What term refers to the inability to remember memories before the age of 3.5?

The term that refers to the inability to remember memories before the age of 3.5 is "infantile amnesia." This phenomenon is commonly understood in psychology and neuroscience to describe the difficulty that individuals have in recalling memories from early childhood, typically before the age of three.

Research suggests that infantile amnesia is influenced by various factors, such as the ongoing development of the brain, particularly the hippocampus, which is crucial for memory formation. As cognitive processes mature, so too does the ability to encode and retrieve long-term memories, resulting in the lack of accessible memories from this infant stage of life.

While "childhood amnesia" might seem like a correct option, it is generally used to refer to the overall inability to retrieve memories from early childhood after the infant years, rather than specifically focusing on the age threshold. The other terms provided, "early memory loss" and "neonatal forgetfulness," do not accurately reflect the established psychological terminology or the specific age range associated with this phenomenon. Hence, "infantile amnesia" is the most precise and widely recognized term for this memory-related occurrence.