HUMANIST GALAXY OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS: ERIC KANDEL 5-10-22

ALPHABETICAL BRAIN® VOCABULARY
HUMANIST GALAXY
OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS
ERIC KANDEL
May 10, 2022

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IN SEARCH OF MEMORY:
the Emergence of a
New Science of Mind
by Eric R. Kandel.
W. W. Norton, 2006 (i-xv, 510 pages)
[Subjects: include Neurobiology
and Cellular signal transduction]

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'cell-level neuroscience'

individual neural cell relationships

marine snail Aplysia,

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BOOK OUTLINE
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Note = Numbers in parentheses relate to pages

PREFACE (xi-xv)

PART 1 (1-50)

1) PERSONAL MEMORY AND THE BIOLOGY OF MEMORY STORAGE (3-11)

2) A CHILDHOOD IN VIENNA (12-32)

3) AN AMERICAN EDUCATION (33-50)

PART 2 (51-162)

4) ONE CELL AT A TIME (53-73)

5) THE NERVE CELL SPEAKS (74-89)

6) CONVERSATION BETWEEN NERVE CELLS (90-102)

7) SIMPLE AND COMPLEX NEURONAL SYSTEMS (103-117)

8) DIFFERENT MEMORIES, DIFFERENT BRAIN REGIONS (116-134)

9) SEARCHING FOR AN IDEAL SYSTEM TO STUDY MEMORY (135-149)

10) NEURAL ANALOGS OF LEARNING (150-162)

PART 3 (163-276)

11) STRENGTHENING SYNAPTIC CONNECTIONS (165-179)

12) A CENTER FOR NEUROBIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR (180-186)

13) EVEN A SIMPLE BEHAVIOR CAN BE MODIFIED BY LEARNING (187-197)

14) SYNAPSES CHANGE WITH EXPERIENCE (198-207)

15) THE BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF INDIVIDUALITY (208-220)

16) MOLECULES AND SHORT-TERM MEMORY (221-239)

17) LONG-TERM MEMORY (240-246)

18) MEMORY GENES (247-260)

19) A DIALOGUE BETWEEN GENES AND SYNAPSES (261-276)

PART 4 (277-316)

20) A RETURN TO COMPLEX MEMORY (279-285)

21) SYNAPSES ALSO HOLD OUR FONDEST MEMORIES (286-294)

22) THE BRAIN'S PICTURE OF THE EXTERNAL WORLD (295-306)

23) ATTENTION MUST BE PAID! (307-316)

PART 5 (317-390)

24) A LITTLE RED PILL (319-334)

25) MICE, MEN, AND MENTAL ILLNESS (335-351)

26) A NEW WAY TO TREAT MENTAL ILLNESS (352-362)

27) BIOLOGY AND THE RENAISSANCE OF PSYCHOANALYTIC THOUGHT (363-375)

28) CONSCIOUSNESS (376-390)

PART 6 (391-429)

29) REDISCOVERING VIENNA VIA STOCKHOLM (393-415)

30) LEARNING FROM MEMORY— Prospects (416-429)

GLOSSARY (431-452)

NOTES AND SOURCES (453-484)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (485-487)

INDEX (489-528)

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AUTHOR NOTES, SUMMARY,
AND BOOK DESCRIPTION
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR = Eric R. Kandel is Kavli Professor and University Professor at Columbia University and senior investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000. He lives in New York City.

SUMMARY = The book is nobelist, Eric Kandel's, account of how his personal quest to understand memory intersected with the emergence of a new brain science. It relates the astonishing story of how four different and distinct disciplines — behaviorist psychology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and molecular biology — converged into a powerful new science of mind.

BOOK DESCRIPTION = The narrative follows Eric R. Kandel through the last five decades, focusing on Vienna, where he became fascinated with memory. With intrepid scientific ardor, Kandel was captivated first by history and psychoanalysis, then by neurobiology, and finally by the biological processes of memory. His resulting, multifaceted perspective was the foundation for his path-breaking research that will continue to dominate modern thought — not only in science but in culture at large. Through its profound insights into thought, perception, action, recollection, and mental illness, this new science is revolutionizing our understanding of learning and memory, while simultaneously showing great promise for more effective healing. 50 illustrations.

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EDITORIAL BOOK REVIEWS
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PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY REVIEW = When, as a medical student in the 1950s, Kandel said he wanted to locate the ego and id in the brain, his mentor told him he was overreaching, that the brain had to be studied "cell by cell." After his initial dismay, Kandel took on the challenge and in 2000 was awarded a Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking research showing how memory is encoded in the brain's neuronal circuits. Kandel's journey into the brain spans five decades, beginning in the era of early research into the role of electrical currents flowing through neurons and ending in the age of genetic engineering. It took him from early studies of reflexes in the lowly squid to the founding of a bioengineering firm whose work could some day develop treatments for Alzheimer's and on to a rudimentary understanding of the cellular mechanisms underlying mental illness.

Kandel's life also took him on another journey: from Vienna, which his Jewish family fled after the Anschluss, to New York City and, decades later, on visits back to Vienna, where he boldly confronted Austria's unwillingness to look at its collusion in the Final Solution. For anyone considering a career in science, the early part of this intellectual autobiography presents a fascinating portrait of a scientist's formation: learning to trust his instincts on what research to pursue and how to pose a researchable question and formulate an experiment. Much of the science discussion is too dense for the average reader. But for anyone interested in the relationship between the mind and the brain, this is an important account of a creative and highly fruitful career. 50 b&w illus.

BOOKLIST REVIEW = While most memoirs merely give the reader the contents of memory, this remarkable account by a pioneering neurobiologist actually opens up the cellular and biochemical structure of memory and details the epoch-making science that has uncovered that structure. Through the doors of his own memory, Kandel revisits the Vienna of his childhood, a city recalled with appreciation for its intellectual and artistic life and with antipathy for the anti-Semitism that swept through the region in the thirties, forcing the Kandel family to flee to New York. He carried a career-shaping interest in Freud with him to Brooklyn.

But Kandel soon realized that the biology of the brain could explain more about mental processes than could Freud's theorizing. He recounts his own revolutionary research in establishing the molecular chemistry of short-term memory and the cellular dynamics of long-term memory, highlighting particularly the potential of his findings for the treatment of Alzheimer's and other mental disorders. But even as he outlines the biomechanics of memory, Kandel shares his personal reminiscences of the years during which he unraveled those mysteries--a daughter's whimsical fascination with laboratory snails, for instance, and his wife's difficult search for a gown for the Nobel Prize ceremony recognizing his breakthroughs. In a provocative conclusion, Kandel contemplates the broad cultural meaning of memory as he chronicles his visit to a twenty-first-century Vienna still determined to forget its complicity in Nazi atrocities. An autobiography of exceptional substance. --Bryce Christensen.

CHOICE REVIEW = In recalling his personal and scientific life, Kandel (Columbia Univ.) describes the fundamentals of nervous system structure and function, provides a coherent history of the development of theories of axonal transmission and synaptic communication, and breathes life into the socially complex and joyous nature of research. Kandel reveals intensely personal and traumatic recollections of his Jewish boyhood when a seemingly benign Vienna erupted in a paroxysm of anti-semitic fury on Kristallnacht. The underfoot crunch of shattered glass from Jewish storefronts, and the life-changing effect of midnight arrests and immigration to the US, became woven into a lifetime of neurological investigation that led to the Nobel Prize in 2000. Originally intending a practicing psychoanalyst's career,

Kandel discovered that exposure to "cell-level neuroscience" completely changed his vision.

Starting with individual neural cell relationships in the marine snail Aplysia, he and his associates, using electrophysiological recordings, biochemical analyses and genetic crosses, and (when they became available) very powerful molecular biological techniques, converted abstract conceptions (memory, learning, attention) into tractable, innovative, and conclusive investigations. Collaborators are named and their accomplishments fully credited. An extensive bibliography and effective glossary are provided. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels. A. B. Schlesinger emeritus, Creighton University

LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW = Nobelist Kandel's career mirrors the growth and development of cognitive sciences from the mid to late 20th century to today. From his early attraction to psychoanalysis to the biological mechanisms of the mind itself, Kandel has kept close to the research frontiers. His first-person account thus serves as much as a history of the field as it does an autobiography (indeed, the personal anecdotes are sporadic and almost all intertwined with academic elucidation). What comes through vividly, though, is the passion and enthusiasm of a leading researcher working in intellectually revolutionary times. The "new science of mind" Kandel discusses is both symbolically and mechanistically represented by human memory, which subsumes a person's own logic and values, but at the same time can be studied at the cellular and molecular levels. In keeping with the theme that his own career is a microcosm of the changes in the field, Kandel enthuses that the study of memory not only stimulated a lifetime's worth of personally rewarding work, but commends a similarly rich future to the next generation. Recommended as a first book to read for anybody with a more than merely curious interest in the subject, or as a companion to Daniel Schacter's Searching for Memory or Joseph LeDoux's The Synaptic Self.-Gregg Sapp, Science Lib., SUNY Albany.

"A stunning book." Oliver Sacks

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 readers from Kandel's childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna to the forefront of one of the great scientific endeavors of the twentieth century: the search for the biological basis of memory.

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PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEWS
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[1] A scrupulously detailed yet magnificently panoramic autobiography. -- Sherwin B. Nuland, New York Times Book Review

[2] Arresting indeed, unforgettable. -- Howard Gardner, Washington Post

[3] An enchanting book. -- Nancy C. Anderson, Science

[4] Few can interlace their autobiography with the evolution of a scientific paradigm. Even fewer can weave such a story seamlessly. Eric Kandel is one of these. -- Yadin Dudai, Nature

[5] Beyond autobiography, the book is also an accessible introduction to contemporary neuroscience, the study of how the brain produces thought and action. Included are brilliant vignettes on the history of neuroscience. -- Times Literary Supplement

[6] A scintillating mix of memoir, history of science, and fundamental biology without peer. It shows compellingly what first-rate science is and how it is created. -- E.O. Wilson, author of The Diversity of Life

[7] Written with talent and grace, this extraordinary book by one of the greatest scientists of the mind alive will be read with delight by general readers as well as by students and scholars. -- Elie Wiesel, author of Night

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AMAZON READER BOOK REVIEWS
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[1] Cycling - 10 stars for a must read book! = This was for me one of those magical books --- the kind I wish I had not yet read, so I could read it again for first time. In Search of Memory is the story of Eric Kandel and the search for the biology of memory, but it's also a definitive history of the science of neurology and the brain, as well as a book about what it means to be a scientist determined to explore the unknown on the path not only less traveled, but more often than not, a path not yet imagined.

As a Jew who was chased out of Vienna as a child, Kandel also details the Austrian embrace of the Nazis, their purge of the Jews, and the inability of post war Austria to acknowledge its dominant role in the holocaust (following annexation, Austrians made up about 8 percent of the population of the greater reich, yet they held most of the key positions and accounted for more than 30 percent of the officials working to eliminate the Jews).

Unless you are already conversant in the biology of neurology, parts of this book will be a t times a very slow read, but one well worth the investment. Besides the science, you will also get a comprehensive look and appreciation for virtually all the other key players in neuroscience. The writing is extraordinarily. Kandel does a masterful job of explaining neuroscience in a way that anyone can understand. The biographical and historical elements are equally engrossing. If I could, I would give this book 10 stars on Amazon.

[2] Richard B. Schwartz - A wonderful book = This is a wonderful book, but it is actually two books in one. It is the autobiography of a Nobel laureate and, along the way, a history of modern studies of the brain and memory. Kandel and his family escape Nazi Vienna and come to New York. He studies medicine, intending to be a psychoanalyst, but then discovers the new science of the mind—molecular biology, neuroscience and cognitive psychology. He makes brilliant strides through the in-depth study of a particular creature, Aplysia, a large sea snail. As his new life unfolds in the United States (principally at Columbia), so does the study of the brain and the two become inextricably linked.

Initially studying the humanities, Kandel is, like most wise people, broadly educated. One of the ongoing themes of In Search of Memory is the manner in which dry neuroscience anticipates and reinforces wet neuroscience. Humor theory in antiquity and the renaissance... the empiricism of the British philosophers... the Kantian ‘categories'... the hypothetical, abstract constructs of Freud... all find some degree of confirmation in the discoveries and tentative conclusions of laboratory scientists in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The writing is very lucid and even when the story becomes increasingly complex, with the discovery of additional neurotransmitters and electro/chemical processes, non-scientific readers are able to follow the exposition and line of argument.

The book also looks to the future, with the daunting challenges of understanding consciousness and the teasing possibilities of integrating neuroscience with such fields as sociology.

Kandel is likable, engaging, and courageous, as when he presses contemporary Austrians to come to terms with their complicity in National Socialism and the holocaust. He is a cultured man, complementing his knowledge of science with his love of the arts and music. He is also a generous man, sharing the limelight with collaborators and colleagues. In some passages his autobiography constitutes an examination of the sociology, economy and ethos of those who do serious science.

If you are interested in following the life of a very interesting man as well as following the course of modern neuroscience, this would be an ideal place to start. It is also rich in its illustrations and it includes a 20+ page glossary which is very, very helpful.

[3] Joyce Shulman - Scientific discovery, heart-warming autobiography, and passion for life and learning = In Search of Memory was recommended by my grandson and since from a very early age we shared a love of reading, I ordered the book and was blown away. I found a book that was a seamless mix of memoir and scientific discovery. Dr. Kandel went to medical school as a part of his career plan to become a psychoanalyst. While there he became interested in the biology of the brain, and was led to work on the biological basis of mental function. Curiosity and persistence in this pursuit led to a Nobel prize for how we create and store short and long-term memory. With love for family, collaborative work with colleagues and students, and pleasure in art and music, we find a well-written and fascinating story of scientific discovery and personal excellence.

[4] Joyce Shulman, Mehetabelle = Not so much an auto-biography as a "science" book. This book is not an easy read. It allso containsa lot of science. It has diagrams and detailed explanations. Its content is more like a text book but it is written in continuous text. I wish it were formatted like a text book, with bullets, side-bars, review sections... The table of contents is excellent in laying out what's in the book. There is a lengthy glossary which is useful for those without a strong background in cell biology. It is an excellent introductory basis for learning more about molecular biology, esp of neural science. Dr. Kandel deserves the Nobel Prize.

[5] Ron Wates - An engaging mix of factual knowledge and reminiscence Reviewed in the United Kingdom = This is one of the most interesting books that I have read in recent times. In a sense, it does what it says in the Intro. It describes, with authority, the early stages in the development of neuroscience. However, it does much more than that.

I think its attractiveness lies in the way it successfully merges approaches which are, by their nature, difficult to combine. For instance, the author combines a description of Freudian psychoanalysis with a 'hard-headed' view of deterministic science; he combines reminiscences of his childhood in Nazi Austria with his Nobel-winning knowledge of neuroscience. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to gain a sound understanding of the ideas and developments of neuroscience. This is delivered with a feeling of the excitement of being closely involved with the advances in the science and also a knowledge of the people who were involved.

[6] Sue Ibrahim - This is a book which blends autobiography and science beautifully. = The autobiographical parts are fascinating in themselves. This is a book which blends autobiography and science beautifully. The autobiographical parts are fascinating in themselves, but the development of the new science of mind is obviously the key aspect of the book and this is made as accessible as possible (though still quite complex for the lay reader). I found the later chapters a little disappointing as the momentum of the developments seems to tail off and it becomes more hypothetical about what could be achieved, but overall it is well worth reading if you want to understand more about the workings of the mind without doing a high-level academic study of the subject. [7] Goff - Art and the biology of mind = Reviewed in the United Kingdom = The book comes in three sections. The first is a romp through the history of art at the start of the 20th century; it has been done better by Gombrich. The second is a primer on recent developments in the biology of the mind, of which the author is a celebrated pioneer. The third seeks to show how that new understanding of the mind, based on biology, might --- I say might --- help to explain why we appreciate art. Worth reading, but not convincing. Perhaps those involved in the biology of the mind need the rest of the 21st century to get their act together.

[8] Amazon Customer - Both an informative history of the 20th century and all the history behind the science of memory. Really well written.

[9] Charlotte - Brilliant read! = Reviewed in the United Kingdom = This book is a great read, I have never been particularly interested in autobiographies. But Kandel weaves so much science and technical detail into the story it became really enjoyable. It is also nice to learn about the history he incorporates into the story from his childhood. A fascinating read!

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REMEMBER ALWAYS:
You Are Your Adaptable Memory!
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