How the Brain and Memory Grow Up Together

Abstract

We forget a lot about events that happen early in our lives. Why does this happen? To answer this question, we looked at how memory changes as children grow. We know the brain is important for memory, but we wanted to understand whether it was the changes in the brain that help kids to remember or if it was the ability to remember that changes the brain. We gave kids memory tests and looked at their brain activity across 3 years. Then we asked which changed first—kids’ memories or kids’ brains? We found that there was an interactive relationship: in younger kids, memory shaped the brain; but in older kids, memory and the brain shaped each other. These results help us understand why memory gets better as kids grow up and how using our brains helps us to remember.