The Neurobiology of Memory

THE CONCEPTUAL AND EXPERIMENTAL FRAMEWORK: Some basic notions and their ontogenesis; Paradigms and research tools; Biological universals, and the rationale for a 'bottom-up' strategy; WINDOWS TO MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR MECHANISMS: Cellular and mnemonic devices detected in relatively simple nervous systems: 1. The case of Aplysia; 2. The case of Hermissenda; A cellular mnemonic device in the mammalian brain: long-term potentiation; A different approach: neurogenetics; On the life span of molecules and memories; WINDOWS TO THE ARCHITECTURE OF MEMORY SYSTEMS: On the complexity of internal representations; In search of the topography of engrams; Fragments of engrams and of memory systems in the vertebrate brain; The establishment of innately predisposed representations in sensitive periods: 1. Imprinting; 2. Bird song; The generation of complex internal representations by sensory impressions, and their use: 1. Lessons from monkeys and vision; 2. Amnesias, further clues to our own memories; Epilogue: The integration of levels of biological organization in memory, and the transformation of universal mechanisms to unique experiences; Appendix; Bibliography.