Most of us just assume that some of the memories we have from childhood can’t be recalled, no matter how hard we try. However, science may have a solution. According to a study published in Scientific Reports, there seems to be a link between how we perceive our bodies and our ability to recall events from our past.

The investigation was led by a team of neuroscientists at Anglia Ruskin University who were exploring the connection between the self, the body, and a person’s autobiographical memory. Researchers theorized that, since our bodies constantly change throughout our lives, the physical self we had in childhood is different from the one we have as adults.

A simple illusion trick could help you unlock childhood memories that you thought were lost forever.

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To test the idea of people having different bodies from when they were kids versus adults, researchers recruited 50 healthy adults for an online experiment. Scientists then put them through a round of illusion tests where participants were asked to move their heads in time with a metronome. 

For both groups, the face on the screen would mirror their movements, creating a sensation that the face they were seeing was their own, similar to looking in a mirror. To test the strength of the illusion, the face on the screen moved in the opposite direction to the participant’s head movements as well, and after each session of head movements, participants answered a questionnaire to measure how strongly they felt that the face on the screen was their own.

Immediately following the illusion, participants engaged in an autobiographical memory interview. While still viewing either their childlike or adult face, they were asked to recall specific events from two different time periods: their childhood (up to age 11) and the past year. 

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Participants who experienced the illusion with their childlike face recalled significantly more details about their childhood memories.

“All the events that we remember are not just experiences of the external world, but are also experiences of our body, which is always present,” explained lead author of the study, Utkarsh Gupta. “We discovered that temporary changes to the bodily self, specifically, embodying a childlike version of one’s own face, can significantly enhance access to childhood memories.”

He added, “This might be because the brain encodes bodily information as part of the details of an event. Reintroducing similar bodily cues may help us retrieve those memories, even decades later.”

While there are still future studies that need to be done, the findings open up an interesting conversation about how deeply connected our sense of self is to our memories. Unlocking childhood memories can be as simple as looking at old photos, watching videos your family took of you, or even going back to places you used to love as a child. 

There is truly so much power in being able to reconnect with our inner child. It’s about being able to honor the version of yourself that you once were and maybe even doing some of the things that brought you comfort when you were young, too.

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Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.