Why You Don’t Remember Your Childhood — What Happened to Your Baby Memories?

You were born, heard your mother's voice, took your first steps and said your first word, yet you remember none of it. This video explains why: babies do form memories, but a fast-growing brain, a sense of self that isn't there yet, and the absence of words keep those memories from lasting, or at least from being reachable later. From a ribbon tied to a crib mobile to a 2025 Yale study that scanned the brains of awake infants, and mouse experiments that switched "forgotten" baby memories back on, we follow the science of infantile amnesia, and the open question of whether your earliest memories are truly gone. In this video: • Why almost no one remembers anything before age three, from Caroline Miles to Freud • Carolyn Rovee-Collier's crib-mobile experiments: proof that babies remember • Can memory start in the womb? Newborns and a Dr. Seuss story • Why about 40% of people believe they remember being a baby, and why most are wrong • Childhood amnesia happens in childhood: what 7-year-olds remember and adults forget • Henry Molaison and the difference between skills and memories of events • The infant hippocampus and the 2025 Yale brain-scan study • How new neurons may scramble old memories (the Toronto mouse studies) • Are baby memories erased or just locked away? Optogenetics and hidden engrams • The mirror test and the birth of a sense of self • Emily's crib monologues, the magic shrinking machine, and why words shape memory • How culture and family storytelling change how far back you can remember • The lasting traces of infancy, even without a single memory If you like science that explains the strange things your brain does, consider subscribing. There's a new one every week. DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and entertainment purposes. It draws on published research in psychology and neuroscience, but several findings come from small studies or animal experiments and remain debated. It is not medical advice. For concerns about memory or child development, please consult a qualified doctor or pediatric specialist. MAIN SOURCES 1. Rovee-Collier, C. (1999). "The Development of Infant Memory." Current Directions in Psychological Science. 2. Bauer, P. J. & Larkina, M. (2014). "The Onset of Childhood Amnesia in Childhood." Memory; Akhtar, S. et al. (2018). "Fictional First Memories." Psychological Science. 3. Akers, K. G., Frankland, P. W., Josselyn, S. A. et al. (2014). "Hippocampal Neurogenesis Regulates Forgetting During Adulthood and Infancy." Science. 4. Yates, T. S., Turk-Browne, N. B. et al. (2025). "Hippocampal Encoding of Memories in Human Infants." Science. 5. Guskjolen, A. et al. (2018). "Recovery of 'Lost' Infant Memories in Mice." Current Biology; Power, S. D., Ryan, T. J. et al. (2023). Science Advances. 6. Howe, M. L. & Courage, M. L. (1997). "The Emergence and Early Development of Autobiographical Memory." Psychological Review; Nelson, K. (ed.) (1989). Narratives from the Crib. Harvard University Press. 7. Simcock, G. & Hayne, H. (2002). "Breaking the Barrier?" Psychological Science; Wang, Q. (2013). The Autobiographical Self in Time and Culture. Oxford University Press. #Psychology #Neuroscience #Memory #ScienceExplained #HumanBrain