Neurobiologists have discovered a link between the preservation of childhood memories and autism – study
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Neuroscientists have discovered a surprising link between the preservation of childhood memories and the developmental trajectories of the brain associated with autism.
Most people remember little of what happened before the age of two. This form of memory loss, called “infantile or childhood amnesia,” means the loss of episodic and autobiographical memories formed early in life, Medical Xpress reports
A research team from Trinity College Dublin studied how infantile amnesia is affected by forms of autism.
A maternal immune response that occurs in response to infection during pregnancy may contribute to autism in both humans and mice. Neuroscientists at Trinity College Dublin have discovered for the first time that this altered brain state also prevents the normal loss of memories formed in childhood.
| Photo: olesiabilkei/Depositphotos |
The team behind this discovery showed that childhood amnesia is the most common form of memory loss.
“We investigated how memories are stored in the brain during development by integrating engram labeling technology with mouse models of childhood amnesia. Here, we discovered a phenomenon in which males in maternal immune activation models of autism spectrum disorder do not have childhood amnesia“, says the study by neuroscientists.
Specialists managed to permanently restore lost childhood memories by artificially updating the memory engram (memory trace formed as a result of training), demonstrating that childhood amnesia is a reversible process. In these experiments, the scientists used an “optogenetics” approach that uses light to trigger specific neural pathways associated with memory engrams.
The findings suggest that childhood amnesia is caused by a retrieval deficit, as early childhood memories are still stored in the adult brain, but usually cannot be accessed through natural recall.
Dr. Thomas Ryan, associate professor in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology and Institute of Neurology at Trinity College, is the senior author of the paper. He notes:
“Infantile amnesia is perhaps the most common but underappreciated form of memory loss in humans and mammals. Despite its widespread relevance, little is known about the biological conditions underlying this amnesia and its effect on the engram cells that encode each memory“.
This study marks an important milestone in the development of memory, shedding light on the relationship between the preservation of early childhood memories and maternal immune responses associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Iryna Bura, “UP. Life”
Read also: “Motherhood for which I was not prepared. What is it like to be the mother of a child with autism?”
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