title: The "when" and the "where" of single-trial allocentric spatial memory performance in young children: Insights into the development of episodic memory.
abstract: Allocentric spatial memory, "where" with respect to the surrounding environment, is one of the three fundamental components of episodic memory: what, where, when. Whereas basic allocentric spatial memory abilities are reliably observed in children after 2 years of age, coinciding with the offset of infantile amnesia, the resolution of allocentric spatial memory acquired over repeated trials improves from 2 to 4 years of age. Here, we first show that single-trial allocentric spatial memory performance improves in children from 3.5 to 7 years of age, during the typical period of childhood amnesia. Second, we show that large individual variation exists in children's performance at this age. Third, and most importantly, we show that improvements in single-trial allocentric spatial memory performance are due to an increasing ability to spatially and temporally separate locations and events. Such improvements in spatial and temporal processing abilities may contribute to the gradual offset of childhood amnesia.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Medicine, Fribourg Center for Cognition, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Farfalla
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ribordy Lambert
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Medicine, Fribourg Center for Cognition, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.|Laboratory for Experimental Research on Behavior, Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lavenex
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental Research on Behavior, Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Banta Lavenex
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D065852:Spatial Memory / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: development; early; learning; memory; spatial; temporal