Callaghan et al. (2014) recently attempted to renew interest in understanding infantile amnesia, and urged the use of new technologies in molecular biology to unpack the molecular basis of this phenomenon. In a similar vein, here we suggest that it may be time for the infant memory field to take on board new theories of memory and hippocampal function, and embrace technologies such as MRI that could offer a means of progressing points of dispute. To be clear, we are not advocating the abandonment of cognitive testing of infants in favour of fMRI, rather we suggest that the use of MRI could help to motivate and constrain neurocognitive theories of memory development in human infants. Indeed, grounding infant memory in neurobiology may be even more important than for adults given the inability of infants to disclose anything about their own capabilities. The challenges of utilising techniques such as fMRI are substantial, however, the potential rewards we believe could be manifold.