Discovering the Brain

Discovering the Brain
Author: National Academy of Sciences
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 195
Release: 1992-01-01
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309045290

The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."

Biology of Memory

Biology of Memory
Author: Karl Pribram
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2012-12-02
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0323141501

Biology of Memory investigates the biological basis of memory and covers topics ranging from short- and long-term post-perceptual memory to memory storage processes, memory microstructures, chemical transfer, and neuronal plasticity. The activity of neuronal networks in the thalamus of the monkey is also examined, along with integrative functions of the thalamocortical visual system of the cat. Comprised of 20 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the mechanisms that inhibit or interfere with short- and long-term memory, followed by a discussion on different retrieval mechanisms for short- and long-term memory. The reader is then introduced to the role of short- and long-term memory in the formation, retention, and utilization of associations, together with the link between memory and the medial temporal regions of the brain. Subsequent chapters focus on anatomical and chemical changes in the brain during primary learning; cellular models of learning and cellular mechanisms of plasticity in Aplysia; trace phenomena in single neurons of hippocampus and mammiliary bodies; and plasticity in single units in the mammalian brain. The book concludes with a description of Occam (Omnium-Gatherum Core Content Addressable Memory), a computer program for a content addressable memory in the central nervous system. This monograph will be useful to biologists, behavioral psychologists, neuropsychologists, neurophysiologists, biophysicists, and biochemists as well as computer scientists and mathematicians.

The Physiological Basis of Memory

The Physiological Basis of Memory
Author: J. Anthony Deutsch
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2012-12-02
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0323149960

The Physiological Basis of Memory, Second Edition reviews many areas of research that shed light on the physiological basis of memory, from mnemonic function and memory facilitation to synaptic transmission. The book also considers neuropsychology involving animal subjects, learning produced by direct brain stimulation, and the basis of associative learning at the cellular level. This edition is organized into 10 chapters and begins with an overview of the link between protein synthesis and memory, paying attention to studies devoted to chemical changes associated with learning; the effect of inhibitors of RNA and protein synthesis on learning; the molecular code of memory; and the role of proteins in learning. The reader is methodically introduced to the enhancement of memory consolidation; the use of the cellular-connection approach to investigate both non-associative and associative learning; and the effect of depression on memory storage. The following chapters discuss the impact of brain lesions on animal memory; the neurology of memory and amnesia in human and nonhuman primates; the function of the neural substrate for self-stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle; and the effects of electroconvulsive shock on memory. A chapter on the role of catecholamines in memory processing concludes the book. This book should be useful to researchers and students interested in the physiology of memory.

Mechanisms of Memory

Mechanisms of Memory
Author: J. David Sweatt
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2009-09-28
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0080959199

This fully revised second edition provides the only unified synthesis of available information concerning the mechanisms of higher-order memory formation. It spans the range from learning theory, to human and animal behavioral learning models, to cellular physiology and biochemistry. It is unique in its incorporation of chapters on memory disorders, tying in these clinically important syndromes with the basic science of synaptic plasticity and memory mechanisms. It also covers cutting-edge approaches such as the use of genetically engineered animals in studies of memory and memory diseases. Written in an engaging and easily readable style and extensively illustrated with many new, full-color figures to help explain key concepts, this book demystifies the complexities of memory and deepens the reader’s understanding. More than 25% new content, particularly expanding the scope to include new findings in translational research. Unique in its depth of coverage of molecular and cellular mechanisms Extensive cross-referencing to Comprehensive Learning and Memory Discusses clinically relevant memory disorders in the context of modern molecular research and includes numerous practical examples

Molecular Basis of Memory

Molecular Basis of Memory
Author:
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 467
Release: 2014-01-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0124202004

This special volume of Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science provides a current overview of how memory is processed in the brain. A broad range of topics are presented by leaders in the field, ranging from brain circuitry to synaptic plasticity to the molecular machinery that contributes to the brain's ability to maintain information across time. Memory systems in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala are considered as well. In addition, the volume covers recent contributions to our understanding of memory from in vivo imaging, optogenetic, electrophysiological, biochemical and molecular biological studies. Articles from world renowned experts in memory Covering topics from signaling, epigenetic, RNA translation to plasticity Methodological approaches include molecular and cellular, behavioral, electrophysiological, optogenetic and functional imaging

Neuronal Mechanisms of Memory Formation

Neuronal Mechanisms of Memory Formation
Author: Christian Hölscher
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 509
Release: 2001
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 052177067X

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is by far the most dominant model for neuronal changes that might encode memory. LTP is an elegant concept that meets many criteria set up by theoreticians long before the model's discovery, and it also fits anatomical data of learning-dependent synapse changes. Since the discovery of LTP, the question has remained about how closely LTP produced in vitro by artificial stimulation of neurons actually models putative learning-induced synaptic changes. A number of recent investigations have tried to correlate synaptic changes observed after learning with changes produced by artificial stimulation of neurons. These studies have failed to find a correlation between the two forms of synaptic plasticity. In this book, an international group of neurobiologists and psychologists discuss their latest ideas and data. The results of experiments using electrophysiological techniques in vitro are discussed and compared with the results of in vivo experiments. Learning experiments are also discussed. Theoretical models such as the Hebb theory of synaptic changes during learning are compared to different models that do not predict upregulation of synaptic transmission. A wide approach is taken, and research and models in different brain areas such as the neocortex and the basal brain are discussed.

The Basis of Memory (PLE: Memory)

The Basis of Memory (PLE: Memory)
Author: W.R. Bousfield
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 135
Release: 2014-05-09
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317750373

Originally published in 1928 this short essay looks two rival theories of the time, both hypothetical, and explores which one ‘better fits the facts’. Whether memory depends on "enduring traces" in brain structure (to use the language of Professor Semon), or whether it depends on records in "psychical structure" (to use the language of Professor McDougall). Today it can be read and enjoyed in its historical context.

The Neurobiological Basis of Memory and Behavior

The Neurobiological Basis of Memory and Behavior
Author: Hinrich Rahmann
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1461227720

Of all the areas of biological science, there is, perhaps, none that has experienced in recent decades so great an increase in findings as neurobiology, the discipline that concerns memory in all of its myriad aspects. The notion of exploring memory, that capacity to store and recall individual experience, has received attention increasingly in our society. Of course, animals can exhibit astounding powers of memory, but memory is of paramount importance to human beings due to the significant role it plays in the transmission of our cultural traditions. It is tradition, after all, that ensures the passing on of qualities established by lineage, a continuous link from generation to generation, between past and present. And it is tradition that inspires bodies of thought (knowledge and customs, for example) to be handed down by a multiplicity of information bearing devices (i. e. , word, writing, picture, electronic data carriers). The objective of this book is to inform the reader in one clear volume of the groundwork which has been established in memory research from the diverse disciplines of neurobiology. It is intended, primarily, for students of medicine, zoology, biology, psychology and psychiatry, but will certainly prove to be a valuable resource to others with a healthy interest in the area.

Neural Plasticity and Memory

Neural Plasticity and Memory
Author: Federico Bermudez-Rattoni
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2007-04-17
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1420008412

A comprehensive, multidisciplinary review, Neural Plasticity and Memory: From Genes to Brain Imaging provides an in-depth, up-to-date analysis of the study of the neurobiology of memory. Leading specialists share their scientific experience in the field, covering a wide range of topics where molecular, genetic, behavioral, and brain imaging techniq