Why don't we remember being a baby?
D. Indumathi, The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai

Do you remember your first birthday? The time you spoke your first words? Your favourite toy as a 1 year old?! Why don't we remember being a baby? This type of memory is called episodic memory. It is the ability to experience specific events and then recall them later.
A serious answer to this seemingly amusing question was recently solved by scientists at the Yale University.
Ideas about why we don't remember
We learn so much during our first years of life. But scientists thought that we don't hold onto these experiences because the part of the brain responsible for saving memories — the hippocampus — is still developing even when we reach adolescence. In other words, scientists thought that we cannot encode memories in our earliest years. This study threw up a very different and interesting result. To find out more, read on.
How do we find out how babies learn?
The study involved 26 babies between 4 months and 2 years old. They were separated into two groups: less than 1 year old, and greater than one year old. During the experiment, the babies were placed in an fMRI machine and shown a series of unique images for two seconds each. Researchers used the fMRI machine to record activity in the hippocampus.
BOX The hippocampus
The hippocampus is a vital part of the brain, and is responsible for memory formation and spatial navigation. Located in the medial temporal lobe of the brain, it has a distinctive seahorse shape. It is the portion of the brain associated with emotions, memory and the autonomic nervous system. It performs several very important functions:
Memory Formation: The hippocampus is essential for transferring short-term memories into long-term storage.
Spatial Navigation: The hippocampus helps create a mental map of our surroundings, allowing us to navigate and find our way around.
Learning: It is involved in various aspects of learning, including the formation of new associations and the consolidation of learned information.
Emotions: The hippocampus also plays a role in processing emotions and emotional responses.
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BOX fMRI Machine
An fMRI machine is a specialized type of MRI scanner that is used to measure brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow. It's a non-invasive technique that doesn't use radiation. This makes it a safe and preferred method for studying brain function. fMRI is used to identify which parts of the brain are active during specific tasks or when exposed to certain external stimulus.
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Such young babies have short attention spans, cannot follow instructions, and cannot even talk to the adults! How did the scientists generate the data?
The scientists first showed the babies an image of a new face, object, or scene. Later, after the infants had seen several other images, the researchers showed them a previously seen image next to a new one. If the babies stares at the previously seen image longer than the new one next to it, that can be interpreted as the baby recognizing it as familiar! Incredible, isn't it? Also difficult to implement.
What did they find?
When a baby looked at a new image, the fMRI showed activity in the hippocampus regions of their brains. Sometimes there was less activity, sometimes more. The interesting part was this: if there was more hippocampal activity when the baby was shown a certain image, the scientists found that the baby looked at it for a longer time when it was shown again! As if it had "recognised" the image. Even more interesting: the part of the hippocampus that showed activity was the region where patterns are learned; the so-called statistical learning. This was strongest among the older age group of 1-2 year olds. So, what do we know now, from this research? That babies do learn and store episodic memories in the hippocampus.
The question now is: if the babies do store memories, that is, if we have stored memories as babies, why don't we remember them?! There are a few possibilities. One is that the memories may not be converted into long-term storage and thus simply don't last long. Some recent studies with infants and toddlers show that their "baby memories" might last until preschool age before fading. Another theory is that the memories are still there long after encoding and we just can't access them.
However, it’s fair to say that you’re learning from those experiences, and adding to both recognition and emotional information. Activities that adults or parents involve themselves with can have a deep impact on infants, both through sounds and visual cues. So the scientists encourage adults to keep reading to babies, singing to them, and showing them colour picture books! Even if the baby cannot recall these later, it will help them develop many learning skills.
Sources: https://news.yale.edu/2025/03/20/why-dont-we-remember-being-baby-new-study-provides-clues;
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/you-cant-remember-being-a-baby-for-a-reason-new-study-finds.html