In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind

I bought this book when it was first published but for some reason got distracted while reading it the first time and put it down. Luckily i recently decided to pick it up again- the book is fantastic. In search of Memory is a mixture of autobiography and science. The author constructs the book around his own history and his own motivation both for study of memory. The book is split into 6 sections with the first and last focused on personal history and the middle four focused on the author's work. All is engaging and readible and highly recommended, I will give a brief overview of the sections.In the first section the author describes his childhood in Vienna with the Nazi invasion and the persecution he and his family faced- he describes the hardships faced and the journey taken to go to the US. In this section the stage is set to pose the questions about how memory works. In particular, how memories can be so clear so far from the date of experience in certain situations and where this permanence is formed and stored is pondered. Though few can empathize with the author's experience all can sympathize with the questions about the basis for memory.The author works chronologically and goes through his early history working with biological and neurological questions. Practical neuroscience and biological problems are considered and so is the authors journey that took him to study the right system to consider memory. The author throughout the book makes it a point to argue that finding the right simple system to analyze that can give broader implication is at the heart of putting oneself in a position to make progress. The author settled on the sea slug Aplysia. So too are discussed were the experience of the author in first monitoring of action potentials in the squid nervous system. A creature with nerve cells relatively easy to monitor.The author moves onto trying to monitor change in the nervous system after becoming comfortable with the Aplysia's biology. Reflex behaviour is studied and the monitoring of nerve cells is examined when presented with various stimulus. The chemical reactions that take place within the cell and the neurotransmitters that are associated are discussed and in particular the mechanics of short term memory adaptation and implication to behaviour are discussed in detail through the results of experiments done. The author continues on to pose questions about long term memory and how short term and long term though different, must be associated somehow. The mechanics for this are not understood but insight is provided by the author and the subject matter is fascinating.The author continues in complexity and starts to discuss things like perception and spacial awareness. Spacial awareness is definitely an arena to explore how memory works given our spacial awareness and that of most creatures is a function of nature in initial architecture as well as environment which determines how the memory implicit in a mental map is formed. This process is being explored in current science and the idea of paying attention is also discussed.The author moves on to modern biomedical progress and how understanding memory processes in mice has provided a means to develop insight and treatment into memory related diseases. The author discusses how biology is an incredibly important part for the future of psychiatry. In particular the rigour of science should be applied to psychiatry to get an objective measure of results. Interaction of people is shown to be very important for developement and treatment is not chemistry when it comes to social disorders and mental disorders like depression and schizophrenia. The author also walks through some of his thoughts on the collaboration of the private and public sector in the field of pharmaceuticals.The author concludes with his receiving of the Nobel prize. It is a return to the autobiographical aspect of the book and the author describes how he revisited Vienna and some of the discourse engaged in while there. It is a reasonable end to an otherwise fascinating and informative book.

This is an extraordinary book about neuroscience , physiology, molecular biology and neurobiology and also about people and history. I bought the book with the intention to satisfy my curiosity in the latest developments in the science of mind. I was ready to handle an experience of reading through dry, complex theories and do some hard work of extracting information that I can make sense with my limited knowledge. Surprisingly, the book has none of that; it is written so well, as if it is the transcript of an one on one conversation between friends, so captivating, so clear and so human. I could not let go of it, reading until small hours when reluctantly, I had to go to sleep so next day I could show up at work in a reasonable shape.The book interweaves threads of science, personal life stories, career, friends, Jewish history, Nobel prize ceremony and biotechnology. The main story is about neuroscience, with emphasis on personal scientific work that culminated with Nobel prize award in 2000. The book can be divided in following sections: personal life, history of neuroscience and molecular biology, short term memory, long term memory, complex behavior and DNA, consciousness, mental illnesses, the experience of receiving Nobel prize, Austria and its relationship with Jewish community in the past and today and an insight analysis of trends in biotechnology from a business point of view.The book is focused on the biology of short term and long term memory. Eric does an excellent job explaining the evolution of neuroscience up to the point when he started his career, so the reader has a good understanding of contemporary issues and of the formation of neurobiology. I liked a lot the fact that Eric Kandel kept the level of detail in balance and put the explanations in the perspective of human evolution. I loved how he classifies the mechanisms of learning as being either Kantian or Lockean: we are a combination of genetics and learned life experience. It is this philosophical approach that is constantly felt through the whole book that gave me a sense of direction and purpose of his work. His logic is very neutral (objective), in the sense that he refers to our mind as the result of an evolution based on laws of physics, chemistry and genetics. This is a stark contrast with the approach of psychoanalysts during most part of the 20th century that puts so much emphasis on personal interpretation based on patient confessions that transcends biological reality . This is another aspect of the book that astounded me: despite the fact that he is so methodical about deciphering the way the mind works using a reductionist approach, thus implying that mind is a complex and large collection of simple neuronal structures, he is so human when he talks about his family and friends. He talks a great deal in an emotional way (happy, sad or humorous) about his friends, mentors, colleagues and students. His emotions, infinitely more complex than any of Aplysia's rituals, in a way, are a reminder of the huge work that still needs to be done until we will understand how our neurons can create such sophisticated behavior.The book talks in great detail about the structure and functions of neurons, with lots of details about how electrical and chemical signals work at the synaptic level. Eric Kandel did a great job describing the molecular and ionic hypothesis, signaling, protein manufacturing, genetics and their role in memory. However, I thought that it helped me a lot my prior understanding of how genes expression works, because the book does not provide much assistance in that area. This is especially important for readers who are more interested in aspects of long term memory and complex human behavior.I found fascinating the section dedicated to consciousness. As usual, Eric takes the reader through the history of genetics and then spending more pages on the work of Francis Crick and Christof Koch and current developments.Eric closes his book with a personal analysis of the current state of the science of mind, what is next and his sharing with the readers of how one should plan a career in general, based on his personal experience. Excellent book!

good

La obra del Dr. Kandel es fascinante, el medio del envío no fue el mejor, llegó en un sobre que rompieron de una esquina para ver el contenido y por tanto los bordes del libro se dañaron ligeramente

Very informative and detailed account of a life's work in memory research. A interesting scientific book, well written.

In Search of Memory is a wonderful journey with Eric Kandel. One learns about the trauma of nine years old child, who later explores how these traumatic memories are storedin the brain. And earns the Nobel Prize. The other issue before Kandel was to answer how does a most educated society gets infected by processes of Aryanization. For which he has only partial answer.

One of my favorite titles in my personal library. A book that will walk you through Kandel's childhood in Nazi Germany, psychology, neuroscience and molecular biology. I love this book