Why We Do not Remember When Born?

The human brain has a memory capacity thousands of times higher than the most advanced computers available today. The mass of gray (gray matter) is a storage device that is able diandalakan. However, why can not we remember the infancy or the first moment we are born into the world?




Let alone at birth, our brain also can not remember the days when we were infants or toddlers. It turned out that no matter how hard we try, our memory can only go back to when we are 4-5 years old.

Why is that? One theory says this is because of myelin, the protective layer that helps nerve signals the brain delivery. Well, before the age of 5 years, myelin in the baby's brain is still very small. "Myelin is essential for maintaining long-term memory," said Jonathan Schooter, PhD, a psychologist from the University of British Columbia.







Another theory says, once we begin to learn to speak, we can no longer access the memory that is created at the time we do not yet speak fluently. "With the growing of a child's language skills, the way he thinks will also be changed so that the allegedly more difficult to recall past memories," he said.







What is myelin?

The myelin sheath is a phospholipid layer that surrounds the axons of many neurons. Mengsuplai Schwann cell myelin for peripheral neurons, where oligodendrosit supply to the central nervous system. Myelin is a characteristic of vertebrates (gnathostome), but also appointed by the parallel evolution of several invertebrates. Myelin was found by Louis-Antoine Ranvier in 1878.