Researchers find five month-olds have 'working memory'

Babies are capable of conscious thought and of storing memories from as early as five-months-old

Working memory is the system that holds multiple pieces of information in the mind, where they can be manipulated - rather like a 'scratchpad' for the brain.

Working memory can help us overcome a particular problem or perform a task, like mental arithmetic, using a phone number or following a set of directions.

However, the amount of information we can hold is limited and the information itself is very unstable.

If we are distracted, it can easily be lost.

Working memory is essential for learning and development, particularly in childhood.

Babies are capable of conscious thought and of storing memories from as early as five-months-old, according to new research.

Scientists at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris discovered that babies can briefly store images in their ‘working memories’ by the time they reach five-months-old.

When an adult brain detects something, like a moving object, a signal travels through the brain allowing it to briefly store the image.

   When an adult brain detects something, like a moving object, a signal travels through the brain allowing it to briefly store the image

According to Science Mag, a spike in brain activity is visible when this happens and also when the brain’s prefrontal cortex receives the message – this spike in brain activity is known as a ‘late slow wave’.

The researchers wanted to discover when these spikes in brain activity could also be detected in babies.

They studied the brain activity of more than 240 babies but only 80 remained still enough for the experiment to be successful.