Tounderstandhowthebrainlearnsandremembersrequiresanintegrationofpsychologicalconceptsandbehavioralmethodswithmechanismsofsynapticplasticityandsystemsneuroscience.TheNeurobiologyofLearningandMemory,ThirdEdition,providesasynthesisofthisinterdisciplinaryfield.Eachchaptermakesthekeyconceptstransparentandaccessibletoareaderwithminimalbackgroundineitherneurobiologyorpsychologyandisextensivelyillustratedwithfull-colorphotographsandfiguresdepictingimportantconceptsandexperimentaldata.Thegoalofthisbookremainsthesameasitwasforthepreviouseditions-topresentastoryofhowmemoriesaremade.Thestoryhasthreemajorparts,whichhavebeenexpandedtoincludenewchaptersorreorganizedtoincorporatenewfindingsandconcepts.PartOneexploresthemolecularbasisofthesynapticchangesthatsupportmemory.Itbeginswithanoverviewofmemoryfromtheperspectiveofthebrain.Itnextdescribesthelong-termpotentiationmethodologyusedtostudyhowsynapsesaremodifiedandconceptsneededtounderstandtheorganizationofsynapses.Theremainingchaptersareorganizedaroundtheideathatthesynapticchangesthatsupportlong-termpotentiationevolveinfouroverlappingstagesreferredtoas(a)generation,(b)stabilization,(c)consolidation,and(d)maintenance.Thegoalofeachchapteristorevealthateachstagedependsonuniquemolecularprocessesandtodescribewhattheyare.Therearenowseparatechaptersonthegenerationandstabilizationoflong-termmemoryandthechapterConsolidatingLTP:SpecificMechanismshasbeenextensivelyrevisedtogivepropertreatmenttothelocaleventsinthedendriticspineregionthatconsolidatememories.PartTwobuildsonthisfoundationtoshowhowmoleculesandcellularprocessesthathavebeenidentifiedfromstudiesofsynapticplasticityalsoparticipateinthemakingofmemories.Itdiscussessomeofthebasicconceptualissuesresearchersfaceintryingtorelatememorytosynapticmoleculesanddescribessomeofthebehavioralandneurobiologicalmethodsthatareused.Thechaptersdescribingtheprocessesinvolvedinmemoryformationandconsolidationhavebeenextensivelymodifiedtoprovideamoredetailedaccountofthemoleculareventsthatareengagedtoensurethatestablishedmemoriesendure.ThechapterMaintainingLong-TermPotentiationhasbeenrevisedtoprovideabroaderviewofthetopic.Newchaptersfocusonrecentadvancesintheneurobiologyofforgetting(TheYinandYangofMemory:ForgettingversusMaintenance)andthesearchforengrams(HuntingforEngrams).TheFateofRetrievedMemorieschapterhasbeensignificantlyrevisedtoemphasizetheimportanceofmemorydestabilizationprocessesandhowtheycombinewithmemoryintegrationprocessestoallownewinformationtobeincorporatedintotheretrievedmemory.PartThreeisorganizedaroundthemultiplememorysystemsview-thatdifferentneuralsystemshaveevolvedtostorethecontentcontainedinourexperience.Threechaptersareaimedatissuesthatsurroundhowthemedial-temporalhippocampalsystemsupportsepisodicmemory.ThefirstbeginswithadiscussionofBrendaMilner’sresearchonH.M.thatdirectedresearcherstothehippocampus.TheHippocampusIndexandEpisodicMemorychapterhasbeensignificantlyrevisedtoincludenewfindings,basedonmodernmoleculartechniques,thatsupportTeylerandDiScenna’shippocampusindextheory.Aseparatechapter,WhenMemoriesAge,isdevotedtoissuesthatemergewhenresearchersconfrontwhathappensasmemoriesgrowold.Nextthecortical-striatalsystemanditsrelationshiptowhatarecalledbehavioralactionsandhabitsisdescribed,andthebookendswithadiscussionofneuralsystemsinvolvedintheacquisitionandremovalofemotionalmemories.
