Final answer:
Autobiographical memory refers to the ability to recall personal experiences, while infantile amnesia is the inability to remember events from early childhood. Explanations for infantile amnesia include underdeveloped brain areas, lack of language skills, and changes in neural connections.
Step-by-step explanation:
Autobiographical memory refers to the ability to recall personal experiences and events that have occurred throughout one's life. It encompasses detailed memories of specific events, emotions, and contextual details associated with those events. However, many individuals experience infantile amnesia, which is the inability to remember events that occurred during early childhood.
There are several explanations for infantile amnesia. One possible explanation is that the brain areas responsible for encoding and retrieving memories, such as the hippocampus, are not fully developed during infancy. Another explanation is that infantile amnesia may be due to the lack of language skills and the inability to verbally encode and recall memories.
Additionally, changes in neural connections and the gradual development of self-awareness and a concept of time may contribute to the difficulty in retrieving early childhood memories.