A new study finds that children only learn to recall details when they are in their early teens when the hippocampus is actually fully formed.
Previous research said that the hippocampus, a part of the brain responsible for memory and emotion, was fully developed by around age six.
The research, conducted by the Max Planck Institutes in Berlin, Germany and the University of Stirling in Scotland found that significant changes occurred in the areas of the hippocampus responsible for recalling detail well after the age of six.
While six-year-olds are in a stage of rapid development, but until they are about 14, this study reveals, children's ability to recall fine distinctions between two similar objects is still developing.
This new finding shows that both of these areas are still growing after age six, but the pace of that growth varied from subject to subject.
Speaking about it, study co-leader Markus Werkle-Bergner of the Maz Planck Institutes said that the trajectory of growth 'is important, as it directly influences the fine balance between pattern separation and pattern completion operations and, thus, developmental changes in learning and memory.
The research done by lead author Dr Attila Keresztes of the Max Planck Institutes and his team 'related memory behavior to growth or size in various sub-regions.
