Unlocking Infantile Amnesia: A Cross-species Approach to Uncover the Roots of Inter-Individual Variability in Early Memory Development

• Applicant: Dr. Sarah Power, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience ; Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 583248394

Why do we forget our earliest memories from infancy? This question has puzzled scientists for years. Even though infants can learn a lot, most people can not remember anything from the first two to three years of their lives, a phenomenon called "infantile amnesia." This type of forgetting happens to everyone and is a significant but understudied part of how memory develops. Infantile amnesia is not just a human experience; it is seen in other mammals such as rodents. Despite its commonness, we do not know much about when this period ends in humans. Initial research indicates that it affects everyone similarly, but recent animal studies suggest that early memories might be recoverable and that some conditions can change how susceptible individuals are to this forgetting. If and why humans and rodents show individual differences in the duration of the infantile amnesia period are still unclear. This project aims to develop a memory task that can be used across species to study these differences over time. By using a new experimental approach, the project will investigate how early memories form and are retained in human toddlers aged 18–24 months. Key questions include: How does the age at which a memory is formed affect the duration of infantile amnesia? Does the time between forming and recalling a memory impact retention differently at various ages? What are the individual differences in when and how long infantile amnesia lasts? Additionally, a similar task will be developed for mice to study infantile amnesia. This innovative approach will use molecular techniques to identify physiological markers of early experiences in the brain. By labeling specific memories in the rodent brain, the project aims to identify relevant brain regions and understand how much reactivation is needed to recall the original memory. This will help explore how these factors influence individual memory retention during the infantile amnesia period. Building on previous research, the project will also examine whether inflammatory challenges during pregnancy contribute to individual differences in the duration and end of infantile amnesia in both mice and humans. Specifically, it will investigate if some individuals have shorter periods of infantile amnesia due to higher inflammation during pregnancy. This research aims to uncover the link between prenatal inflammation and variations in memory retention, offering critical insights into early cognitive development. By advancing our understanding of memory development, this study could answer important questions about the impact of individual differences on later learning and cognitive development.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants