Learning and Memory

Learning and Memory: A Biological View is a comprehensive textbook about the neurobiology of learning and memory. Topics covered include developmental approaches to the memory process; anatomical correlates of neuronal plasticity; drugs that modulate learning and memory; and biochemical correlates of learning and memory. The link between aging and memory is also discussed, along with electrophysiological approaches to the study of memory. Comprised of 12 chapters, this book begins with a review of historical traditions that influenced research on the biological basis of learning and memory. Experimental findings suggesting that the engram for a simple classically conditioned skeletal response may be in the cerebellum are also presented. The next chapter emphasizes the importance of anatomical mechanisms that could mediate learning, plasticity, and memory storage in young and adult animals. Subsequent chapters explore the influence of peripheral hormones and particularly opioid peptides on complex behavior such as learning and memory; the contribution of individual neurotransmitter systems to learning; the psychopathology of aging; and long-term potentiation as a model of the way the central nervous system stores information. Learning in complex vertebrate systems and direct stimulation of various brain nuclei are also examined. The final chapter presents a neurobehavioral analysis of the structure of memory formation that utilizes lesions and explores human memory pathology. This monograph is intended for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and research workers in the field of memory.