The Hippocampus Book
The Hippocampus Book

Author: Per Andersen

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 892

ISBN-13: 9780195100273

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The hippocampus is one of a group of remarkable structures embedded within the brain's medial temporal lobe. Long known to be important for memory, it has been a prime focus of neuroscience research for many years. The Hippocampus Book promises to facilitate developments in the field in a major way by bringing together, for the first time, contributions by leading international scientists knowledgeable about hippocampal anatomy, physiology, and function. This authoritative volume offers the most comprehensive, up-to-date account of what the hippocampus does, how it does it, and what happens when things go wrong. At the same time, it illustrates how research focusing on this single brain structure has revealed principles of wider generality for the whole brain in relation to anatomical connectivity, synaptic plasticity, cognition and behavior, and computational algorithms. Well-organized in its presentation of both theory and experimental data, this peerless work vividly illustrates the astonishing progress that has been made in unraveling the workings of the brain. The Hippocampus Book is destined to take a central place on every neuroscientist's bookshelf.

From Conditioning to Conscious Recollection
From Conditioning to Conscious Recollection

Author: Howard Eichenbaum

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2004-11-18

Total Pages: 594

ISBN-13: 0198024703

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This cutting-edge book offers a theoretical account of the evolution of multiple memory systems of the brain. The authors conceptualize these memory systems from both behavioral and neurobiological perspectives, guided by three related principles. First, that our understanding of a wide range of memory phenomena can be advanced by breaking down memory into multiple forms with different operating characteristics. Second, that different forms of memory representation are supported by distinct brain pathways with circuitry and neural coding properties. Third, that the contributions of different brain systems can be compared and contrasted by distinguishing between dedicated (or specific) and elaborate (or general) memory systems. A primary goal of this work is to relate the neurobiological properties of dedicated and elaborate systems to their neuropsychological counterparts, and in so doing, account for the phenomenology of memory, from conditioning to conscious recollection.

Memory, Amnesia, and the Hippocampal System
Memory, Amnesia, and the Hippocampal System

Author: Neal J. Cohen

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 1182

ISBN-13: 9780262531320

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this sweeping synthesis, Neal J. Cohen and Howard Eichenbaum bring together converging findings from neuropsychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science that provide the critical clues and constraints for developing a more comprehensive understanding of memory. Specifically, they offer a cognitive neuroscience theory of memory that accounts for the nature of memory impairment exhibited in human amnesia and animal models of amnesia, that specifies the functional role played by the hippocampal system in memory, and that provides further understanding of the componential structure of memory.The authors' central thesis is that the hippocampal system mediates a capacity for declarative memory, the kind of memory that in humans supports conscious recollection and the explicit and flexible expression of memories. They argue that this capacity emerges from a representation of critical relations among items in memory, and that such a relational representation supports the ability to make inferences and generalizations from memory, and to manipulate and flexibly express memory in countless ways. In articulating such a description of the fundamental nature of declarative representation and of the mnemonic capabilities to which it gives rise, the authors' theory constitutes a major extension and elaboration of the earlier procedural-declarative account of memory.Support for this view is taken from a variety of experimental studies of amnesia in humans, nonhuman primates, and rodents. Additional support is drawn from observations concerning the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the hippocampal system. The data taken from divergent literatures are shown to converge on the central theme of hippocampal involvement in declarative memory across species and across behavioral paradigms.

Human Spatial Navigation
Human Spatial Navigation

Author: Arne Ekstrom

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2018-08-07

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 0691171742

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The first book to comprehensively explore the cognitive foundations of human spatial navigation Humans possess a range of navigation and orientation abilities, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. All of us must move from one location to the next, following habitual routes and avoiding getting lost. While there is more to learn about how the brain underlies our ability to navigate, neuroscience and psychology have begun to converge on some important answers. In Human Spatial Navigation, four leading experts tackle fundamental and unique issues to produce the first book-length investigation into this subject. Opening with the vivid story of Puluwat sailors who navigate in the open ocean with no mechanical aids, the authors begin by dissecting the behavioral basis of human spatial navigation. They then focus on its neural basis, describing neural recordings, brain imaging experiments, and patient studies. Recent advances give unprecedented insights into what is known about the cognitive map and the neural systems that facilitate navigation. The authors discuss how aging and diseases can impede navigation, and they introduce cutting-edge network models that show how the brain can act as a highly integrated system underlying spatial navigation. Throughout, the authors touch on fascinating examples of able navigators, from the Inuit of northern Canada to London taxi drivers, and they provide a critical lens into previous navigation research, which has primarily focused on other species, such as rodents. An ideal book for students and researchers seeking an accessible introduction to this important topic, Human Spatial Navigation offers a rich look into spatial memory and the neuroscientific foundations for how we make our way in the world.

Why People Get Lost
Why People Get Lost

Author: Paul A. Dudchenko

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0199210861

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

At some point in our lives, most of us have been lost. How does this happen? What are the limits of our ability to find our way? Do we have an innate sense of direction? 'How people get lost' reviews the psychology and neuroscience of navigation. It starts with a history of studies looking at how organisms solve mazes. It then reviews contemporary studies of spatial cognition, and the wayfinding abilities of adults and children. It then considers how specific parts of the brain provide a cognitive map and a neural compass. This book also considers the neurology of spatial disorientation, and the tendency of patients with Alzheimer's disease to lose their way. Within the book, the author considers that, perhaps we get lost simply because our brain's compass becomes misoriented. This book is written for anyone with an interest in navigation and the brain. It assumes no specialised knowledge of neuroscience, but covers recent advances in our understanding of how the brain represents space.

The Hippocampal and Parietal Foundations of Spatial Cognition
The Hippocampal and Parietal Foundations of Spatial Cognition

Author: Neil Burgess

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 512

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

As we move around in our environment, and interact with it, many of the most important problems we face involve the processing of spatial information. We have to be able to navigate by perceiving and remembering the locations and orientations of the objects around us relative to ourself; we have to sense and act upon these objects; and we need to move through space to position ourselves in favourable locations or to avoid dangerous ones. While this appears so simple that we don't even think about it, the difficulty of solving these problems has been shown in the repeated failure of artificial systems to perform these kinds of tasks efficiently. In contrast, humans and other animals routinely overcome these problems every single day. This book examines some of the neural substrates and mechanisms that support these remarkable abilities. The hippocampus and the parietal cortex have been implicated in various core spatial behaviours, such as the ability to localise an object and navigate to it. Damage to these areas in humans and animals leads to impairment of these spatial functions. This collection of papers, written by internationally recognized experts in the field, reviews the evidence that each area is involved in spatial cognition, examines the mechanisms underlying the generation of spatial behaviours, and considers the relative roles of the parietal and hippocampal areas, including how each interacts with the other. The papers integrate a wide range of theoretical and experimental approaches, and touch on broader issues relating to memory and imagery. As such, this book represents the state of the art of current research into the neural basis of spatial cognition. It should be of interest to anyone - researchers or graduate students - working in the areas of cognitive neuroscience, neuroanatomy, neuropsychology, and cognition generally.

Space,Time and Memory in the Hippocampal Formation
Space,Time and Memory in the Hippocampal Formation

Author: Dori Derdikman

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-07-08

Total Pages: 567

ISBN-13: 3709112923

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The discovery of new cell types, such as grid and time cells, in the hippocampus has been accompanied by major anatomical and theoretical insights in the recent years. This book provides comprehensive, up-to-date information about the hippocampal formation and especially the neural basis of episodic memory, spatial location (the formation of the cognitive map) and temporal representation. The first part of the book describes the information flow from pre-hippocampal areas into the hippocampus, the second part discusses the different types of hippocampal processing and finally, the third part depicts the influence that the hippocampal processing has on other brain structures that are perhaps more closely tied to explicit cognitive or behavioral output. This book is intended for neuroscientists, especially for those who are involved in research on the hippocampus, as well as for behavioral scientists and neurologists.

Gateway to Memory
Gateway to Memory

Author: Mark A. Gluck

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 9780262571524

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book is for students and researchers who have a specific interest in learning and memory and want to understand how computational models can be integrated into experimental research on the hippocampus and learning. It emphasizes the function of brain structures as they give rise to behavior, rather than the molecular or neuronal details. It also emphasizes the process of modeling, rather than the mathematical details of the models themselves. The book is divided into two parts. The first part provides a tutorial introduction to topics in neuroscience, the psychology of learning and memory, and the theory of neural network models. The second part, the core of the book, reviews computational models of how the hippocampus cooperates with other brain structures -- including the entorhinal cortex, basal forebrain, cerebellum, and primary sensory and motor cortices -- to support learning and memory in both animals and humans. The book assumes no prior knowledge of computational modeling or mathematics. For those who wish to delve more deeply into the formal details of the models, there are optional "mathboxes" and appendices. The book also includes extensive references and suggestions for further readings.

The CA3 Region of the Hippocampus: How is it? What is it for? How does it do it?
The CA3 Region of the Hippocampus: How is it? What is it for? How does it do it?

Author: Enrico Cherubini

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2015-08-19

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 2889196313

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The CA3 hippocampal region receives information from the entorhinal cortex either directly from the perforant path or indirectly from the dentate gyrus via the mossy fibers (MFs). According to their specific targets (principal/mossy cells or interneurons), MFs terminate with large boutons or small filopodial extensions, respectively. MF-CA3 synapses are characterized by a low probability of release and pronounced frequency-dependent facilitation. In addition MF terminals are endowed with mGluRs that regulate their own release. We will describe the intrinsic membrane properties of pyramidal cells, which can sometimes fire in bursts, together with the geometry of their dendritic arborization. The single layer of pyramidal cells is quite distinct from the six-layered neocortical arrangement. The resulting aligned dendrites provides the substrate for laminated excitatory inputs. They also underlie a precise, diversity of inhibitory control which we will also describe in detail. The CA3 region has an especially rich internal connectivity, with recurrent excitatory and inhibitory loops. In recent years both in vivo and in vitro studies have allowed to better understand functional properties of the CA3 auto-associative network and its role in information processing. This circuit is implicated in encoding spatial representations and episodic memories. It generates physiological population synchronies, including gamma, theta and sharp-waves that are presumed to associate firing in selected assemblies of cells in different behavioral conditions. The CA3 region is susceptible to neurodegeneration during aging and after stresses such as infection or injury. Loss of some CA3 neurones has striking effects on mossy fiber inputs and can facilitate the generation of pathologic synchrony within the CA3 micro-circuit. The aim of this special topic is to bring together experts on the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating the wiring properties of the CA3 hippocampal microcircuit in both physiological and pathological conditions, synaptic plasticity, behavior and cognition.We will particularly emphasize the dual glutamatergic and GABAergic phenotype of MF-CA3 synapses at early developmental stages and the steps that regulate the integration of newly generated neurons into the adult dentate gyrus-CA3 circuit.

In the Light of Evolution
In the Light of Evolution

Author: National Academy of Sciences

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2014-05-19

Total Pages: 632

ISBN-13: 0309296439

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Humans possess certain unique mental traits. Self-reflection, as well as ethic and aesthetic values, is among them, constituting an essential part of what we call the human condition. The human mental machinery led our species to have a self-awareness but, at the same time, a sense of justice, willing to punish unfair actions even if the consequences of such outrages harm our own interests. Also, we appreciate searching for novelties, listening to music, viewing beautiful pictures, or living in well-designed houses. But why is this so? What is the meaning of our tendency, among other particularities, to defend and share values, to evaluate the rectitude of our actions and the beauty of our surroundings? What brain mechanisms correlate with the human capacity to maintain inner speech, or to carry out judgments of value? To what extent are they different from other primates' equivalent behaviors? In the Light of Evolution Volume VII aims to survey what has been learned about the human "mental machinery." This book is a collection of colloquium papers from the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium "The Human Mental Machinery," which was sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences on January 11-12, 2013. The colloquium brought together leading scientists who have worked on brain and mental traits. Their 16 contributions focus the objective of better understanding human brain processes, their evolution, and their eventual shared mechanisms with other animals. The articles are grouped into three primary sections: current study of the mind-brain relationships; the primate evolutionary continuity; and the human difference: from ethics to aesthetics. This book offers fresh perspectives coming from interdisciplinary approaches that open new research fields and constitute the state of the art in some important aspects of the mind-brain relationships.