Contribution of Embodiment to Solving the Riddle of Infantile Amnesia
At least since the late nineteenth century, researchers have sought an explanation for infantile amnesia (IA)—the lack of autobiographical memories dating from early childhood—and childhood amnesia (CA), faster forgetting of events up until the age of about seven. Evidence suggests that IA occurs a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2016-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00010/full |
| _version_ | 1819066067490701312 |
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| author | Arthur M Glenberg Arthur M Glenberg Justin eHayes |
| author_facet | Arthur M Glenberg Arthur M Glenberg Justin eHayes |
| author_sort | Arthur M Glenberg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | At least since the late nineteenth century, researchers have sought an explanation for infantile amnesia (IA)—the lack of autobiographical memories dating from early childhood—and childhood amnesia (CA), faster forgetting of events up until the age of about seven. Evidence suggests that IA occurs across altricial species, and a number of studies using animal models have converged on the hypothesis that maturation of the hippocampus is an important factor. But why does the hippocampus mature at one time and not another, and how does that maturation relate to memory? Our hypothesis is rooted in theories of embodied cognition, and it provides an explanation both for hippocampal development and the end of IA. Specifically, the onset of locomotion prompts the alignment of hippocampal place cells and grid cells to the environment, which in turn facilitates the ontogeny of long-term episodic memory and the end of IA. That is, because the animal can now reliably discriminate locations, location becomes a stable cue for memories. Furthermore, as the mode of human locomotion shifts from crawling to walking, there is an additional shift in the alignment of the hippocampus that marks the beginning of adult-like episodic memory and the end of CA. Finally, given a reduction in self-locomotion and exploration with aging, the hypothesis suggests a partial explanation for cognitive decline with aging. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T15:56:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c194e3ec68fb41199dc49f942043d760 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T15:56:28Z |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-c194e3ec68fb41199dc49f942043d7602022-12-21T18:58:05ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782016-01-01710.3389/fpsyg.2016.00010178928Contribution of Embodiment to Solving the Riddle of Infantile AmnesiaArthur M Glenberg0Arthur M Glenberg1Justin eHayes2Arizona State UniversityUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonSimpson CollegeAt least since the late nineteenth century, researchers have sought an explanation for infantile amnesia (IA)—the lack of autobiographical memories dating from early childhood—and childhood amnesia (CA), faster forgetting of events up until the age of about seven. Evidence suggests that IA occurs across altricial species, and a number of studies using animal models have converged on the hypothesis that maturation of the hippocampus is an important factor. But why does the hippocampus mature at one time and not another, and how does that maturation relate to memory? Our hypothesis is rooted in theories of embodied cognition, and it provides an explanation both for hippocampal development and the end of IA. Specifically, the onset of locomotion prompts the alignment of hippocampal place cells and grid cells to the environment, which in turn facilitates the ontogeny of long-term episodic memory and the end of IA. That is, because the animal can now reliably discriminate locations, location becomes a stable cue for memories. Furthermore, as the mode of human locomotion shifts from crawling to walking, there is an additional shift in the alignment of the hippocampus that marks the beginning of adult-like episodic memory and the end of CA. Finally, given a reduction in self-locomotion and exploration with aging, the hypothesis suggests a partial explanation for cognitive decline with aging.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00010/fullAgingLocomotionMemoryembodimentInfantile amnesiaChildhood amnesia |
| spellingShingle | Arthur M Glenberg Arthur M Glenberg Justin eHayes Contribution of Embodiment to Solving the Riddle of Infantile Amnesia Frontiers in Psychology Aging Locomotion Memory embodiment Infantile amnesia Childhood amnesia |
| title | Contribution of Embodiment to Solving the Riddle of Infantile Amnesia |
| title_full | Contribution of Embodiment to Solving the Riddle of Infantile Amnesia |
| title_fullStr | Contribution of Embodiment to Solving the Riddle of Infantile Amnesia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contribution of Embodiment to Solving the Riddle of Infantile Amnesia |
| title_short | Contribution of Embodiment to Solving the Riddle of Infantile Amnesia |
| title_sort | contribution of embodiment to solving the riddle of infantile amnesia |
| topic | Aging Locomotion Memory embodiment Infantile amnesia Childhood amnesia |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00010/full |
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