"Burned in" images that last a lifetime

We have separate systems for forming unconscious emotional memories and conscious emotional memories.

Researchers have studied children who had experienced very frightening things from birth to 34 months.

The children had no conscious memory of these experiences but it is known that they did happen. The proof came from their parents or other eyewitnesses of the events. The interesting thing is that when the children were presented with a situation similar to that earlier frightening experience they reacted without thinking.

For example, if they had been bitten by a large dog at one year of age, showing them a large dog when they were age four would give them a terrible fright, much worse than a child who had not had an earlier bad experience with a big dog. They had no conscious memory of the earlier bite. However, they had retained the memory of the attack and their natural reaction was one of fear to this situation.

Researchers believe that frightening events, especially those experienced early, create "burned in" images that last a lifetime. One researcher is quoted as saying, "the quality of the environment and the kind of experiences children have may affect brain structure and how each part of the brain works. These effects on the brain may be so strong that they may not be changed after age five."

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