The tragedy in Arta with 37-year-old father who forgot his 5.5-month-old child inside the car, causing him to die, has shocked all of Greece.

The unfortunate little girl died locked inside the car for at least 5 hours, as she was deprived of oxygen and exposed to the sun.

Being responsible for your child’s death is every parent’s worst nightmare.

The tragedy in Arta seems to be another case of the “Forgotten Baby Syndrome”, which books have been written about in the US.

But science has an explanation arguing that it has nothing to do with whether the parent is good or bad but with the momentary loss of memory, the parent driver loses awareness of the presence of his child in the car.

The two memory systems that fight in the brain

David Diamond, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, told ABC News that scientific studies of the brain prove that the “forgotten baby syndrome” actually exists.

The one who can forget the child in the car is usually the parent who does not carry the baby on a daily basis – for example to and from daycare. Then – when the parent has a change in his routine but his mind is busy for example with his “daily” work matters – he can completely forget that there is his baby in the back seat.

“The habit system of our brain, which allows us to do things mechanically – without thinking about it. Doing a task without thinking is called ‘motor memory’. When the brain needs to change its routine, then different brain systems compete with each other.”

Diamond explained that when there is competition between the brain’s “habit memory system” and the “long-term memory system,” that is, remembering to do something—in this case, taking the baby somewhere.

When the habit memory system (motor memory) prevails, the parent completely forgets the child in the back seat (especially if it is a quiet infant or sleeping baby) and then the forgotten baby syndrome can occur.

Under conditions of sleep deprivation or stress, Diamond said parents can default to repetitive actions. For example, a routine route from home to work, instead of home to daycare, is performed automatically. The parent gets out, locks the car and drives off to work as a mechanic, having completely forgotten that he has his baby in the back seat.

According to the scientists, after all there is no fixed profile of the parent who forgets his child in the car. Parents of every race, gender, income, education level and temperament can make the fatal mistake at any time.