Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 6 June 1980:
Vol. 208. no. 4448, pp. 1159 - 1161
DOI: 10.1126/science.7375924
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Science, Vol 208, Issue 4448, 1159-1161
Copyright © 1980 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Reactivation of infant memory

CK Rovee-Collier, MW Sullivan, M Enright, D Lucas, and JW Fagen

Three-month-old infants learned to activate a crib mobile by means of operant footkicks. Retention of the conditioned response was assessed during a cued recall test with the nonmoving mobile. Although forgetting is typically complete after an 8-day retention interval, infants who received a reactivation treatment--a brief exposure to the reinforcer 24 hours before retention testing--showed no forgetting after retention intervals of either 2 or 4 weeks. Further, the forgetting function after a reactivation treatment did not differ from the original forgetting function. These experiments demonstrate that (i) "reactivation" or "reinstatement" is an effective mechanism by which early experiences can continue to influence behavior over lengthy intervals and (ii) memory deficits in young infants are best viewed as retrieval deficits.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Exploring Objects With Feet Advances Movement in Infants Born Preterm: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
J. C. Heathcock and J. C. Galloway (2009)
Physical Therapy 89, 1027-1038
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Memory retrieval: a time-locked process in infancy.
J. Fagen and C Rovee-Collier (1983)
Science 222, 1349-1351
   Abstract »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)