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The Joseph Henry Press, an imprint of the National Academies Press, was created with the goal of making books on science, technology, and health more widely available to professionals and the public. Joseph Henry was one of the founders of the National Academy of Sciences and a leader in early American science.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this volume are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences or its affiliated institutions.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Thompson, Richard F.
Memory : the key to consciousness / Richard F. Thompson, Stephen A. Madigan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-309-09311-2 (hardcover)—ISBN 0-309-54949-3 (pdf) 1. Memory. 2. Learning, Psychology of. 3. Memory—Physiological aspects. 4. Learning—Physiological aspects. I. Madigan, Stephen A. II. Title.
BF371.T484 2005
153.1′2—dc22
2005007404
Copyright 2005 by Richard F. Thompson and Stephen A. Madigan. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Memory is the most amazing phenomenon in nature. The fact that we can remember literally billions of bits of information—facts, language, our own experiences, athletic skills, musical knowledge—is truly astonishing. Without memory we could not be conscious of the world; we would, in fact, have no minds.
Our intention in writing this book is to provide a popular account of current scientific understanding of memory and learning. Over the past several decades, memory research has accelerated greatly and has expanded its techniques, ramifications, and applications, and we want to convey the excitement and importance of this research to general readers. It is not difficult to find many striking, surprising, and interesting facts about memory in this rich research literature.
Do people have photographic memories? Can we remember better while hypnotized? How do we learn language? Can we have false memories? Can emotions influence memories? How can we improve our memory? Where are memories stored in the brain?
Can we someday read memories by measuring the activity of the brain? Can our brains someday be “plugged” into computers?
Psychological science has already produced a wide-ranging and successful applied science of memory, including new, improved procedures for eliciting valid recollections in legal settings, for diagnosing and treating memory deficits, for devising systems for the efficient assimilation and retention of information, and many others.
Much of the new information from this explosion of new knowledge is very relevant to understanding how the brain acquires and stores memories. We touch on this literature lightly where it is most relevant but only in a nontechnical manner.
We hope readers will enjoy this tour through the fascinating and many-chambered structures of memory.
Richard F. Thompson
Stephen A. Madigan