Neuroscience of memory: book suggestions

[abaaroft]

I want to delve into the topic of the way the mind works in terms of storing and retrieving memory, and all sources that I can find through Google (wikipedia etc) seem to cover this from a psychological perspective without going into any detail as to how the individual neurons/synapses network in order to store memories.

I cannot find anywhere where short-term/long-term memory is actually explained from a biochemical perspective from the ground up, from the very beginning without assuming anything from any models. Could anyone recommend a good source for this?

Thanks.

 

[Pythagorean]

Memory isn't well understood at a reducitonist level. We know that a lot of reductionist mechanisms are related to memory (and further, that there are many kinds of memory). Some such mechanisms are:

Long term potentiation (LTP) [1] can increase excitability of a cell and lead to Hebbian learning [2]. With increased activity, microtubule invasion into dendrites [3] leads to increased surface contact between dendritic spine and axon bouton, which leads to more conducting channels of a synapse, increasing the strength of signaling between the neurons. Also interesting in this regard is silent synapses [4].

[1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10878/
[2] http://penta.ufrgs.br/edu/telelab/3/hebbian_.htm
[3] http://www.jneurosci.org/content/28/49/13094.full\
[4] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2819160/

Less understood and more controversial are how other molecular mechanisms and cells play into memory. For instance, one paper proposes prion-like proteins play an important role [5]. There's also a lot of researchers looking at the roles of astrocytes [6] which can form a tripartite synapse with two coupled neurons [7].

[5] http://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(12)00005-0
[6] http://white.stanford.edu/teach/index.php/Role_of_Astrocytes_in_Learning_and_Memory
[7] http://blogforalzheimers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Image-12-31-11.jpg

 

[abaaroft]

Very helpful and interesting, I'll look into those studies, thanks.

 

[DiracPool]

I want to delve into the topic of the way the mind works in terms of storing and retrieving memory, and all sources that I can find through Google (wikipedia etc) seem to cover this from a psychological perspective without going into any detail as to how the individual neurons/synapses network in order to store memories.

I cannot find anywhere where short-term/long-term memory is actually explained from a biochemical perspective from the ground up, from the very beginning without assuming anything from any models. Could anyone recommend a good source for this?

Thanks.

What's your level of understanding of neurobiology? As far as popular treatments on the subject, there's a few books I can recommend:


Damasio's book...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156010755/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Freeman's book..
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0231120087/?tag=pfamazon01-20

And especially, one of my favs, McCrones book
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0880642629/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[LudusRex]

As a neuroscientist, I highly recommend the book "The Brain: The Story of You" by David Eagleman. This book delves into the neuroscience of memory, explaining how individual neurons and synapses work together to store and retrieve memories. Eagleman also covers the concept of short-term and long-term memory from a biochemical perspective, starting from the basic building blocks of the brain. This book is a great resource for anyone interested in understanding the intricate workings of memory from a scientific standpoint. Another highly recommended book is "The Memory Illusion: Remembering, Forgetting, and the Science of False Memory" by Julia Shaw. This book explores the fascinating world of memory, including how memories are formed, stored, and retrieved, and how they can be manipulated and distorted. Both of these books provide a comprehensive and accessible understanding of the neuroscience of memory.