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Memory: How We Use It, Lose It and Can Improve It
Few things are as essential to our lives-and as apparently unfathomable-as our memories. As Jane Austen's heroine Fanny Price remarks in Mansfield Park , "if any one faculty of our nature may be called more wonderful than the rest, I do think it is memory . . . sometimes so retentive and so serviceable, so obedient-and at others so bewildered and so weak."
In Memory , David Samuel draws on a lifetime of scientific research to produce an informative and wide-ranging view of the subject. He examines how memory has been investigated in the past and what modern studies of brain structure and function can tell us about it. He then goes on to discuss long-term, short-term, and working memory, the limits to and normal loss of memory, the effects of alcohol, drugs and anxiety, Alzheimer's, and both deliberate and unintentional fraud in "tricks of memory."
While exploring the future of memory research, he also addresses the age-old questions of how to improve our memory and why certain people, such as diplomats, actors and doormen, have such good memories.
In Memory , David Samuel draws on a lifetime of scientific research to produce an informative and wide-ranging view of the subject. He examines how memory has been investigated in the past and what modern studies of brain structure and function can tell us about it. He then goes on to discuss long-term, short-term, and working memory, the limits to and normal loss of memory, the effects of alcohol, drugs and anxiety, Alzheimer's, and both deliberate and unintentional fraud in "tricks of memory."
While exploring the future of memory research, he also addresses the age-old questions of how to improve our memory and why certain people, such as diplomats, actors and doormen, have such good memories.
144 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 17, 2008
I've already forgotten most of this book. I was hoping that the "Improve It" section would be a little less 'sober realist' and a little more 'chirpy cheerleader', but it is nice to know that a so-called bad memory is often just a matter of differing attention in the first place. Some people pay attention to faces, others names, others the colour of people's shoes (in which case you better be in foot fashion or you need re-training).
There's a clear and concise explanation of brain regions, the senses (the sixth sense is equilibrium apparently, so if you're a psychic you might want to re-think your marketing material), and discussion of new drugs and scanning technologies.
The edition I picked up is already out of date on the research front, so I'm sure there's a better book out there, but have a peek if you want to read about sniffer dogs.
There's a clear and concise explanation of brain regions, the senses (the sixth sense is equilibrium apparently, so if you're a psychic you might want to re-think your marketing material), and discussion of new drugs and scanning technologies.
The edition I picked up is already out of date on the research front, so I'm sure there's a better book out there, but have a peek if you want to read about sniffer dogs.
June 2, 2015
I will try to keep this review concise.
Overall a good insite for someone who is generally interested in memory or brain function.
In my opinion the book can be broken into 4 sections:
WHAT MEMORY IS: The book explores problems with memory and memory as a contested definition.
SENSORY INPUTS: of which 70% appears to be visual stimulus, and the other senses are broken up into how they interact with the brain.
MEMORY ITSELF: How it works, how we loose it over time, how it can be improved (essentially through happiness and exercise).
PAST AND PRESENT METHODS OF RESEARCH: How we went from liquidising brains in blenders as an attempt to evaluate their genetic make-up...to using advanced harmless gas tracers and non-invasive methods of study on the brain.
Overall a good insite for someone who is generally interested in memory or brain function.
In my opinion the book can be broken into 4 sections:
WHAT MEMORY IS: The book explores problems with memory and memory as a contested definition.
SENSORY INPUTS: of which 70% appears to be visual stimulus, and the other senses are broken up into how they interact with the brain.
MEMORY ITSELF: How it works, how we loose it over time, how it can be improved (essentially through happiness and exercise).
PAST AND PRESENT METHODS OF RESEARCH: How we went from liquidising brains in blenders as an attempt to evaluate their genetic make-up...to using advanced harmless gas tracers and non-invasive methods of study on the brain.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews