and times from when they were very young, I never could. I try to remember something, anything, from when I was 3 or 2 years old. But I can't remember a single thing. It got me thinking that I had bad memory. So when I first read an article about memory loss, I was pretty curious myself. It turns out that I'm not the only one. Scientists call forgetting your memories from when you are a baby, "childhood-amnesia". Before scientists began to research memory more seriously, people assumed that the part of your brain that "records" your memories didn't start to work until you were three or four. I always just assumed that the reason why I couldn't remember things was because I don't have a long term memory, and that my range of remembering lasts for only several years, so the older I get, the more things I forget.

Fortunately for us, Karen Tustin and Harlene Hayne, two memory researchers from the University of Tago, began to study kids in order figure out what the answer of this puzzling question was.Turns out that even three year old's can remember things from there past. Although there is no unclear answer, scientists think the reason why your memory just fades away as you get older, is because we didn't have a language when we were small. All we can remember is pictures, and sounds, and smells, but not any words. the brain has a harder time remembering things that aren't words with meaning but just images.

I guess this explains why my sister could remember memories of my childhood better than I could, when I was a baby, she could speak a language. It kind of made me jealous.

After reading this article it made me think about all my bad memories or trauma's I had. What if there was a way to only forget memories you wish to forget and not the ones that might have been good. Dr. Mauro Costa-Mattioli, an assistant professor of neuroscience at BCM says that researchers have found an enzyme called PKR that can be used to enhance somebody's memory. They tested this pill on mice and found that it enhanced memories. But even though it's these kind of pills or medicines that can cure Alzheimer or other memory diseases such as amnesia, I think there can be a bad side to these for normal people. It will enhance all memories, including bad and good ones. Although remembering good memories is good, all my bad memories of pain or horror, will be enhanced as well. I personally think that memory is something that should be left alone and not be muddled with.