Memory, Learning, and Higher Function

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

   PDF

2. Commonsense Views of Memory and Learning Obtained from Philosophy

   • Charles D. Woody

   Pages 1-5

3. The Reflex and Behavior

   • Charles D. Woody

   Pages 6-58

4. Associative Processes and Behavioral Psychology

   • Charles D. Woody

   Pages 59-114

5. Cellular Correlates of Learned Behavior

   • Charles D. Woody

   Pages 115-178

6. Subcellular Substrates of Learning and Memory

   • Charles D. Woody

   Pages 179-261

7. Reflex Circuitry Supporting Higher Functions

   • Charles D. Woody

   Pages 262-321

8. Cybernetics: A Means for Analysis of Neural Networks

   • Charles D. Woody

   Pages 322-401

9. Back Matter

   Pages 402-484

   PDF

The basis of learning appears to be a network of interconnected adaptive elements (such as those found in the brain) by means of which transforms between inputs and outputs are performed. By adaptive I mean that the element can change in some systematic manner and in so doing alter the transform between input and output. In living systems, transmission within the neural network involves cpded nerve impulses and other physical chemical processes that form reflections of sensory stimuli and incipient motor behavior. The properties of the transmission network become significant determinants of behavior and depend on the mechanisms of neuronal adaptation, the means by which the connectivities between different neurons are modified. Particular paths through the network become labeled with reference to specific inputs and outputs. The network then operates through labeled interconnections linking specific elements within the network and through the mechanisms that underlie each element's adaptation. The adap­ tive features are crucial to learning and imply some associated, underlying mnemonic process. The labeling is of consequence with regard to the resulting specificities of stimulus reception and motor performance that characterize adaptive behavior. Memory involves time-dependent information processing relying on en­ coding and retrieval as well as storage itself. In the brain, engrams can be defined as those elemental adaptive changes that take place when learning and memory storage occur. Persistent engrammatic modifications of neuronal structure commonly arise through the same associative mechanisms responsi­ ble for learned behavior [397, 486, 759, 1020].

• Gedächtnis
• Lernen
• Memory
• Neurophysiologie
• information processing
• learning

• Anatomy and Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

  Charles D. Woody

• The Center for the Health Sciences, Los Angeles, USA

  Charles D. Woody

Policies and ethics