UC Davis

When babies are born into the world, they have no concept of how much there is to learn and know about the world. As they age and grow, infants make and retain memories with rapid improvements in recollection for the unique spatio-temporal circumstance. Three studies investigate episodic memory in toddlers, emphasizing the role of the hippocampus in encoding and retrieving spatio-temporal and context-specific memories. Through innovative research methods including behavioral experiments, neuroimaging during natural sleep, and eye-tracking techniques, it was found that hippocampal activation correlates with the ability to retain episodic details and distinguish between similar events. Key findings across the chapters highlight that while spatial associative memory capacities are more robust earlier in development, the abilities to process temporal sequences and perform context discrimination are also evident in the second and third year of life and are linked to hippocampal function. These insights contribute to our understanding of the foundational aspects of memory development and its implications for cognitive development in early life.