Learning and Memory (PDF)

Learning and Memory: A Biological View is a comprehensive textbook about the neurobiology of learning and memory. Topics covered range from anatomical correlates of neuronal plasticity to drugs that modulate learning and memory, along with biochemical correlates of learning and memory. The effect of aging on memory and electrophysiological analogs of memory are also discussed.

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 results indicating that the engram for a simple classically conditioned skeletal response may be in the cerebellum are also summarized. The next chapter stresses the importance of anatomical mechanisms that could mediate learning, plasticity, and memory storage in young and adult animals. Subsequent chapters focus on the influence of peripheral hormones, including opioid peptides, on learning and memory; the contribution of individual neurotransmitter systems to learning; the psychopathology of aging; and long-term potentiation. Learning in complex vertebrate systems and direct stimulation of various brain nuclei are also considered. 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.