Evolution Of Learning And Memory Mechanisms

This book examines how evolution influences learning and memory processes in both human and nonhuman animals.

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."

Current theories about human memory have been shaped by clinical observations and animal experiments. This doctrine holds that the medial temporal lobe subserves one memory system for explicit or declarative memories, while the basal ganglia subserves a separate memory system for implicit or procedural memories, including habits. Cortical areas outside the medial temporal lobe are said to function in perception, motor control, attention, or other aspects of executive function, but not in memory. 'The Evolution of Memory Systems' advances dramatically different ideas on all counts. It proposes that several memory systems arose during evolution and that they did so for the same general reason: to transcend problems and exploit opportunities encountered by specific ancestors at particular times and places in the distant past. Instead of classifying cortical areas in terms of mutually exclusive perception, executive, or memory functions, the authors show that all cortical areas contribute to memory and that they do so in their own ways-using specialized neural representations. The book also presents a proposal on the evolution of explicit memory. According to this idea, explicit (declarative) memory depends on interactions between a phylogenetically ancient navigation system and a representational system that evolved in humans to represent one's self and others. As a result, people embed representations of themselves into the events they experience and the facts they learn, which leads to the perception of participating in events and knowing facts. 'The Evolution of Memory Systems' is an important new work for students and researchers in neuroscience, psychology, and biology.

The XXXII International Conference of the Spanish Society for Comparative Psychology has been organized by the Spanish Society of Comparative Psychology (SEPC), at the University of Almeria, on 21st, 22nd and 23rd September of 2022. The present work includes the abstracts of the different symposia, oral communications and poster sessions presented during the meetings. There were 2 plenary lectures about “Perceptual learning mechanisms and its implications for eating behavior” presented by Isabel de Brugada Sauras (University of Granada) and “Expanding the scope of associative learning models by incorporating the untidiness of natural stimuli” presented by Federico Sanabria and Cristina Santos (Arizona State University). Moreover, There were 30 symposia (divided into 7 sessions), 41 oral communications (divided into 8 sessions), and 55 posters (divided into 3 sessions). Finally, 21 people constituted the organizational committee and 27 people constituted the scientific committee.

We learn and remember information by modifying synaptic connections in the neuronal networks of our brain. Depending on the type of information being stored, these changes occur in different regions and different circuits of the brain. The underlying circuit mechanisms are beginning to be understood. These mechanisms are capable of storing or reconstructing memories for periods ranging up to a lifetime, but they are also error-prone, as memories can be distorted or lost. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology examines important aspects of the neurobiology of learning and memory. Contributors review the various types of memory and the anatomical architectures and specialized cells involved. The induction of synaptic and cell-wide changes during memory encoding, the transcriptional and translational programs required for memory stabilization, the molecular signals that actively maintain memories, and the activation of neural ensembles during memory retrieval are comprehensively covered. The authors also discuss the model organisms and state-of-the-art technologies used to elucidate these processes. This volume will serve as a valuable reference for all neurobiologists and biomedical scientists as well as for cognitive and computational neuroscientists wishing to explore the remarkable phenomena of learning and memory.

Memory and the Computational Brain offers a provocative argument that goes to the heart of neuroscience, proposing that the field can and should benefit from the recent advances of cognitive science and the development of information theory over the course of the last several decades. A provocative argument that impacts across the fields of linguistics, cognitive science, and neuroscience, suggesting new perspectives on learning mechanisms in the brain Proposes that the field of neuroscience can and should benefit from the recent advances of cognitive science and the development of information theory Suggests that the architecture of the brain is structured precisely for learning and for memory, and integrates the concept of an addressable read/write memory mechanism into the foundations of neuroscience Based on lectures in the prestigious Blackwell-Maryland Lectures in Language and Cognition, and now significantly reworked and expanded to make it ideal for students and faculty