Overview

Neural memory remains largely a mystery despite all the attention it has received. Prompted by this observation, Joaquin M. Fuster presents the insights of more than three decades of empirical research on the neural processes by which memory is formed, stored and retrieved. This text focuses on the neocortex, where individual memory is deposited and represented, and offers a new taxonomy of memory that should accommodate the rapidly changing nature of the field and the various disciplines involved. Spanning the field from neuroanatomy to modelling, the volume brings together all that is presently known about the role of the cerebral cortex of the primate in memory with the intent of substantiating - or refuting - current theories and ideas of neural memory, including those proposed by the author himself. Up to now, empirical knowledge of neural memory has come chiefly from neuropsychology, the study of the effects of brain lesions on cognitive functions which, despite its value, yields a static picture of memory. This book brings that picture to life through methodologies that only recently have become available. For the neuroscientist, it offers a new view of neural memory and suggests new experiments to unravel it. For the cognitive psychologist, it provides a novel way of dealing with mnemonic function that makes neural sense, while pointing out the dangers of compartmentalizing cognitive functions. Here the computer modeller and the systems theorist should find hints and encouragement to search for the manner in which the brain really handles memory, and the neurologist and the psychiatrist should find ideas on what could have gone wrong with their patient who remembers something falsely or not at all.

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"""Fuster's Memory in the Cerebral Cortex is a brilliant exampleof an integrative, neural theory of memory by one of the pioneers ofmemory physiology. The thesis described in the book combines the powerof neuroscience tools with those from cognitive and computer scienceto grapple with this universally recognized puzzle of the mind andbrain. The book provides an excellent introduction to corticalfunction and memory research as well as an especially lucid review ofthe organizing principles of the connectivity, ontogeny, andhierarchical organization of the cerebral cortex... This booksparkles with so many ideas, so much intelligence, such a wealth ofexcellent data, that I was sorry to reach the end. I recommend it mosthighly."" Matthew L. Shapiro , Contemporary Psychology"

Fuster's Memory in the Cerebral Cortex is a brilliant example of an integrative, neural theory of memory by one of the pioneers of memory physiology. The thesis described in the book combines the power of neuroscience tools with those from cognitive and computer science to grapple with this universally recognized puzzle of the mind and brain. The book provides an excellent introduction to cortical function and memory research as well as an especially lucid review of the organizing principles of the connectivity, ontogeny, and hierarchical organization of the cerebral cortex... This book sparkles with so many ideas, so much intelligence, such a wealth of excellent data, that I was sorry to reach the end. I recommend it most highly. --Matthew L. Shapiro, Contemporary Psychology

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