A comprehensive, multidisciplinary review, Neural Plasticity and Memory: From Genes to Brain Imaging provides an in-depth, up-to-date analysis of the study of the neurobiology of memory. Leading specialists share their scientific experience in the field, covering a wide range of topics where molecular, genetic, behavioral, and brain imaging techniq
Identification of Neural Markers Accompanying Memory is a fresh and novel volume of memory study, providing up-to-date and comprehensive information for both students and researchers focused on the identification of neural markers accompanying memory. Contributions by experts in specific areas of memory study provide background on and definitions of memory, memory alterations, and the brain areas involved in memory and its related processes, such as consolidation, retrieval, forgetting, amnesia, and antiamnesiac effects. With coverage of the principal neurotransmitters related to memory, brain disorders presenting memory alterations, and available treatments—and with discussion of neural markers as new targets for the treatment of memory alterations—Identification of Neural Markers Accompanying Memory is a necessary and timely work for researchers in this growing field. - Discusses the alterations of memory in diverse diseases - Includes coverage from a basic introduction of memory investigation - Reviews brain areas and neurotransmitters involved in memory - Discusses behavioral models of memory - Contains novel insights into the complexity of signaling and memory - Includes the neuropharmacological and neurobiological bases of memory
This fully revised second edition provides the only unified synthesis of available information concerning the mechanisms of higher-order memory formation. It spans the range from learning theory, to human and animal behavioral learning models, to cellular physiology and biochemistry. It is unique in its incorporation of chapters on memory disorders, tying in these clinically important syndromes with the basic science of synaptic plasticity and memory mechanisms. It also covers cutting-edge approaches such as the use of genetically engineered animals in studies of memory and memory diseases. Written in an engaging and easily readable style and extensively illustrated with many new, full-color figures to help explain key concepts, this book demystifies the complexities of memory and deepens the reader's understanding. - More than 25% new content, particularly expanding the scope to include new findings in translational research. - Unique in its depth of coverage of molecular and cellular mechanisms - Extensive cross-referencing to Comprehensive Learning and Memory - Discusses clinically relevant memory disorders in the context of modern molecular research and includes numerous practical examples
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."
This book focuses on associative memory cells and their working principles, which can be applied to associative memories and memory-relevant cognitions. Providing comprehensive diagrams, it presents the author's personal perspectives on pathology and therapeutic strategies for memory deficits in patients suffering from neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders. Associative learning is a common approach to acquire multiple associated signals, including knowledge, experiences and skills from natural environments or social interaction. The identification of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying associative memory is important in furthering our understanding of the principles of memory formation and memory-relevant behaviors as well as in developing therapeutic strategies that enhance memory capacity in healthy individuals and improve memory deficit in patients suffering from neurological disease and psychiatric disorders. Although a series of hypotheses about neural substrates for associative memory has been proposed, numerous questions still need to be addressed, especially the basic units and their working principle in engrams and circuits specific for various memory patterns. This book summarizes the developments concerning associative memory cells reported in current and past literature, providing a valuable overview of the field for neuroscientists, psychologists and students.
Possible new breakthroughs in understanding the aging mind that can be used to benefit older people are now emerging from research. This volume identifies the key scientific advances and the opportunities they bring. For example, science has learned that among older adults who do not suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, cognitive decline may depend less on loss of brain cells than on changes in the health of neurons and neural networks. Research on the processes that maintain neural health shows promise of revealing new ways to promote cognitive functioning in older people. Research is also showing how cognitive functioning depends on the conjunction of biology and culture. The ways older people adapt to changes in their nervous systems, and perhaps the changes themselves, are shaped by past life experiences, present living situations, changing motives, cultural expectations, and emerging technology, as well as by their physical health status and sensory-motor capabilities. Improved understanding of how physical and contextual factors interact can help explain why some cognitive functions are impaired in aging while others are spared and why cognitive capability is impaired in some older adults and spared in others. On the basis of these exciting findings, the report makes specific recommends that the U.S. government support three major new initiatives as the next steps for research.
Glutamate is the most pervasive neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS). Despite this fact, no validated biological markers, or biomarkers, currently exist for measuring glutamate pathology in CNS disorders or injuries. Glutamate dysfunction has been associated with an extensive range of nervous system diseases and disorders. Problems with how the neurotransmitter glutamate functions in the brain have been linked to a wide variety of disorders, including schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, substance abuse, and traumatic brain injury. These conditions are widespread, affecting a large portion of the United States population, and remain difficult to treat. Efforts to understand, treat, and prevent glutamate-related disorders can be aided by the identification of valid biomarkers. The Institute of Medicine's Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders held a workshop on June 21-22, 2010, to explore ways to accelerate the development, validation, and implementation of such biomarkers. Glutamate-Related Biomarkers in Drug Development for Disorders of the Nervous System: Workshop Summary investigates promising current and emerging technologies, and outlines strategies to procure resources and tools to advance drug development for associated nervous system disorders. Moreover, this report highlights presentations by expert panelists, and the open panel discussions that occurred during the workshop.
Brain Signal Transduction and Memory is a compilation of the proceedings of the Fifth Takeda Science Foundation Symposium on Bioscience, held on November 28-30, 1988, in Kyoto, Japan. The symposium provided a forum for the discussion of a wide range of topics on brain signal transduction and its role in memory formation. Topics covered include the role of phosphoinositides in neural signaling; the homeostasis of calcium ions; the involvement of protein kinase C in brain signal transduction and memory formation; long-term potentiation in the hippocampus; synaptic plasticity and memory; and organization of neural tissues by plasticity. This book is comprised of 21 chapters and begins with an analysis of the phosphoinositide signaling system and how it might function within the nervous system, followed by a discussion on the molecular heterogeneity of the protein kinase C family and its implications for the regulation of neuronal cells. The formation and reorganization of synaptic contacts in the developing nervous system, as well as the factors that influence the plasticity of this process, are then explored. Other chapters focus on the biochemical mechanisms involved in the generation and maintenance of enhanced synaptic transmission; quantal release in the hippocampus; molecular mechanisms of long-term depression in the cerebellum; and cellular mechanisms for reorganization of synaptic inputs after early brain damage. This monograph will appeal to biologists, physiologists, bioscientists, and clinicians.
Comprehensive Overview of Advances in OlfactionThe common belief is that human smell perception is much reduced compared with other mammals, so that whatever abilities are uncovered and investigated in animal research would have little significance for humans. However, new evidence from a variety of sources indicates this traditional view is likely
