In Search of Memory

The Emergence of a New Science of Mind

By: Eric R. Kandel

Narrated by: James Anderson Foster

Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Memory binds our mental life together. We are who we are in large part because of what we learn and remember. But how does the brain create memories?

Nobel Prize winner Eric R. Kandel intertwines the intellectual history of the powerful new science of the mind - a combination of cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and molecular biology - with his own personal quest to understand memory.

A deft mixture of memoir and history, modern biology and behavior, In Search of Memory brings listeners from Kandel's childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna to the forefront of one of the great scientific endeavors of the 20th century: the search for the biological basis of memory.

©2006 Eric R. Kandel (P)2018 Tantor

Excellent1

Books such as these make the time spent commuting, well spent. It is well narrated, enjoyable and inspiring.

Comphensive , insightful, and inspiring.

I enjoy the whole story if scientific part and life journey of Eric Kandel. This is so inspiring on my perusing of the scientific career.

Is a neural circuit like a red or green signal?

“In Search of Memory” spans the gamut from this Nobel Prize Winner in Physiology or Medicine, Eric R. Kandel. From epithets of Anti-Semitism to meeting his wife and the beautiful shining brain stuff of legend is found within. “Without memory, we would be nothing” and we discover words---like swords “böser jude” delineating the struggles of Jews in Austria and leaving parents behind at 9 years old.

The cerebral cortex is concerned with perception, action, language, and planning. Three structures lie within…amygdala coordinates autonomic and endocrine responses in the context of emotional states.
—Eric R. Kandel

How is a neuron like a signal? Inside this book we explore this and Freud (as usual) has a part in deciphering. In the brain---hard 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 report---and we take a voyage to Kristallnacht (1938) with Dr. Kandel and the transition of Vienna from being the center of culture to a place of oppression and humiliation. Personally, I can attest and confer being in Vienna (one of the most stunning cities in the world) it’s hard to imagine the horror that occurred. Must read! Savor, buy and share with loved ones. If light reading is your preference, this may not be the ideal choice.

Review

In addition to the most conspicuous contents of the book -- the introduction to relatively modern knowledge in neuroscience and its historical development, and of course Dr. Kandel’s life story -- which are intriguing already in themselves, I think it’s worth taking serious notes during reading, of how he chose directions in doing science. Many of his thought processes spark wisdom of a mature scientist who balanced well the pursuit of knowledge and practical career considerations. In this respect this autobiography has done a great job and would be ideal for any young student interested in science, or for anyone who wants to understand what a scientific career and the actual scientific process in the field are like.

As an example, the most important thing in doing biological research is to choose which system to study (e.g. focusing on giant squid axons was crucial in early days of neuroscience), if not which question to ask -- Dr. Kandel detailed both topics throughout the book. As we follow his career, we see how he started with interests in cognitive functions from a psychoanalytic perspective, and ended up studying learning and memory using invertebrate neurons. His story shows us although it is important to be creative and diligent in doing research, it is more important to work in the right direction. I also particularly like some of his observations on the scientific methodologies, such as how psychoanalysis sadly drifted further and further away from experiments and objectivity, and the story about the philosopher Karl Popper's interaction with his colleague on a concrete scientific issue, of whether synaptic signal should be electrical or chemical.

There are some caveats with some of his advices, though. Dr. Kandel took great risk in his career when he took a leap of faith in studying the invertebrate neuron, an unpopular direction warned by his colleagues then, and he considered it an important and successful move. It's true scientific progress requires creativity and exploration, but it's also true that Dr. Kandel came from a well-educated family and was already on a path to success mere by being at NIH. Many scientists with less stellar resume and fewer alternative career options would have much less leisure in taking such risks. I felt that he didn’t stress his privileged position enough, and this story might be somewhat impractical for many.

This is an autobiography, not a book on science

I'm honestly just confused by this blatant misrepresentation and the 5 star reviews. This a subpar autobiography, if anything, and certainly not a book on science.

Is not a book on memory

I was hoping for a scientific book on memory. Is more about the authors memory, which is not bad, but is not what I wanted.