In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind
Charting the intellectual history of the emerging biology of mind, Eric R. Kandel illuminates how behavioral psychology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and molecular biology have converged into a powerful new science of mind. This science now provides nuanced insights into normal mental functioning and disease, and simultaneously opens pathways to more effective healing.Driven by vibrant curiosity, Kandel's personal quest to understand memory is threaded throughout this absorbing history. Beginning with his childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna, In Search of Memory chronicles Kandel's outstanding career from his initial fascination with history and psychoanalysis to his groundbreaking work on the biological process of memory, which earned him the Nobel Prize.A deft mixture of memoir and history, modern biology and behavior, In Search of Memory traces how a brilliant scientist's intellectual journey intersected with one of the great scientific endeavors of the twentieth century: the search for the biological basis of memory.Personal memory and the biology of memory storage -- A child in Vienna -- An American education -- One cell at a time -- The nerve cell speaks -- Conversation between nerve cells -- Simple and complex neuronal systems -- Different memories, different regions of the brain -- Searching for an ideal model for studying memory -- Neural analogs of learning -- Strengthening synaptic connections -- A center for neurobiology and behavior -- Even a simple behavior can be modified by learning -- Synapses change with experience -- The biological basis of individuality -- Molecules and short-term memory -- Long-term memory -- Memory genes -- A dialogue between genes and synapses -- A return to complex memory -- Synapses also hold our fondest memories -- The brain's picture of the external world -- Attention must be paid! -- A little red pill -- Mice, men, and mental illness -- A new way to treat mental illness -- Biology and the renaissance of psychoanalytic thought -- Consciousness -- Rediscovering vienna via stockholm -- Learning from memory: prospects
