Learning and memory abilities can vary according to early life experiences.
Researchers from New York University (United States) lift the veil on part of the mechanisms of development of learning and memory capacities which still remain very vague. This study, published in the journal NatureCommunicationsreveals the influence of early life experiences on how our brains are shaped.
What to imagine future therapies
Early life experiences affect the biological and functional development of the brain. A discovery that opens up an important field of implications such as “the influence of the environment on mental health, the role of education, the importance of poverty and the repercussions of social parameters”, deciphers Cristina Alberini, author main of the study. Enough to imagine possible therapeutic interventions in infants. “By identifying critical periods for brain development, they provide an indicator of when pharmaceutical, behavioral or other interventions may be most beneficial,” she says.
The aim of the study is to investigate biological elements related to episodic memories, those of specific events or experiences, in infants using rats and mice. Scientists have observed how these different experiences shape learning and memory abilities.
Two experiments to test memory
For the first experiment, the researchers placed baby rats and mice in a small box and gave them a light tap on the paws. To test their memory, they put them back in these boxes to observe their reaction. If the animals show a form of hesitation, it shows that they have the memory of having already been in this box.
In the second experiment, the baby rats and mice were exposed to new objects in a given space. Rodents that have a memory for that experience show more active exploration to a new object location. This is due to a natural tendency for exploring new object locations.
These two experiences, the context and the localization of objects, are stored by the same memory system.
“What infants experience and learn is crucial”
The results of these two experiments showed that the rodent brains matured biologically and functionally. These episodic experiences led to unique biological changes in the latter that the researchers did not subsequently observe in adult rats and mice. “It is clear that the infant brain uses distinct biological mechanisms to form and store episodic memories,” the researchers write.
These results indicate that specific experiences in early life contribute to individual differences in learning and memory abilities. “Memory formation is important for thinking, future learning, planning, decision making, problem solving, reflection, imagination, and the overall ability to form a sense of self,” conclude authors. “This means that what infants learn and experience is crucial to their later development.”
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