Children with better memory abilities might achieve higher social standing among their peers, a study by Academia Sinica and National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) has suggested.
The research team experimented on laboratory mice and studied children’s behaviors to reach the conclusion.
Mice and children with better memory have a higher chance of becoming leaders among their peers, and would further consolidate their position using this advantage, the study said.
Photo courtesy of National Tsing Hua University
The team was led by Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences assistant research fellow Yang Shi-bing (楊世斌), NTHU Department of Early Childhood Education associate professor Chou Yu-ju (周育如) and NTHU Institute of Biotechnology assistant professor Kuo Tsung-han (郭崇涵).
The team analyzed the behavior patterns of mice for the study. They categorized the rodents into levels ranging from 1 to 4 according to their social hierarchy, with level 1 being the highest. They then dissected the mice and examined their hippocampi.
Mice in level 1 had better memory abilities and higher memory-related gene expression in their hippocampi than mice in level 4, the team found.
The team inferred that mice with better memory tended to have more resources and therefore achieved dominance.
It said that using drugs to enhance mice’s memory abilities could raise their social status.
The team found similar patterns in a behavioral analysis of 164 preschool children, whose social hierarchy was evaluated in a specially designed experimental game and divided into four levels.
The memory abilities of children in level 1 and level 4 were tested and the results showed that children with better memory abilities had a better chance of becoming group leaders.
A three or four-year-old child can already recognize others’ social status and would try to avoid unnecessary conflict, the team said.
The research results highlight the importance of appropriate distribution of educational resources, Chou said.
The study, titled “Potential cross-species correlations in social hierarchy and memory between mice and young children,” was published in the journal Communications Biology on March 14.
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