Research Catalog

Title

Memories are made of this : the biological building blocks of memory / Rusiko Bourtchouladze.

Author

Bourtchouladze, Rusiko.

Publication

London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson, c2002.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

viii, 199 p. : ill.; 24 cm.

Summary

"Memory is what defines who we are and who others are in our minds. Memory shapes our moral and intellectual personality, and the way we think and behave. Indeed, it would be impossible to live as one person, with an individual history or consciousness, without the threads of memory that constantly link our present to our past and future." "But why are memories so complex and mysterious? We remember things every instant, but how are memories formed? Any why, if remembering is so ordinary, do our memories fail so often? What is happening in the brain when we recall a face, reconstruct the image of a place, or struggle to find an answer that we think we know? Does storage imply that memories are fixed in particular chunks of brain tissue, or is it a dynamic, biologically creative process that involves many different parts of the brain? How long do different memories last? What do genes have to do with memory? And, finally, are we the only creatures who remember and forget, and, if not, are there facets of memories common to different species?" "This is a work of popularisation that attempts to answer all these questions and more, deftly weaving the history of ideas about memory with rich personal anecdote and cutting-edge scientific research."--BOOK JACKET.

Series Statement

Maps of the mind

Uniform Title

Maps of the mind.

Subject

• Memory > physiology
• Brain > physiology
• Memory > Popular works
• Animal memory > Popular works

Genre/Form

Popular works

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [175]-191) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

1. Wax, Theatres and Nonsense Syllables: A Brief Overview of the History of Memory -- 2. How Many Memory Systems Are There? -- 3. The Wiring of a Sea Horse: What is the Hippocampus For? -- 4. Almond's Fears and Emotions: The Amygdala and Remembering -- 5. The Flip Side of the Coin -- 6. The Biology of Memory -- 7. What Have Genes Got to Do With It?

ISBN

0297643282

OCLC

• 50003194
• SCSB-11049534

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library