The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

Jerry W. Rudy, University of Colorado at Boulder

April 2008
350 pages, 190 illustrations
casebound

About This Title

To understand how the brain learns and remembers requires an integration of psychological concepts and behavioral methods with mechanisms of synaptic plasticity systems and systems neuroscience. The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory is a new undergraduate textbook that provides a synthesis of this interdisciplinary field. Each chapter makes the key concepts transparent and accessible to a reader with a minimal background in either neurobiology or psychology and is extensively illustrated with full-color photographs and line art depicting important concepts and experimental data.

The first section of the book is organized around the central ideas that synapses are plastic and can be modified by experience and that the synapse is the basic unit of information storage. It introduces students to the long-term potentiation methodology used to study how synapses are modified, the concepts of post-translation processes, genomic signaling processes, local protein synthesis and synaptic tagging, and how they contribute to strengthening synapses. It emphasizes the various ways calcium regulates processes that strengthen synapses and ends with a discussion on the structure of dendritic spines and how changes in the spine's structure contribute to its function and stability.

The second section builds on this foundation to show how molecules and cellular processes that have been identified from studies of synaptic plasticity also participate in the making of memories. It features a discussion of the basic conceptual issues researchers face in trying to relate memory to molecules and describes some of the behavioral and neurobiological methods that are used. This section also introduces the concept of memory modulation and discusses the fate of retrieved memories and how they can be modified.

The final section of the book is organized around the multiple memory systems view—that different neural systems have evolved to store the content contained in our experience. It features discussion of the medial-temporal hippocampal system that supports episodic memory, the concept of systems consolidation, and its relationship to Ribot’s law—that memories become resistant to disruption as they age. The cortico-striatal system and its relationship to what are called behavioral actions and habits is described, and this section ends with a discussion of neural systems involved in the acquisition and removal of emotional memories.

Media and Supplements

If you have adopted this text for course use (within the U.S., Canada, or the Caribbean), and are interested in the instructor's supplement that accompanies the text, please contact Linda VandenDolder, vandendolder@sinauer.com.

Outside the U.S., Canada, or the Caribbean? Check our ordering page for your local distributor.

INSTRUCTOR'S RESOURCE LIBRARY
See the Media Samples Page for sample resources.

The Instructor's Resource Library for The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory includes:

all of the line-art illustrations, photos, and tables from the textbook, provided as both high- and low-resolution JPEGs, all optimized for use in presentation software (such as PowerPoint^®)
PowerPoint Presentations (Two for each chapter)—all figures, photos, and tables, and a complete lecture outline, including figures
Study Questions for each chapter of the book

Reviews and Commentary

“In bringing scientific rigor to the study of learning and memory, Ebbinghaus, Thorndike, Pavlov and others provided the impetus for twentieth and twenty-first century scientists to begin to look inside the ‘black box’ of learning and memory and to ultimately develop neurobiological accounts of these processes. In his new book, The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Jerry Rudy takes us on a journey from the work of these pioneers to contemporary neurobiological studies where, armed with a plethora of imaging and molecular tools, today's neurobiologists are getting unprecedented views inside of this black box. … The real strength of this book is in placing contemporary, molecular-centric studies of learning and memory in a broader historical context, that is, tracing a path from eIF2alpha to Ebbinghaus.”
—Paul W. Frankland and Karim Nader, Nature Neuroscience

“Congratulations on a great book, and one that was sorely needed. It's just what I wanted, and my students also love it. They range from cognitive psychology to molecular biology and biophysics, and the text is suitable for all. I think you've written a classic!”
—Thomas Brown, Yale University

“Rudy has served up a winner with his new book, The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. He has hit the sweet spot for those of us looking for a text with appropriate depth in both the conceptual issues related to behavioral change and the neurobiological principles of synaptic plasticity. This book is accessible for newcomers to neuroscience, yet maintains the sophistication that is necessary to challenge more advanced neuroscience students. My students, from various academic backgrounds, love it.”
—Richard Hyson, Florida State University

Introduction: Fundamental Concepts and Historical Foundations

Part One. Synaptic Basis of Memories

Mechanisms of Synaptic Plasticity: Introduction
Strengthening Synapses: Assembling Existing Parts
Strengthening Synapses: Generating New Material
Calcium: The Master Plasticity Molecule
Dendritic Spines: The Dynamic Relationship between Function and Structure

Part Two. Molecules and Memories

Making Memories: Conceptual Issues and Methodologies
Memory Formation: Post-Translation Processes
Memory Consolidation: Translation and Transcription
Memory Modulation Systems
The Fate of Retrieved Memories

Part Three. Neural Systems and Memory

The Content of Memory: Memory Systems and the Hippocampus
The Hippocampus Index and Episodic Memory
Ribot’s Law, Systems Consolidation and the Hippocampus
Actions, Habits and the Cortico-Striatal System
Learning about Danger: The Neurobiology of Fear Memories

Pricing and Options

Titles	Product Code	Price (USD)
The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory	978-0-87893-669-4	$79.95	Purchase	Request Exam Copy
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