In search of memory kandel ebook

In the brainhard cheese like consistency—each cell is truly unique. Faces and how they are processed by the brain and the reactivity on the parts of facial recognition is an interesting study. We find how our responses gauge our reality at the time and what our brain retains. Information in a neural circuit travels, in what way? Noting well that this is a book review and not a reportand we take a voyage to Kristallnacht with Dr. Kandel and the transition of Vienna from being the center of culture to a place of oppression and humiliation.

Must read! Savor, buy and share with loved ones. View 2 comments. Feb 18, Anca rated it it was amazing Shelves: my-library. This is one of the most eye-opening books I have ever read. It was more of a study book from which I've learned about history, psychology, biology and genetics. Reading this book, I've learned that anxiety and depression are disorders of emotion whilst schizophrenia is a disorder of thought. I've lea This is one of the most eye-opening books I have ever read.

I've learned that mental illnesses are caused by both genetics and environmental factors. I've learned that proteins' synthesis are the basis of long term memory and that Drosophila, better known as the annoying fruit-fly, is a key experimental tool for the scientific studies. I've learned that what we believe to be a conscious action is actually initiated by the unconscious, but it get's to be validated by consciousness.

View 1 comment. Mar 14, Gerald rated it it was amazing Shelves: science , nonfiction-secular , wishlist. I'm really enjoying this book so far, especially as I'm considering a career in neuroscience research.

Kandel's memoirs are both personal and historical. Reading about Kandel's personal growth to eventually become one of the leading scientists of the field has given me much opportunity to reflect on my own career goals. Also learning about the historical development of neuroscience as a discipline has been an interesting to the field as well and much lighter to read than Principles of Neuroscie I'm really enjoying this book so far, especially as I'm considering a career in neuroscience research.

Also learning about the historical development of neuroscience as a discipline has been an interesting to the field as well and much lighter to read than Principles of Neuroscience!

View all 3 comments. Feb 17, Morgan Blackledge rated it really liked it. Warning: this book can be a little dull in the autobiographical sections which you are free to skim , and a bit challenging in some of the technical parts particularly if you are new to the nuts and bolts of cognitive neuroscience. But if you're a cognitive neuroscience dork like me and you love reading about the history of science like me , and if you are reading this book on an e-reader, so you can pop back and forth between the text and web based resources e.

Wikipedia etc. It's part autobiography of a son of a middle class Viennese toy merchant, who came to America as a child refugee from Nazi Germany, and went on to become a founder of a revolutionary new branch of science, and then was awarded a Nobel prize, and then kept going. Additionally, this book functions as a step by step primer more or less a condensed text book on the biological sub straights of learning and memory, beginning with the neuron doctrine, and proceeding up to our current cutting edge, without omitting any important steps along the way.

Lastly, this book serves a tacit function as an advice manual for young students who want to answer big questions like what is consciousness , but really should begin by looking at small things like neurons. I think of this book as the ultimate supplemental reading or refresher for any bio psych, or cognitive psych course. If you have a real interest in the mind and brain like me. And if you love to learn a subject both in the abstract, and from within a personal and historical context like me , than I think you'll love this book.

A very readable science book for the layperson, explaining the basic neuroscience of memory. The author, a Nobel-prize-winning neuroscientist, weaves three threads together: a memoir about his own life, the history of thought and research on the workings of the brain, and an account of his own research into the biochemistry and physiology of memory formation.

It's a tribute to the author's lucidity that I--whose 10th-grade biology class was 40 years ago now--was able to understand a lot of compl A very readable science book for the layperson, explaining the basic neuroscience of memory. It's a tribute to the author's lucidity that I--whose 10th-grade biology class was 40 years ago now--was able to understand a lot of complex, cutting-edge science research. I expected to hit the wall that I always hit in reading an interesting-sounding Scientific American article, where the first paragraph poses a fascinating question, the second paragraph makes me think I'm ever so clever for understanding so much science, and the third paragraph loses me entirely at about the fourth word.

But every time Kandel approached what I thought would be that sudden wall in his scientific explanations, he switched neatly back to an episode of his own life, thus leading me through the whole book believing that I was quite clever. Kandel's own early history, leaving Vienna just ahead of complete Nazi takeover, is compelling.

He offers lots of insights for outsiders into the scientific research community, and a lot of history of how we came to know what we know about the human brain and consciousness. I read the book on my Kindle and didn't realize there was a helpful glossary until I had finished the book.

Jul 04, Laura rated it it was amazing Shelves: non-fiction , neuroscience , psychology , science , read-in-english , read , history. A remarkable book about memory, it may also work as an introduction to neuroscience, though, some background in neuroanatomy and related areas may be required. When I read the synopsis: '' Nobel Prize winner Kandel intertwines cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and molecular biology with his own quest to understand memory.

However, when I started reading it, I discovered that it was really easy-readab A remarkable book about memory, it may also work as an introduction to neuroscience, though, some background in neuroanatomy and related areas may be required. However, when I started reading it, I discovered that it was really easy-readable.

Further, I didn't know that it also was an autobiography and I truly enjoyed those parts, because when you want to follow a similiar path, it's good reading about what others have done. Ofyenly, the last was hard to get, not because the concepts were difficult, just because the rhythm in the book changes.

Therefore, sometimes you are reading about his life, and then he starts speaking about the brain, its chemistry, anatomy..

I got used to it, but it maybe a little bit disturbing. I found it weirdly interesting when he talked about psychoanalysis he was going for that career path. Nonetheless, he decided to go for Neuroscience. Psychoanalysis is not dead for him, he even talks about it getting a bit together with neurology.

For me, that's a ridiculous idea, I think they are really opposite, but I am curious, so if anyone knows a book that talks about that idea, I will welcome it. Great book anyway. Jul 11, Ardon Pillay rated it it was amazing Shelves: favourites , medicine , learning-and-memory. Simply magnificent. He is a champion of the reductionist approach for understanding how executive functions and emotions come about. His exploration of how we know how nerves work is truly a testament to the inherent logic that under Simply magnificent.

His exploration of how we know how nerves work is truly a testament to the inherent logic that underlies the functioning of physiological systems. Memory, which is the main focus of the book, is explained using the central tenets of how neurons work, making it very easy to understand.

However, as Kandel does acknowledge, there is a lot more work that needs to be done - we only really have some pieces of the overall "memory jigsaw," and once we have more pieces, we can start putting it together to get a better idea of how memories are retained in the brain.

The work Kandel himself has done is quite incredible; he discovered the underlying molecular basis of strengthening connections between neurons during operant conditioning and learning.

Funnily enough, it links to one of the most prominent intracellular secondary messengers - cyclic adenosine monophosphate. His analysis of how this messenger leads to growth of synaptic terminals forms the scientific basis for popular memory techniques like active recall and space repetition.

What is most curious of all is that these studies were not based on humans, they were on a sea snail! Despite the magnitude of the impact Kandel has made on neuroscience, he is remarkably humble, pausing only near the end of the book to describe the Nobel ceremony, but otherwise, mentioning the win only once or twice. He also explores his Austrian heritage, and how Austria, like Germany, was subject to intense anti-semitism during Hitler's rule.

I suppose my main takeaway from this book is that there is a lot of beauty in the rationality that is built into physiological systems, from the brain down to individual blood vessels. Nov 17, Robert rated it really liked it. This is an improbable book by an improbable man. Eric Kandel fled Vienna with his parents and brother when he was nine, just as the Nazis were moving in.

The family settled in New York where Eric excelled in school and then went to Harvard to be Here, he weaves elements of his personal autobiography together with elements of his scientific biography. There are many ways to get at the science he present This is an improbable book by an improbable man.

There are many ways to get at the science he presents, but this is a good one, starting with work at the cellular level on learning and moving toward memory and the role of genes in the multiple components of the brain.

For a nonscientist this book can be demanding but also astonishing. Kandel's story takes us several important steps toward understanding the interaction of organic features of human life with environmental features nature v nurture. We end up with no "ghost in the machine" but a mysterious ability to take experience and record it at the molecular level, where memories are stored. Kandel's life really is his fascination with science, his attachment to his wife, and his generosity toward his scientific colleagues.

Once he is clear of Vienna, he has the freedom to explore, examine and verify the underpinnings of what he calls "mind," not "the mind. This exposition reminds us of our capabilities as human beings while at the same time illustrating the ways in which science outstrips social reality.

The things we can do scientifically simply dwarf our abilities to fashion just, liberal societies. Kandel continues to believe that Freud, originally a neurologist, remains relevant, particularly in the dimensions of understanding the conscious, the pre-conscious, and the unconscious. He frequently cites Freud's speculations about how much more his generation had to learn about the brain and how future generations undoubtedly would advance new paradigms for understanding it. The ultimate problem, of course, is subjectivity: why do certain experiences evoke different reactions in different individuals, all of whom really do see pretty much the same blue and hear pretty much the same note C.

Kandel often mentions his love of music, but he doesn't reach the obvious conclusion: the role of the artist is to fashion a compelling aesthetic subjectivity to which the multitude can have access. Art is the deepest exploration of mind we know. That's why it is so hard to produce. Oct 05, Piotr rated it liked it Recommends it for: anyone stuck on a 12 hour flight.

One of the biggest questions plaguing behavioral biologists during the 20th century was the localization of the engram, or, a memory trace in the brain. Well, most of them who weren't dualists were looking in the brain.

One of the most thorough studies of engram localization was performed by Karl Lashley, who spent a good chunk of his career doing cortical lesions on rodents and primates. Nevertheless, in spite of such evidence against it, learning does sometimes occur. We're in the 21st century now, and how far have we come on localizing an engram?

Some would claim we know more about memory circuits than any other brain function. Others would claim that memory is a lie, and we can't be sure we really remember anything. Those people usually wear kilts and clutter state university philosophy departments. He also chronicles the discoveries of his peers working in other systems such as mammals, and discusses many convergent and divergent themes in the field of synaptic plasticity.

The language is by far accessible to anyone with a rudimentary grasp of the English language, so no need to fear a bloated lesson in advanced neurophysiology. The most interesting aspect of the book is his description of cultural history.

I would have actually liked him to go more in depth into this although others on this site have voiced differing opinions as heritage is a great analogy to a sort of "cultural memory. He describes his efforts to reconcile certain moral battles which are still being fought in Europe, and briefly, his approaches to preserving his own culture.

Mar 09, Adnan Khaleel rated it it was amazing. Really good book that describes neuronal function from the ground up, and does so in a very easy to understand way. Jun 29, Cheese rated it liked it. Torn with this one. I read this to gain insight into cognitive memory and relearning over bad habits.

In the end this became in depth into the science of memory. It was a slog. Jun 05, Bria rated it really liked it. I learned some real cool stuff about molecular biology in the brain, although later on he tended away from really explaining how things work, as the systems he was studying got more complex.

All science autobiographies should be like this - the biography parts are minimal and don't distract from the important, science parts. I even understood why people would be into Freud and psychoanalysis! Dec 20, Mag rated it it was amazing Shelves: non-fiction , neuroscience , science , memoir.

Kandel, a 9 year old Jew in Vienna in , starts his book with his memories of Anschluss and Kristallnacht, describes the vividness of these memories and how years later they made him interested in why and how certain memories are remembered while others are lost. Throughout his career, he tackled brain and memory research at different levels from molecular biology to psychoanalysis, his most groundbreaking research being on Aplysia, a sea snail with very simple, yet molecularly big nervous system.

All stages of this research are described exquisitely well in the book. Extremely informative and enlightening on all levels. I could have lived without some parts of the personal account, though. In particular, I had a bit of a problem with the overly self-righteous tone of some of his personal tales. Jul 07, Sarah Jane rated it really liked it. Kandel weaves his personal history into the history of biological inquiry into the nature of the mind.

His method is ambitious, but, as an initially skeptical reader, I ultimately found it deeply meaningful. Through unifying philosophical, physiological, and his personal conceptions of the mind, Kandel leads us to consider that, perhaps, the space between these divergent ideas is the space in which we can find the utmost clarity on a range of fundamental metaphysical questions. Kandel ends his story through expressing gratitude for the fact that he had the privilege to explore these questions throughout his life and career.

His words are humble but self-aware, at once light-hearted and blunt regarding the uglier parts of his personal history. May 13, Jimbo rated it liked it Shelves: national-academies-comms-awards. This book was a dificult read for me. Nominally it has six sections, but it felt like 3 very distinctive stories. The first centered on Kandel's early life in Vienna, emigration to the US, and education and training. I liked how he weaved his own very distinct memories into his book on the formation of memories.

The middle section was the toughest. It went into great detail explaining the biochemistry of nerve action and neuronal growth from stimulus. I have good science education, mostly physic This book was a dificult read for me. The last section drew conclusions from the science, discussed 'recent' biotech developments, and wrapped up Kandel's career including his trips to Stockhom.

Being a former engineer and someone who enjoys the details of science, I wanted to know how the brain changes as memories are formed. From the 3 rough sections, I figured the middle would be my favorite, but it was my least.

The illustrations were a life-saver, as it has been almost 30 years since I've taken a biology class. I would fail a test on the scientific details Kandel writes, but feel it made the third main section much more meaningful. I tend to be less interested in the biographies of scientists than in their discoveries, but Kandel's life is a miracle.

The first and third sections work very well together as a coherent autobiography. His distinctive memories from many years ago give hints to the formation and permanence of memories.

His biographical details also felt very integral to the 'hows and whys' of Kandel's scientific discoveries. Why did Kandel go into neuroscience? How did Kandel get to study what he did? Knowing his background made his scientific process easier to understand, and his background and scientific career lead directly into the last third of the book.

This book did much better for me as an autobiography of Kandel than it did as a primer on the biochemistry of neuroscience. I'm glad that I powered through the dense scientific section to get to the rewarding final third and to see Kandel's story come full circle in a way.

Apr 21, Sanjana Sankaran rated it it was ok. It is impossible to read if you have no prior knowledge in the subject as the author just dumps a lot of biology on you.

I felt like I was reading a textbook for a lot of chapters. It is very hard to stay invested when you get chapters upon chapters of information about the biology of a sea slug. May 21, Konstantin Okonechnikov rated it it was amazing. The book provides a perfect explanation how difficult it is to be a real scientist and how to combine so many factors in life and research.

A perfect motivation. And also with strong bias in my topic of interest: everything about memory. Aug 02, Will Dorrell rated it liked it. Nobel Laureate talks about his life and career - gives a broad strokes description of the cellular and molecular basis of memory and the progress it took from zero in the s to hero in In no small part due to the author.

Enjoyable, occasionally biochemically dense, but usually remarkably lucid for a scientist. For those of you still unconvinced that abstract concepts like memory can be pinned down to molecules in nerve cells this is an effective antidote.

Aug 02, Simon Cleveland, PhD rated it it was amazing Shelves: health , nature , brain , cognitive-psychology , science , history , genetics. The section on consciousness was particularly interesting. Jan 23, Jonathan rated it liked it.

Wonderfully illuminating book on the "new science of the mind" and a life journey from Nazi Vienna to Nobel. Availability can change throughout the month based on the library's budget.

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