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In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind
Nobel Prize winner Kandel intertwines cogntive psychology, neuroscience, and molecular biology with his own quest to understand memory.
430 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
584 people are currently reading
12156 people want to read
About the author
Eric R. Kandel
39 books591 followersEric Richard Kandel is an Austrian-born American medical doctor who specialized in psychiatry, a neuroscientist and a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. He was a recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on the physiological basis of memory storage in neurons. He shared the prize with Arvid Carlsson and Paul Greengard.
Kandel was from 1984 to 2022 a Senior Investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He was in 1975 the founding director of the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, which is now the Department of Neuroscience at Columbia University. He currently serves on the Scientific Council of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. Kandel's popularized account chronicling his life and research, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind, was awarded the 2006 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology.
Kandel was from 1984 to 2022 a Senior Investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He was in 1975 the founding director of the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, which is now the Department of Neuroscience at Columbia University. He currently serves on the Scientific Council of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. Kandel's popularized account chronicling his life and research, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind, was awarded the 2006 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 312 reviews
August 5, 2012
I'm taking a course at Oxford this summer on "The Brain and the Senses." So this is a little extra homework. The idea of memory, where thoughts come from, etc., is fascinating to me.
And, many years ago, before I was there, Kandel had his laboratory at the Public Health Research Institute, of which I was later CEO.
I'll post more when I get into it.
I HAVE NOW COMPLETED BOTH THE COURSE AND KANDEL'S BOOK.
BOTH WERE TERRIFIC!
The course, offered by Oxford tutor Gillie McNeill, combined descriptions of sensory processes with an explanation of the underlying molecular activity that integrates the incoming perceptions and what's already in memory to create a coherent narrative.
We started by eating a cracker and considering what was involved in our individual perceptions of that event ... taste, smell, sight, feel, sound, and memory of crackers and herbs previously ingested. Quite a bit for the first few minutes of the course.
Kandel’s book offers enchanting glimpses of his life story, the history of brain psychology and science, and a description of the experiments (of Kandel and others) which are moving our understanding of the brain forward at an incredible pace while also revealing just how little we still know.
Kandel’s decision, early in his career, to begin his life’s work with the study of a single cell, set the stage for the way he approached his work. He decided to study the giant marine snail Aplysia as his first means to understand how information was brought into a cell and transferred out to another cell. Learn how that happens, multiply by tens of billions, and you have a working human brain.
These quotes may communicate the excitement of Kandel’s journey (which by the way led to a Nobel prize)...
“the realization that the workings of the brain - the ability not only to perceive but to think, learn, and store information - may occur through chemical as well as electrical signals expanded the appeal of brain science from anatomists and electro-physiologists to biochemists.”
“I was testing the idea that the cellular mechanisms underlying learning and memory are likely to have been conserved through evolution and therefore to be found in simple animals.”
“We pointed out the importance of discovering what actually goes on at the level of the synapse (the place where signals are passed from one cell to another) when behavior is modified by learning.”
This last quote is almost a synopsis of what the course at the Oxford Experience was about.
It turns out that there is considerable growth and change in the brain connections and that this goes on all the time.
Your brain has changed since you started reading this review.
And, many years ago, before I was there, Kandel had his laboratory at the Public Health Research Institute, of which I was later CEO.
I'll post more when I get into it.
I HAVE NOW COMPLETED BOTH THE COURSE AND KANDEL'S BOOK.
BOTH WERE TERRIFIC!
The course, offered by Oxford tutor Gillie McNeill, combined descriptions of sensory processes with an explanation of the underlying molecular activity that integrates the incoming perceptions and what's already in memory to create a coherent narrative.
We started by eating a cracker and considering what was involved in our individual perceptions of that event ... taste, smell, sight, feel, sound, and memory of crackers and herbs previously ingested. Quite a bit for the first few minutes of the course.
Kandel’s book offers enchanting glimpses of his life story, the history of brain psychology and science, and a description of the experiments (of Kandel and others) which are moving our understanding of the brain forward at an incredible pace while also revealing just how little we still know.
Kandel’s decision, early in his career, to begin his life’s work with the study of a single cell, set the stage for the way he approached his work. He decided to study the giant marine snail Aplysia as his first means to understand how information was brought into a cell and transferred out to another cell. Learn how that happens, multiply by tens of billions, and you have a working human brain.
These quotes may communicate the excitement of Kandel’s journey (which by the way led to a Nobel prize)...
“the realization that the workings of the brain - the ability not only to perceive but to think, learn, and store information - may occur through chemical as well as electrical signals expanded the appeal of brain science from anatomists and electro-physiologists to biochemists.”
“I was testing the idea that the cellular mechanisms underlying learning and memory are likely to have been conserved through evolution and therefore to be found in simple animals.”
“We pointed out the importance of discovering what actually goes on at the level of the synapse (the place where signals are passed from one cell to another) when behavior is modified by learning.”
This last quote is almost a synopsis of what the course at the Oxford Experience was about.
It turns out that there is considerable growth and change in the brain connections and that this goes on all the time.
Your brain has changed since you started reading this review.
September 11, 2023
“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 what occurred. Must read! Savor, buy and share with loved ones.
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 what occurred. Must read! Savor, buy and share with loved ones.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2015
This is one of the most eye-opening books I have ever read. It was not easy reading it as I constanly felt the urge to pay 100% attention in order not to miss anything and to try to understand and decode all the precious information that I had before my eyes. It was more of a study book from which I've learned about history, psychology, biology and genetics.
Reading this book, I've learned that anxiety and depression are disorders of emotion whilst schizophrenia is a disorder of thought. I've learned that mental illnesses are caused by both genetics and environmental factors. I've learned that proteins' synthesis are the basis of long term memory and that Drosophila, better known as the annoying fruit-fly, is a key experimental tool for the scientific studies. I've learned that what we believe to be a conscious action is actually initiated by the unconscious, but it get's to be validated by consciousness.
"Our conscious mind may not have free will, but it does have free wont", Richard Gregory and Vilayanur Ramachandran
This book will remain a reference for me and I know that I will come back to it to refresh my memory, because, as Kandel himself says, practice makes it perfect.
Reading this book, I've learned that anxiety and depression are disorders of emotion whilst schizophrenia is a disorder of thought. I've learned that mental illnesses are caused by both genetics and environmental factors. I've learned that proteins' synthesis are the basis of long term memory and that Drosophila, better known as the annoying fruit-fly, is a key experimental tool for the scientific studies. I've learned that what we believe to be a conscious action is actually initiated by the unconscious, but it get's to be validated by consciousness.
"Our conscious mind may not have free will, but it does have free wont", Richard Gregory and Vilayanur Ramachandran
This book will remain a reference for me and I know that I will come back to it to refresh my memory, because, as Kandel himself says, practice makes it perfect.
September 3, 2023
"Each time we learn something new, the cellular infrastructure of our brains changes. It is, in fact, these very changes that encode memory"
After a long time, I finally found a book which was seriously worth the read as this book was able to delve into Neuroscience, and the transformation of neuroscience into a modern, interdisciplinary field, combining biology, psychology, and molecular genetics. Which literally made it more interesting.
The book also delves into Kandel's personal and scientific journey, intertwining his life story with his groundbreaking research on memory.
There were sections in the book which was very insightful, like Synaptic Plasticity ( the concept of synaptic plasticity, demonstrating how the strength of connections between neurons changes as a result of learning and memory.)
The other being "Nature and Nurture", which includes Kandel's research into the interplay between genetics and environment in shaping memory, shedding light on the complex nature of human cognition.
This book is seriously a thought-provoking exploration of the science behind memory and a testament to the power of scientific inquiry in unraveling the mysteries of the human mind.
After a long time, I finally found a book which was seriously worth the read as this book was able to delve into Neuroscience, and the transformation of neuroscience into a modern, interdisciplinary field, combining biology, psychology, and molecular genetics. Which literally made it more interesting.
The book also delves into Kandel's personal and scientific journey, intertwining his life story with his groundbreaking research on memory.
There were sections in the book which was very insightful, like Synaptic Plasticity ( the concept of synaptic plasticity, demonstrating how the strength of connections between neurons changes as a result of learning and memory.)
The other being "Nature and Nurture", which includes Kandel's research into the interplay between genetics and environment in shaping memory, shedding light on the complex nature of human cognition.
This book is seriously a thought-provoking exploration of the science behind memory and a testament to the power of scientific inquiry in unraveling the mysteries of the human mind.
March 30, 2013
Warning: this book can be a little dull in the autobiographical sections (which you are free to skim), and a bit challenging in some of the technical parts (particularly if you are new to the nuts and bolts of cognitive neuroscience). But if you're a cognitive neuroscience dork (like me) and you love reading about the history of science (like me), and if you are reading this book on an e-reader, so you can pop back and forth between the text and web based resources e.g. Wikipedia etc. (like me), than this book is amazing!
It's part autobiography of a son of a middle class Viennese toy merchant, who came to America as a child refugee from Nazi Germany, and went on to become a founder of a revolutionary new branch of science, and then was awarded a Nobel prize, and then kept going.
This book is also an account of the 150 year (+) emergence of neuroscience and its confluence with molecular biology, psychiatry, behaviorism and cognitive science (eventually to become its own sub discipline, cognitive neuroscience). Additionally, this book functions as a step by step primer (more or less a condensed text book) on the biological sub straights of learning and memory, beginning with the neuron doctrine, and proceeding up to our current cutting edge, without omitting any important steps along the way.
Lastly, this book serves a tacit function as an advice manual for young students who want to answer big questions (like what is consciousness), but really should begin by looking at small things (like neurons).
I think of this book as the ultimate supplemental reading (or refresher) for any bio psych, or cognitive psych course. It really fills in some of the big blanks and brings the data to life, making it more human and thusly, much more memorable (irony aside), and therefore, much more functional/useable.
If you have a real interest in the mind and brain (like me). And if you love to learn a subject both in the abstract, and from within a personal and historical context (like me), than I think you'll love this book.
It's part autobiography of a son of a middle class Viennese toy merchant, who came to America as a child refugee from Nazi Germany, and went on to become a founder of a revolutionary new branch of science, and then was awarded a Nobel prize, and then kept going.
This book is also an account of the 150 year (+) emergence of neuroscience and its confluence with molecular biology, psychiatry, behaviorism and cognitive science (eventually to become its own sub discipline, cognitive neuroscience). Additionally, this book functions as a step by step primer (more or less a condensed text book) on the biological sub straights of learning and memory, beginning with the neuron doctrine, and proceeding up to our current cutting edge, without omitting any important steps along the way.
Lastly, this book serves a tacit function as an advice manual for young students who want to answer big questions (like what is consciousness), but really should begin by looking at small things (like neurons).
I think of this book as the ultimate supplemental reading (or refresher) for any bio psych, or cognitive psych course. It really fills in some of the big blanks and brings the data to life, making it more human and thusly, much more memorable (irony aside), and therefore, much more functional/useable.
If you have a real interest in the mind and brain (like me). And if you love to learn a subject both in the abstract, and from within a personal and historical context (like me), than I think you'll love this book.
June 12, 2009
I'm really enjoying this book so far, especially as I'm considering a career in neuroscience research. Kandel's memoirs are both personal and historical. Reading about Kandel's personal growth to eventually become one of the leading scientists of the field has given me much opportunity to reflect on my own career goals. Also learning about the historical development of neuroscience as a discipline has been an interesting to the field as well (and much lighter to read than Principles of Neuroscience!).
June 1, 2011
A very readable science book for the layperson, explaining the basic neuroscience of memory. The author, a Nobel-prize-winning neuroscientist, weaves three threads together: a memoir about his own life, the history of thought and research on the workings of the brain, and an account of his own research into the biochemistry and physiology of memory formation. It's a tribute to the author's lucidity that I--whose 10th-grade biology class was 40 years ago now--was able to understand a lot of complex, cutting-edge science research. I expected to hit the wall that I always hit in reading an interesting-sounding Scientific American article, where the first paragraph poses a fascinating question, the second paragraph makes me think I'm ever so clever for understanding so much science, and the third paragraph loses me entirely at about the fourth word. But every time Kandel approached what I thought would be that sudden wall in his scientific explanations, he switched neatly back to an episode of his own life, thus leading me through the whole book believing that I was quite clever. Kandel's own early history, leaving Vienna just ahead of complete Nazi takeover, is compelling. He offers lots of insights for outsiders into the scientific research community, and a lot of history of how we came to know what we know about the human brain and consciousness.
I read the book on my Kindle and didn't realize there was a helpful glossary until I had finished the book.
I read the book on my Kindle and didn't realize there was a helpful glossary until I had finished the book.
July 13, 2020
Eric Kandel ist nicht nur eine unfassbar interessante Persönlichkeit, sondern ein Lehrer der die Themen rund um die Gedächtnisforschung für Laien wie mich verständlich rüberbringt.
Dieses Buch ist eine Mischung aus persönlichen Memoiren, der Geschichte von Neurowissenschaften und seinen eigenen Errungenschaften in der Forschung des Gedächtnisses mit dem Seehasen Aplysia, dass ihm sogar einen Nobelpreis beschert hat!
Besonders seine persönliche Geschichte, entflohen aus Wien während des Holocausts, um in die Vereinigten Staaten zu immigrieren, ist eine die berührt. In diesem Buch arbeitet er sehr viel seiner persönlichen Traumata auf, was einem auch einen tiefen Einblick in die Psyche des Menschen gibt. Was im Endeffekt seine Inspiration war sich der Hirnforschung zu widmen.
Wer einmal mit Eric Kandel in Berührung kommt, der wird alles lesen uns sehen wollen!
Dieses Buch ist eine Mischung aus persönlichen Memoiren, der Geschichte von Neurowissenschaften und seinen eigenen Errungenschaften in der Forschung des Gedächtnisses mit dem Seehasen Aplysia, dass ihm sogar einen Nobelpreis beschert hat!
Besonders seine persönliche Geschichte, entflohen aus Wien während des Holocausts, um in die Vereinigten Staaten zu immigrieren, ist eine die berührt. In diesem Buch arbeitet er sehr viel seiner persönlichen Traumata auf, was einem auch einen tiefen Einblick in die Psyche des Menschen gibt. Was im Endeffekt seine Inspiration war sich der Hirnforschung zu widmen.
Wer einmal mit Eric Kandel in Berührung kommt, der wird alles lesen uns sehen wollen!
November 30, 2018
A remarkable book about memory, it may also work as an introduction to neuroscience, though, some background in neuroanatomy and related areas may be required.
When I read the synopsis: ''Nobel Prize winner Kandel intertwines cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and molecular biology with his own quest to understand memory. '' I thought the book was going to be very technical and arduous, so I prepared myself for that. However, when I started reading it, I discovered that it was really easy-readable.
Further, I didn't know that it also was an autobiography and I truly enjoyed those parts, because when you want to follow a similiar path, it's good reading about what others have done.
As I said, the book is mixed with his life (marriage, nazi period, Nobel prize), his discoveries, other scientists discoveries and explanations about memory/the brain. Ofyenly, the last was hard to get, not because the concepts were difficult, just because the rhythm in the book changes. Therefore, sometimes you are reading about his life, and then he starts speaking about the brain, its chemistry, anatomy.. etc. I got used to it, but it maybe a little bit disturbing.
I found it weirdly interesting when he talked about psychoanalysis (he was going for that career path. Nonetheless, he decided to go for Neuroscience). Psychoanalysis is not dead for him, he even talks about it getting a bit together with neurology. For me, that's a ridiculous idea, I think they are really opposite, but I am curious, so if anyone knows a book that talks about that idea, I will welcome it.
Great book anyway.
When I read the synopsis: ''Nobel Prize winner Kandel intertwines cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and molecular biology with his own quest to understand memory. '' I thought the book was going to be very technical and arduous, so I prepared myself for that. However, when I started reading it, I discovered that it was really easy-readable.
Further, I didn't know that it also was an autobiography and I truly enjoyed those parts, because when you want to follow a similiar path, it's good reading about what others have done.
As I said, the book is mixed with his life (marriage, nazi period, Nobel prize), his discoveries, other scientists discoveries and explanations about memory/the brain. Ofyenly, the last was hard to get, not because the concepts were difficult, just because the rhythm in the book changes. Therefore, sometimes you are reading about his life, and then he starts speaking about the brain, its chemistry, anatomy.. etc. I got used to it, but it maybe a little bit disturbing.
I found it weirdly interesting when he talked about psychoanalysis (he was going for that career path. Nonetheless, he decided to go for Neuroscience). Psychoanalysis is not dead for him, he even talks about it getting a bit together with neurology. For me, that's a ridiculous idea, I think they are really opposite, but I am curious, so if anyone knows a book that talks about that idea, I will welcome it.
Great book anyway.
Want to read
April 4, 2019معرفی شیرازه:
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September 5, 2015
5/11/2014
تعتمد حركة )الاحياء( في الخلايا العصبية للدماغ على ثلاثة ركائز اساسية
The biology of nerve cell
1. الخلية العصبية او ’ نيورون’ هو الوحدة الاساس في عملية حركة الاشارات في الدماغ
“The Neuron doctrine” the nerve cell or neuron is the fundamental building block and elementary signaling unit of the brain”
2. النظرية الايونية والتي تركز على عملية نقل المعلومات (الاشارات) داخل الخلية حيث تقوم الخلية الواحدة بانشاء اشارات الاكترونية تسمى action potential او امكانيات الفعل او العمل ان صح التعبير.
“the Ionic hypothesis” focuses on the transmission of the information within the nerve cell” where individual nerve cell generate electrical signals, called action potentials
3. النظرية الكيميائية والتي تركز على عملية نقل المعلومات (الاشارات) بين الخلايا العصبية. هي تطرح التساؤل حول كيفية تواصل الخلايا فيما بينها من خلال اطلاق اشارة كيميائية تسمى " موصل نيرون" في حين تقوم الخلية المستقبلة للاشارة باستيعاب الاشارة والاجابة من خلال جزؤ محدد في سطحها الغشائي يسمى "المستقبل" او حاسة الاستقبال
The Chemical theory of synaptic transmission “ focuses on the transmission of information between nerve cells”. How neurons communicates with another by releasing a chemical signal called neuron transmitter , the second cell recognizes the signal and responds by means of specific molecule in its surface membrane called a receptor
كما ان الدارسين والباحثين في هذا المجال يطرحون اسئلة في غاية الاهمية وهي من قبيل كيفية تمييز هذه الخلايا والنيورونات للمعلومات ما اذا مانت ترى ضوءا او شيئا ثقيلا او حرارة او حتى المدة والفترة الزمنية؟وكيف تميز هذه النيرونات بين اشارات الحواس المختلفة؟ فالاشارات كلها متشابهة وبنفس الطريقة لكن ما يختلف هو المكان المحدد للخلايا التي تفعل وتعمل عند استقبال وارسال الاشارات والمعلومات specific neural pathways for each class of sensation
*********************************
يتكلم كانديل عن ذكرياته وعائلته كيهود في ڤيينا قبل الحرب العالمية
الثانية وفي طور صعود النازية وهتلر، في بداية حديثة كان يذكر كيف كانت ڤيينا مدينة راقية ومتحضرة وشعبها وخصوصا اليهود كانوا اصحاب ثقافة واخلاق وعلم وثروة. ويقول مستغربا ومحللا كيف تحول كل هذا مع صعود النازية وكيف أصبح شعب ڤيينا اكثر عنصرية ضد اليهود من النازية الألمان ويبرر كل هذا العداء بالقول انه من الحسد حيث ان الڤيينيين بعد ان رأوْا نجاح اليهود في كافة المجالات العلمية والسياسية والاقتصادية الخ حسدوهم خصوصا في المجالات الأكاديمية وهذا كون لديهم رغبة في الثأر منهم(اليهود).
وينقل عن بعض الباحثين في تاريخ تلك الحقبة كيف استغنى الڤيينيين وأصبحوا اصحاب مكانة وثروة من خلال سرقة اليهود وأخذ منازلهم ومناصبهم ووضائفهم وكيف ان جل ماهم فيه من خير الان هو من حصاد تلك السرقات قبل 60 عام.
أقول يالسخرية ومن أين أتى خير اليهود الان؟ أليس من سرقتنا المستمرة منذ 60 عام او اكثر. يقول الله سبحانه وتعالى
"وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُم مِّن بَعْدِ إِيمَانِكُمْ كُفَّاراً حَسَدًا مِّنْ عِندِ أَنفُسِهِم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْحَقُّ فَاعْفُواْ وَاصْفَحُواْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِير"
ويقول
"أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ فَقَدْ آتَيْنَا آلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآتَيْنَاهُم مُّلْكًا عَظِيمًا"
ثم يقول كانديل ان هناك نوعين من العنصرية ضد اليهود، لأول هو من الحضارة اليهودية او عنصريّة حضارية يمكن التخلص منها عن طريق تغيير الدين من اليهودية الى دين اخر كالكاثوليك. والثاني هي عنصرية عرقية ضد اليهود بما هم يهود ولا يمكن التخلص منها الا عن طريق تهجير اليهود او التخلص منهم (القتل).
اعتقد والله العالم ان معظم اليهود (الصهاينة) الان لديهم عنصرية عرقية لنا نحن العرب وليست ثقافية او حضارية.
*******
"......How is one to understand the sudden, vicious brutality of so many people? How could a highly educated society so quickly embrace punitive policies and actions rooted in contempt for an entire people?
Such questions are difficult to answer. .......I doubt very much that any such quasi-genetic predisposition would operate in a vacuum. The Germans as a whole did not share the vicious anti-Semitism of the Austrians. How, then, did Vienna’s cultural values become so radically dissociated from its moral values?
Certainly one important reason for the actions of the Viennese in 1938 was sheer opportunism. The successes of the Jewish community—economic, political, cultural, and academic—generated envy and a desire for revenge among non-Jews, especially those in the university.
Nazi party membership among university professors greatly exceeded that in the population at large. As a result, the non-Jewish Viennese were eager to advance themselves by replacing Jews in the professions: Jewish university professors, lawyers, and doctors quickly found themselves without jobs. Many Viennese simply took possession of Jewish homes and belongings. Thus, as Tina Walzer and Stephen Templ’s systematic study of the period has revealed, a “large number of lawyers, judges, and physicians improved their living standards in 1938 by plundering their Jewish neighbors. The success of many Austrians today is based on the money and property stolen sixty years ago.”
Another reason for the dissociation of cultural and moral values was the move from a cultural to a racial form of anti-Semitism.
Cultural anti-Semitism is based on the idea of “Jewishness” as a religious or cultural tradition that is acquired through learning, through distinctive traditions and education.
........However, it also holds that as long as Jewish identity is acquired through upbringing in a Jewish home, these characteristics can be undone by education or religious conversion, in which case the Jew overcomes the Jew in himself or herself. A Jew who converts to Catholicism can, in principle, be as good as any other Catholic.
Racial anti-Semitism, on the other hand, is thought to have its origins in the belief that Jews as a race are genetically different from other races.
This idea derives from the Doctrine of Deicide, which was long taught by the Roman Catholic Church. As Frederick Schweitzer, a Catholic historian of Jews, has argued, this doctrine gave rise to the popular belief that the Jews killed Christ, a view not renounced by the Catholic Church until recently. According to Schweitzer, this doctrine argued that the Jewish perpetrators of deicide were a race so innately lacking in humanity that they must be genetically different, subhuman. One therefore could remove them from the other human races without compunction.
Once racial anti-Semitism replaced cultural anti-Semitism, no Jew could ever become a “true” Austrian. Conversion—that is to say, religious conversion—was no longer possible. The only solution to the Jewish question was expulsion or elimination of the Jews."
تعتمد حركة )الاحياء( في الخلايا العصبية للدماغ على ثلاثة ركائز اساسية
The biology of nerve cell
1. الخلية العصبية او ’ نيورون’ هو الوحدة الاساس في عملية حركة الاشارات في الدماغ
“The Neuron doctrine” the nerve cell or neuron is the fundamental building block and elementary signaling unit of the brain”
2. النظرية الايونية والتي تركز على عملية نقل المعلومات (الاشارات) داخل الخلية حيث تقوم الخلية الواحدة بانشاء اشارات الاكترونية تسمى action potential او امكانيات الفعل او العمل ان صح التعبير.
“the Ionic hypothesis” focuses on the transmission of the information within the nerve cell” where individual nerve cell generate electrical signals, called action potentials
3. النظرية الكيميائية والتي تركز على عملية نقل المعلومات (الاشارات) بين الخلايا العصبية. هي تطرح التساؤل حول كيفية تواصل الخلايا فيما بينها من خلال اطلاق اشارة كيميائية تسمى " موصل نيرون" في حين تقوم الخلية المستقبلة للاشارة باستيعاب الاشارة والاجابة من خلال جزؤ محدد في سطحها الغشائي يسمى "المستقبل" او حاسة الاستقبال
The Chemical theory of synaptic transmission “ focuses on the transmission of information between nerve cells”. How neurons communicates with another by releasing a chemical signal called neuron transmitter , the second cell recognizes the signal and responds by means of specific molecule in its surface membrane called a receptor
كما ان الدارسين والباحثين في هذا المجال يطرحون اسئلة في غاية الاهمية وهي من قبيل كيفية تمييز هذه الخلايا والنيورونات للمعلومات ما اذا مانت ترى ضوءا او شيئا ثقيلا او حرارة او حتى المدة والفترة الزمنية؟وكيف تميز هذه النيرونات بين اشارات الحواس المختلفة؟ فالاشارات كلها متشابهة وبنفس الطريقة لكن ما يختلف هو المكان المحدد للخلايا التي تفعل وتعمل عند استقبال وارسال الاشارات والمعلومات specific neural pathways for each class of sensation
*********************************
يتكلم كانديل عن ذكرياته وعائلته كيهود في ڤيينا قبل الحرب العالمية
الثانية وفي طور صعود النازية وهتلر، في بداية حديثة كان يذكر كيف كانت ڤيينا مدينة راقية ومتحضرة وشعبها وخصوصا اليهود كانوا اصحاب ثقافة واخلاق وعلم وثروة. ويقول مستغربا ومحللا كيف تحول كل هذا مع صعود النازية وكيف أصبح شعب ڤيينا اكثر عنصرية ضد اليهود من النازية الألمان ويبرر كل هذا العداء بالقول انه من الحسد حيث ان الڤيينيين بعد ان رأوْا نجاح اليهود في كافة المجالات العلمية والسياسية والاقتصادية الخ حسدوهم خصوصا في المجالات الأكاديمية وهذا كون لديهم رغبة في الثأر منهم(اليهود).
وينقل عن بعض الباحثين في تاريخ تلك الحقبة كيف استغنى الڤيينيين وأصبحوا اصحاب مكانة وثروة من خلال سرقة اليهود وأخذ منازلهم ومناصبهم ووضائفهم وكيف ان جل ماهم فيه من خير الان هو من حصاد تلك السرقات قبل 60 عام.
أقول يالسخرية ومن أين أتى خير اليهود الان؟ أليس من سرقتنا المستمرة منذ 60 عام او اكثر. يقول الله سبحانه وتعالى
"وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُم مِّن بَعْدِ إِيمَانِكُمْ كُفَّاراً حَسَدًا مِّنْ عِندِ أَنفُسِهِم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْحَقُّ فَاعْفُواْ وَاصْفَحُواْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِير"
ويقول
"أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ فَقَدْ آتَيْنَا آلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآتَيْنَاهُم مُّلْكًا عَظِيمًا"
ثم يقول كانديل ان هناك نوعين من العنصرية ضد اليهود، لأول هو من الحضارة اليهودية او عنصريّة حضارية يمكن التخلص منها عن طريق تغيير الدين من اليهودية الى دين اخر كالكاثوليك. والثاني هي عنصرية عرقية ضد اليهود بما هم يهود ولا يمكن التخلص منها الا عن طريق تهجير اليهود او التخلص منهم (القتل).
اعتقد والله العالم ان معظم اليهود (الصهاينة) الان لديهم عنصرية عرقية لنا نحن العرب وليست ثقافية او حضارية.
*******
"......How is one to understand the sudden, vicious brutality of so many people? How could a highly educated society so quickly embrace punitive policies and actions rooted in contempt for an entire people?
Such questions are difficult to answer. .......I doubt very much that any such quasi-genetic predisposition would operate in a vacuum. The Germans as a whole did not share the vicious anti-Semitism of the Austrians. How, then, did Vienna’s cultural values become so radically dissociated from its moral values?
Certainly one important reason for the actions of the Viennese in 1938 was sheer opportunism. The successes of the Jewish community—economic, political, cultural, and academic—generated envy and a desire for revenge among non-Jews, especially those in the university.
Nazi party membership among university professors greatly exceeded that in the population at large. As a result, the non-Jewish Viennese were eager to advance themselves by replacing Jews in the professions: Jewish university professors, lawyers, and doctors quickly found themselves without jobs. Many Viennese simply took possession of Jewish homes and belongings. Thus, as Tina Walzer and Stephen Templ’s systematic study of the period has revealed, a “large number of lawyers, judges, and physicians improved their living standards in 1938 by plundering their Jewish neighbors. The success of many Austrians today is based on the money and property stolen sixty years ago.”
Another reason for the dissociation of cultural and moral values was the move from a cultural to a racial form of anti-Semitism.
Cultural anti-Semitism is based on the idea of “Jewishness” as a religious or cultural tradition that is acquired through learning, through distinctive traditions and education.
........However, it also holds that as long as Jewish identity is acquired through upbringing in a Jewish home, these characteristics can be undone by education or religious conversion, in which case the Jew overcomes the Jew in himself or herself. A Jew who converts to Catholicism can, in principle, be as good as any other Catholic.
Racial anti-Semitism, on the other hand, is thought to have its origins in the belief that Jews as a race are genetically different from other races.
This idea derives from the Doctrine of Deicide, which was long taught by the Roman Catholic Church. As Frederick Schweitzer, a Catholic historian of Jews, has argued, this doctrine gave rise to the popular belief that the Jews killed Christ, a view not renounced by the Catholic Church until recently. According to Schweitzer, this doctrine argued that the Jewish perpetrators of deicide were a race so innately lacking in humanity that they must be genetically different, subhuman. One therefore could remove them from the other human races without compunction.
Once racial anti-Semitism replaced cultural anti-Semitism, no Jew could ever become a “true” Austrian. Conversion—that is to say, religious conversion—was no longer possible. The only solution to the Jewish question was expulsion or elimination of the Jews."
November 26, 2018
Παρότι η πρόθεση της συγγραφής του βιβλίου είναι αυτοβιογραφική με σκοπό να εξηγήσει την πορεία προς το Νόμπελ (συνηθίζεται να ζητάνε από τους νομπελίστες να γράφουν τέτοια βιβλία) διαθέτει δύο σπάνιες αρετές:
Η πρώτη είναι η συγκροτημένη αφήγηση της ιστορίας των νευροεπιστημών που καταλαμβάνει το πρώτο μέρος του βιβλίου. Έχω διαβάσει διάφορα σχετικά βιβλία αλλά ο τρόπος που παρουσιάζει τα πράγματα ο Κάντελ έχει μια οργανικότητα, μια καθαρότητα και μια σαφήνεια. Αφού διηγηθεί αυτή την ιστορία μέχρι τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '50, συνεχίζει με τη δική του ζωή που έρχεται και δένει πολύ ωραία, και παρουσιάζεται, άθελα ή ηθελημένα, δεν έχει σημασία, σαν συνέχεια της ίδιας εξιστόρησης.
Η δική του έρευνα είναι συναρπαστική. Διαφωτίζει τις βιολογικές βάσεις των διεργασιών που δημιουργούν τη μνήμη στα έμβια όντα και, τελικά, στον άνθρωπο. Παρότι είχα διαβάσει διάφορα σχετικά, νομίζω ήταν η πρώτη φορά που κατάλαβα το θέμα. Και μόνο γι αυτό το βιβλίο μου ήταν πολύτιμο.
Η δεύτερη είναι ιστορία των Εβραίων της Βιέννης. Ο Κάντελ όντας ο ίδιος Εβραίος που αναγκάστηκε να φύγει από τον τόπο γέννησης του σε παιδική ηλικία, κουβαλάει την πίκρα της χαμένης πατρίδας και της μεγάλης αδικίας που του έγινε. Το ενδιαφέρον όμως, προς το τέλος του βιβλίου, είναι η προσπάθεια του να φέρει στο φως το θέμα της μεταχείρισης των Εβραίων από τους Αυστριακούς. Γιατί, όπως λέει, ενώ η Γερμανία έκανε και κάνει την αυτοκριτική της, η Αυστρία κουκούλωσε το θέμα, το αποσιώπησε, άφησε ατιμώρητους τους Ναζί της, πολλοί από τους οποίους είδαν τις ποινές τους να μειώνονται μετά τον Β' Παγκόσμιο ή, χειρότερα, συνέχισαν να καταλαμβάνουν ανενόχλητοι δημόσιες θέσεις. Ο Κάντελ, κι όποιος άλλος εγείρει το θέμα, γίνεται αντιπαθής στην κοινή γνώμη της Αυστρίας αν, κι απότι λέει ο ίδιος, αυτή η στάση αφορά κυρίως τις μεγαλύτερες ηλικίες. Οι πιο νέοι είναι πιο ανοιχτοί να αντιμετωπίσουν το θέμα.
Το μεγάλο όμως ερωτηματικό που μου γέννησε το βιβλίο είναι η αξία της μετάφρασης των επιστημονικών όρων. Έχοντας διαβάσει κάποια σχετική βιβλιογραφία στα αγγλικά, δυσκολευόμουν πολύ να κάνω τις συσχετίσεις των ανατομικών όρων. Αυτό με έκανε να αναρωτηθώ για την αξία του να έχουμε μια ελληνική ορολογία στις επιστήμες. Ενω, εν πρώτοις κάτι τέτοιο φαίνεται να συνιστά στοιχείο εθνικής υπηρηφάνειας, τελικά γίνεται ένα πρόσκωμα στους έλληνες επιστήμονες γιατί τους αναγκάζει να μάθουν δυό σύνολα ορολογιών και να αγωνιστούν να τα συσχετίσουν. Δημιουργεί τις προϋποθέσεις παραγωγής ελληνικώ�� διδακτικών εγχειριδίων που γενικά δεν είναι των διεθνών στάνταρ και τελικά κάνει την ελληνική επιστήμη πιο επαρχιώτική.
Θυμάμαι πριν χρόνια την έκπληξη μου όταν άκουσα από Τούρκο ότι στο Πανεπιστήμιο διδάσκονται στα Αγγλικά κι ότι δεν υπάρχει αντίστοιχη τουρκική ορολογία. Ίσως αυτό να εξηγεί τα γρήγορα βήματα που έχει κάνει η Τουρκική ακαδημαϊκή κοινότητα τα τελευταία χρόνια.
Η πρώτη είναι η συγκροτημένη αφήγηση της ιστορίας των νευροεπιστημών που καταλαμβάνει το πρώτο μέρος του βιβλίου. Έχω διαβάσει διάφορα σχετικά βιβλία αλλά ο τρόπος που παρουσιάζει τα πράγματα ο Κάντελ έχει μια οργανικότητα, μια καθαρότητα και μια σαφήνεια. Αφού διηγηθεί αυτή την ιστορία μέχρι τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '50, συνεχίζει με τη δική του ζωή που έρχεται και δένει πολύ ωραία, και παρουσιάζεται, άθελα ή ηθελημένα, δεν έχει σημασία, σαν συνέχεια της ίδιας εξιστόρησης.
Η δική του έρευνα είναι συναρπαστική. Διαφωτίζει τις βιολογικές βάσεις των διεργασιών που δημιουργούν τη μνήμη στα έμβια όντα και, τελικά, στον άνθρωπο. Παρότι είχα διαβάσει διάφορα σχετικά, νομίζω ήταν η πρώτη φορά που κατάλαβα το θέμα. Και μόνο γι αυτό το βιβλίο μου ήταν πολύτιμο.
Η δεύτερη είναι ιστορία των Εβραίων της Βιέννης. Ο Κάντελ όντας ο ίδιος Εβραίος που αναγκάστηκε να φύγει από τον τόπο γέννησης του σε παιδική ηλικία, κουβαλάει την πίκρα της χαμένης πατρίδας και της μεγάλης αδικίας που του έγινε. Το ενδιαφέρον όμως, προς το τέλος του βιβλίου, είναι η προσπάθεια του να φέρει στο φως το θέμα της μεταχείρισης των Εβραίων από τους Αυστριακούς. Γιατί, όπως λέει, ενώ η Γερμανία έκανε και κάνει την αυτοκριτική της, η Αυστρία κουκούλωσε το θέμα, το αποσιώπησε, άφησε ατιμώρητους τους Ναζί της, πολλοί από τους οποίους είδαν τις ποινές τους να μειώνονται μετά τον Β' Παγκόσμιο ή, χειρότερα, συνέχισαν να καταλαμβάνουν ανενόχλητοι δημόσιες θέσεις. Ο Κάντελ, κι όποιος άλλος εγείρει το θέμα, γίνεται αντιπαθής στην κοινή γνώμη της Αυστρίας αν, κι απότι λέει ο ίδιος, αυτή η στάση αφορά κυρίως τις μεγαλύτερες ηλικίες. Οι πιο νέοι είναι πιο ανοιχτοί να αντιμετωπίσουν το θέμα.
Το μεγάλο όμως ερωτηματικό που μου γέννησε το βιβλίο είναι η αξία της μετάφρασης των επιστημονικών όρων. Έχοντας διαβάσει κάποια σχετική βιβλιογραφία στα αγγλικά, δυσκολευόμουν πολύ να κάνω τις συσχετίσεις των ανατομικών όρων. Αυτό με έκανε να αναρωτηθώ για την αξία του να έχουμε μια ελληνική ορολογία στις επιστήμες. Ενω, εν πρώτοις κάτι τέτοιο φαίνεται να συνιστά στοιχείο εθνικής υπηρηφάνειας, τελικά γίνεται ένα πρόσκωμα στους έλληνες επιστήμονες γιατί τους αναγκάζει να μάθουν δυό σύνολα ορολογιών και να αγωνιστούν να τα συσχετίσουν. Δημιουργεί τις προϋποθέσεις παραγωγής ελληνικώ�� διδακτικών εγχειριδίων που γενικά δεν είναι των διεθνών στάνταρ και τελικά κάνει την ελληνική επιστήμη πιο επαρχιώτική.
Θυμάμαι πριν χρόνια την έκπληξη μου όταν άκουσα από Τούρκο ότι στο Πανεπιστήμιο διδάσκονται στα Αγγλικά κι ότι δεν υπάρχει αντίστοιχη τουρκική ορολογία. Ίσως αυτό να εξηγεί τα γρήγορα βήματα που έχει κάνει η Τουρκική ακαδημαϊκή κοινότητα τα τελευταία χρόνια.
November 17, 2017
This is an improbable book by an improbable man. Eric Kandel fled Vienna with his parents and brother when he was nine, just as the Nazis were moving in. The family settled in New York where Eric excelled in school and then went to Harvard to be...an intellectual historian...no, a psychoanalyst...no, a Nobel-prize winning brain scientist.
Here, he weaves elements of his personal autobiography together with elements of his scientific biography. There are many ways to get at the science he presents, but this is a good one, starting with work at the cellular level on learning and moving toward memory and the role of genes in the multiple components of the brain. For a nonscientist this book can be demanding but also astonishing. Kandel's story takes us several important steps toward understanding the interaction of organic features of human life with environmental features (nature v nurture). We end up with no "ghost in the machine" but a mysterious ability to take experience and record it at the molecular level, where memories are stored.
Kandel's life really is his fascination with science, his attachment to his wife, and his generosity toward his scientific colleagues. Once he is clear of Vienna, he has the freedom to explore, examine and verify the underpinnings of what he calls "mind," not "the mind." Along the way he helps elevate biology, previously a descriptive science, to the analytic/synthetic heights of chemistry and physics. This exposition reminds us of our capabilities as human beings while at the same time illustrating the ways in which science outstrips social reality. The things we can do scientifically simply dwarf our abilities to fashion just, liberal societies.
Kandel continues to believe that Freud, originally a neurologist, remains relevant, particularly in the dimensions of understanding the conscious, the pre-conscious, and the unconscious. He frequently cites Freud's speculations about how much more his generation had to learn about the brain and how future generations undoubtedly would advance new paradigms for understanding it. The ultimate problem, of course, is subjectivity: why do certain experiences evoke different reactions in different individuals, all of whom really do see pretty much the same blue and hear pretty much the same note C.
Kandel often mentions his love of music, but he doesn't reach the obvious conclusion: the role of the artist is to fashion a compelling aesthetic subjectivity to which the multitude can have access. Art is the deepest exploration of mind we know. That's why it is so hard to produce.
Here, he weaves elements of his personal autobiography together with elements of his scientific biography. There are many ways to get at the science he presents, but this is a good one, starting with work at the cellular level on learning and moving toward memory and the role of genes in the multiple components of the brain. For a nonscientist this book can be demanding but also astonishing. Kandel's story takes us several important steps toward understanding the interaction of organic features of human life with environmental features (nature v nurture). We end up with no "ghost in the machine" but a mysterious ability to take experience and record it at the molecular level, where memories are stored.
Kandel's life really is his fascination with science, his attachment to his wife, and his generosity toward his scientific colleagues. Once he is clear of Vienna, he has the freedom to explore, examine and verify the underpinnings of what he calls "mind," not "the mind." Along the way he helps elevate biology, previously a descriptive science, to the analytic/synthetic heights of chemistry and physics. This exposition reminds us of our capabilities as human beings while at the same time illustrating the ways in which science outstrips social reality. The things we can do scientifically simply dwarf our abilities to fashion just, liberal societies.
Kandel continues to believe that Freud, originally a neurologist, remains relevant, particularly in the dimensions of understanding the conscious, the pre-conscious, and the unconscious. He frequently cites Freud's speculations about how much more his generation had to learn about the brain and how future generations undoubtedly would advance new paradigms for understanding it. The ultimate problem, of course, is subjectivity: why do certain experiences evoke different reactions in different individuals, all of whom really do see pretty much the same blue and hear pretty much the same note C.
Kandel often mentions his love of music, but he doesn't reach the obvious conclusion: the role of the artist is to fashion a compelling aesthetic subjectivity to which the multitude can have access. Art is the deepest exploration of mind we know. That's why it is so hard to produce.
May 8, 2015
After reading this book I feel it is the only one I've read, apart from MAUS, that deserves five stars.
July 11, 2020
Simply magnificent.
Kandel, who is perhaps one of medicine’s lesser known Nobel laureates, outlines the major advances in neural science over the last hundred or so years, from Ramon y Cajal's seminal work on neurons to the most recent advances in understanding how consciousness works. He is a champion of the reductionist approach for understanding how executive functions and emotions come about.
His exploration of how we know how nerves work is truly a testament to the inherent logic that underlies the functioning of physiological systems. Memory, which is the main focus of the book, is explained using the central tenets of how neurons work, making it very easy to understand. However, as Kandel does acknowledge, there is a lot more work that needs to be done - we only really have some pieces of the overall "memory jigsaw," and once we have more pieces, we can start putting it together to get a better idea of how memories are retained in the brain.
The work Kandel himself has done is quite incredible; he discovered the underlying molecular basis of strengthening connections between neurons during operant conditioning and learning. Funnily enough, it links to one of the most prominent intracellular secondary messengers - cyclic adenosine monophosphate. His analysis of how this messenger leads to growth of synaptic terminals forms the scientific basis for popular memory techniques like active recall and space repetition. What is most curious of all is that these studies were not based on humans, they were on a sea snail!
Despite the magnitude of the impact Kandel has made on neuroscience, he is remarkably humble, pausing only near the end of the book to describe the Nobel ceremony, but otherwise, mentioning the win only once or twice. He also explores his Austrian heritage, and how Austria, like Germany, was subject to intense anti-semitism during Hitler's rule.
I suppose my main takeaway from this book is that there is a lot of beauty in the rationality that is built into physiological systems, from the brain down to individual blood vessels.
Kandel, who is perhaps one of medicine’s lesser known Nobel laureates, outlines the major advances in neural science over the last hundred or so years, from Ramon y Cajal's seminal work on neurons to the most recent advances in understanding how consciousness works. He is a champion of the reductionist approach for understanding how executive functions and emotions come about.
His exploration of how we know how nerves work is truly a testament to the inherent logic that underlies the functioning of physiological systems. Memory, which is the main focus of the book, is explained using the central tenets of how neurons work, making it very easy to understand. However, as Kandel does acknowledge, there is a lot more work that needs to be done - we only really have some pieces of the overall "memory jigsaw," and once we have more pieces, we can start putting it together to get a better idea of how memories are retained in the brain.
The work Kandel himself has done is quite incredible; he discovered the underlying molecular basis of strengthening connections between neurons during operant conditioning and learning. Funnily enough, it links to one of the most prominent intracellular secondary messengers - cyclic adenosine monophosphate. His analysis of how this messenger leads to growth of synaptic terminals forms the scientific basis for popular memory techniques like active recall and space repetition. What is most curious of all is that these studies were not based on humans, they were on a sea snail!
Despite the magnitude of the impact Kandel has made on neuroscience, he is remarkably humble, pausing only near the end of the book to describe the Nobel ceremony, but otherwise, mentioning the win only once or twice. He also explores his Austrian heritage, and how Austria, like Germany, was subject to intense anti-semitism during Hitler's rule.
I suppose my main takeaway from this book is that there is a lot of beauty in the rationality that is built into physiological systems, from the brain down to individual blood vessels.
October 5, 2007
One of the biggest questions plaguing behavioral biologists during the 20th century was the localization of the engram, or, a memory trace in the brain. Well, most of them who weren't dualists were looking in the brain. One of the most thorough studies of engram localization was performed by Karl Lashley, who spent a good chunk of his career doing cortical lesions on rodents and primates. he sums up his (mostly) negative results with this quote:
"I sometimes feel, in reviewing the evidence on the localization of the memory trace, that the necessary conclusion is that learning just is not possible...Nevertheless, in spite of such evidence against it, learning does sometimes occur."
That was 1954 or so. We're in the 21st century now, and how far have we come on localizing an engram? Some would claim we know more about memory circuits than any other brain function. Others would claim that memory is a lie, and we can't be sure we really remember anything. Those people usually wear kilts and clutter state university philosophy departments.
Kandel's autobiography is a nice mix of personal history, scientific history, and the the charmingly naïve obsessions which drive many of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time. He describes how he pioneered the use of the invertebrate Aplysia as a model system to study cellular bases of associative learning, in a network of some <1000 neurons. He also chronicles the discoveries of his peers working in other systems such as mammals, and discusses many convergent and divergent themes in the field of synaptic plasticity. The language is by far accessible to anyone with a rudimentary grasp of the English language, so no need to fear a bloated lesson in advanced neurophysiology.
The most interesting aspect of the book is his description of cultural history. I would have actually liked him to go more in depth into this (although others on this site have voiced differing opinions) as heritage is a great analogy to a sort of "cultural memory." This would have strengthened the autobiography as a trans-subject analysis of science, history, and autobiography instead of a memoir. He describes his efforts to reconcile certain moral battles which are still being fought in Europe, and briefly, his approaches to preserving his own culture.
"I sometimes feel, in reviewing the evidence on the localization of the memory trace, that the necessary conclusion is that learning just is not possible...Nevertheless, in spite of such evidence against it, learning does sometimes occur."
That was 1954 or so. We're in the 21st century now, and how far have we come on localizing an engram? Some would claim we know more about memory circuits than any other brain function. Others would claim that memory is a lie, and we can't be sure we really remember anything. Those people usually wear kilts and clutter state university philosophy departments.
Kandel's autobiography is a nice mix of personal history, scientific history, and the the charmingly naïve obsessions which drive many of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time. He describes how he pioneered the use of the invertebrate Aplysia as a model system to study cellular bases of associative learning, in a network of some <1000 neurons. He also chronicles the discoveries of his peers working in other systems such as mammals, and discusses many convergent and divergent themes in the field of synaptic plasticity. The language is by far accessible to anyone with a rudimentary grasp of the English language, so no need to fear a bloated lesson in advanced neurophysiology.
The most interesting aspect of the book is his description of cultural history. I would have actually liked him to go more in depth into this (although others on this site have voiced differing opinions) as heritage is a great analogy to a sort of "cultural memory." This would have strengthened the autobiography as a trans-subject analysis of science, history, and autobiography instead of a memoir. He describes his efforts to reconcile certain moral battles which are still being fought in Europe, and briefly, his approaches to preserving his own culture.
August 16, 2015
Ce livre est tout à fait époustouflant! Il s'agit d'une autobiographie du scientifique Eric Kandel. C'est à la fois un témoignage historique et scientifique ; les péripéties de sa vie et celles de ses recherches sur la mémoire. Au début, il se focalise sur son éducation: on retrouve la frénésie de la vie de la Vienne d'entre-deux-guerre (on peut croiser avec le témoignage de Stefan Zweig par exemple) et même de son idéalisation. Issu d'une famille juive autrichienne, il est profondément marqué par la psychanalyse et les travaux de Freud. C'est dans cette voie qu'il commence ses recherches. Après ses études secondaires à New York, ce sont des études d'Histoire qu'il suit. On comprend vite que ce sont les contacts humains qui sont déterminants, dans un environnement moteur, pour mener à bien son projet de recherche. De fil en aiguille, grâce à l'appui de sa famille, de sa femme, et de ses rencontres fructueuses et volontaires de collègues, il élabore la nouvelle théorie de l'esprit. Il intercale les résultats de ses recherches. Il explique ainsi avec pédagogie le fonctionnement des synapses, le tout agrémenté de schéma (et j'insiste, parce que ça aide vraiment à comprendre le côté scientifique sans être spécialiste de neurobiologie). Si vous vous intéressez à la mémoire et à son fonctionnement, au processus d'apprentissage, ce livre me semble désormais indispensable.
April 29, 2012
A unique blend of memoir and science describing Kandel’s (Nobel prize winner for Physiology or Medicine in 2000) quest for memory both at the personal and scientific level.
Kandel, a 9 year old Jew in Vienna in 1938, starts his book with his memories of Anschluss and Kristallnacht, describes the vividness of these memories and how years later they made him interested in why and how certain memories are remembered while others are lost. Throughout his career, he tackled brain and memory research at different levels from molecular biology to psychoanalysis, his most groundbreaking research being on Aplysia, a sea snail with very simple, yet molecularly big nervous system. All stages of this research are described exquisitely well in the book.
Extremely informative and enlightening on all levels. I could have lived without some parts of the personal account, though. In particular, I had a bit of a problem with the overly self-righteous tone of some of his personal tales.
Link: Kandel’s lecture on memory loss and aging
http://www.iwf.de/iwf/do/mkat/details.aspx?Signatur=C 12884
4.5/5
Kandel, a 9 year old Jew in Vienna in 1938, starts his book with his memories of Anschluss and Kristallnacht, describes the vividness of these memories and how years later they made him interested in why and how certain memories are remembered while others are lost. Throughout his career, he tackled brain and memory research at different levels from molecular biology to psychoanalysis, his most groundbreaking research being on Aplysia, a sea snail with very simple, yet molecularly big nervous system. All stages of this research are described exquisitely well in the book.
Extremely informative and enlightening on all levels. I could have lived without some parts of the personal account, though. In particular, I had a bit of a problem with the overly self-righteous tone of some of his personal tales.
Link: Kandel’s lecture on memory loss and aging
http://www.iwf.de/iwf/do/mkat/details.aspx?Signatur=C 12884
4.5/5
January 5, 2015
"En busca de la memoria" es el título de este libro en castellano. Se trata de la autobiografía de este médico, Premio Nobel de 2000. Es muy interesante a nivel biográfico porque él era niño cuando los nazis se anexionaron Viena y tuvo que emigrar a EEUU, donde hizo su carrera. Esto marcó su vida porque siempre se preguntó cómo nuestro cerebro almacena esos recuerdos (los que él mismo había tenido de pequeño). Tiene una pequeña parte técnica donde va explciando los diferentes proceos químicos y fisiológicos que pasan en nuestros cerebroe para tener memoria. El libro es algo laro, pero bastante interesante.
March 10, 2019
Really good book that describes neuronal function from the ground up, and does so in a very easy to understand way. The one thing I did notice is that the book is semi autobiographical and I wasn’t expecting this. It doesn’t detract too much from its central purpose but even so, its a great book on the subject.
October 3, 2014
نزدیک ۵۰۰ صفحه اطلاعات هیجان انگیز و انقلابی.
June 6, 2021
I learned some real cool stuff about molecular biology in the brain, although later on he tended away from really explaining how things work, as the systems he was studying got more complex. All science autobiographies should be like this - the biography parts are minimal and don't distract from the important, science parts. I even understood why people would be into Freud and psychoanalysis!
July 22, 2020
Qué soberbio relato! Una lección magistral de medicina, neurobiología, historia de la ciencia y cultura austriaca. Gracias a él, he vuelto a creer en el método científico como gran estimulador intelectual, y en la investigación empírica como proceso y estrategia fundamental para modular nuestra experiencia.
Eric Kandel pertenece al campo de la medicina, pero su pasión intelectual, su compromiso científico y su temeridad para transitar en las fronteras de la medicina, la filosofía, el psicoanálisis y la biología pura y dura, son una gran fuente de inspiración para cualquier persona curiosa.
Este libro, además, tiene la maravillosa virtud de explicar descubrimientos trascendentales sobre el funcionamiento del cerebro, a través de un lenguaje sencillo, claro y muy entretenido.
Gracias a Kandel, uno viaja desde los primeros experimentos neurofisiológicos del siglo XIX hasta la gigantesca revolución de Santiago Ramón y Cajal a principios del s.XX y los impresionantes descubrimientos de varias decenas de cientificos desde entonces. Pero no sólo eso. Kandel nos explica, con paciencia y claridad, porqué esas hazañas (que a veces comprenden sólo el descubrimiento de una molécula o de una onda eléctrica) son o fueron tan revolucionarias para toda la ciencia posterior.
Pero también, y quizá eso sea lo más relevante en términos legos, Eric Kandel compone un relato que va desde la dimensión sociohistórica (su origen judío y su huida de Austria durante la ocupación nazi) hasta sus descubrimientos moleculares en el sistema nervioso de un invertebrado, sus ingeniosos experimentos y el posterior viaje a Estocolmo a recibir el Premio Nobel, todo modulado y revestido de pertinentes reflexiones filosóficas y citas de grandes pensadores que, desde la Grecia Antigua, se interesaron por desentrañar los misterios que, poco a poco, la neurociencia de hoy intenta comprender.
Es, pues, la historia de una trayectoria intelectual que atestiguó y ayudó a gestar el nacimiento de un nuevo campo de investigación: la neurociencia.
Su propuesta, sin embargo, no es exclusivamente científica.
En buena cuenta, sus memorias son una excusa para propugnar una neurociencia humanista, que nunca olvide recoger lo mejor de las técnicas neurobiológicas y lo mejor del humanismo filosófico-psicoanalítico. Es decir, una neurociencia como continuadora científica del programa de Freud y de tantos otros pensadores y filósofos anteriores.
-
Lo bueno es que el libro incluye gráficos e infografías.
-
Léase con una buena taza de café ☕y con Leonard Cohen cantando 'Take this waltz'🎶. [La nostalgia por Viena, la Viena ilustrada que alguna vez fue y ya no existe, está aquí en cada página]
✌🏽
Eric Kandel pertenece al campo de la medicina, pero su pasión intelectual, su compromiso científico y su temeridad para transitar en las fronteras de la medicina, la filosofía, el psicoanálisis y la biología pura y dura, son una gran fuente de inspiración para cualquier persona curiosa.
Este libro, además, tiene la maravillosa virtud de explicar descubrimientos trascendentales sobre el funcionamiento del cerebro, a través de un lenguaje sencillo, claro y muy entretenido.
Gracias a Kandel, uno viaja desde los primeros experimentos neurofisiológicos del siglo XIX hasta la gigantesca revolución de Santiago Ramón y Cajal a principios del s.XX y los impresionantes descubrimientos de varias decenas de cientificos desde entonces. Pero no sólo eso. Kandel nos explica, con paciencia y claridad, porqué esas hazañas (que a veces comprenden sólo el descubrimiento de una molécula o de una onda eléctrica) son o fueron tan revolucionarias para toda la ciencia posterior.
Pero también, y quizá eso sea lo más relevante en términos legos, Eric Kandel compone un relato que va desde la dimensión sociohistórica (su origen judío y su huida de Austria durante la ocupación nazi) hasta sus descubrimientos moleculares en el sistema nervioso de un invertebrado, sus ingeniosos experimentos y el posterior viaje a Estocolmo a recibir el Premio Nobel, todo modulado y revestido de pertinentes reflexiones filosóficas y citas de grandes pensadores que, desde la Grecia Antigua, se interesaron por desentrañar los misterios que, poco a poco, la neurociencia de hoy intenta comprender.
Es, pues, la historia de una trayectoria intelectual que atestiguó y ayudó a gestar el nacimiento de un nuevo campo de investigación: la neurociencia.
Su propuesta, sin embargo, no es exclusivamente científica.
En buena cuenta, sus memorias son una excusa para propugnar una neurociencia humanista, que nunca olvide recoger lo mejor de las técnicas neurobiológicas y lo mejor del humanismo filosófico-psicoanalítico. Es decir, una neurociencia como continuadora científica del programa de Freud y de tantos otros pensadores y filósofos anteriores.
-
Lo bueno es que el libro incluye gráficos e infografías.
-
Léase con una buena taza de café ☕y con Leonard Cohen cantando 'Take this waltz'🎶. [La nostalgia por Viena, la Viena ilustrada que alguna vez fue y ya no existe, está aquí en cada página]
✌🏽
April 13, 2020
Kandel creates a tangible link between “speculative metaphysics” (9) and experimental research. At once, this is a story of Kandel’s self and a story of creating and finding the space where the conceptual self can take shape. Kandel weaves his personal history into the history of biological inquiry into the nature of the mind. His method is ambitious, but, as an initially skeptical reader, I ultimately found it deeply meaningful. Through unifying philosophical, physiological, and his personal conceptions of the mind, Kandel leads us to consider that, perhaps, the space between these divergent ideas is the space in which we can find the utmost clarity on a range of fundamental metaphysical questions.
Kandel ends his story through expressing gratitude for the fact that he had the privilege to explore these questions throughout his life and career. His words are humble but self-aware, at once light-hearted and blunt regarding the uglier parts of his personal history. I finished Kandel’s book grateful to have become acquainted with the honest, bright human voice behind such grand ideas.
Kandel ends his story through expressing gratitude for the fact that he had the privilege to explore these questions throughout his life and career. His words are humble but self-aware, at once light-hearted and blunt regarding the uglier parts of his personal history. I finished Kandel’s book grateful to have become acquainted with the honest, bright human voice behind such grand ideas.
April 21, 2021
This book is really boring unless you are a premed student/have a major interest in neuroscience. It is impossible to read if you have no prior knowledge in the subject as the author just dumps a lot of biology on you. I felt like I was reading a textbook for a lot of chapters. So much of the book was name dropping other scientists the author worked with but name dropping is not much fun when a) you don’t know any of the other scientists and b) you have to read two paragraphs about their research right after the name is dropped.
This book was a combination of the author’s personal and scientific life together but unfortunately I was interested in neither. After reading this book, I think I came out with a genuine hatred for neuron biology and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (a structure I still don’t understand the use of). It is very hard to stay invested when you get chapters upon chapters of information about the biology of a sea slug.
This book was a combination of the author’s personal and scientific life together but unfortunately I was interested in neither. After reading this book, I think I came out with a genuine hatred for neuron biology and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (a structure I still don’t understand the use of). It is very hard to stay invested when you get chapters upon chapters of information about the biology of a sea slug.
September 6, 2012
The first several and the last several chapters were the parts I found interesting. The detailed anaylsis of every single neuron (or so it seemed) in the marine snail Aplyasia, not so interesting. I learned a bit about the history of the Nobel Prize and what it's like to win one, but most of the time it felt more like this was Eric Kandel's lab notebook that I was reading. I like that I finally finished the book, if that's any indication!
August 13, 2014
به خاطر ترجمهاش 4 از 5 میدم در غیر این صورت ریتش 5 هست.
May 13, 2021
This book was a dificult read for me. Nominally it has six sections, but it felt like 3 very distinctive stories. The first centered on Kandel's early life in Vienna, emigration to the US, and education and training. I liked how he weaved his own very distinct memories into his book on the formation of memories. The middle section was the toughest. It went into great detail explaining the biochemistry of nerve action and neuronal growth from stimulus. I have good science education, mostly physics & chemistry, and am interested in the subject, but the scientific material was still difficult to comprehend. The last section drew conclusions from the science, discussed 'recent' biotech developments, and wrapped up Kandel's career including his trips to Stockhom.
Being a former engineer and someone who enjoys the details of science, I wanted to know how the brain changes as memories are formed. From the 3 rough sections, I figured the middle would be my favorite, but it was my least. The illustrations were a life-saver, as it has been almost 30 years since I've taken a biology class. While challenging, this section and detail was necessary to the story Kandel was telling - how the science of the mind went from dualism of mind & body to current neuroscience where the brain's function is known to be a collection, albeit extremely large, of neurons, synapses & biochemical connections. I would fail a test on the scientific details Kandel writes, but feel it made the third main section much more meaningful.
I tend to be less interested in the biographies of scientists than in their discoveries, but Kandel's life is a miracle. The first and third sections work very well together as a coherent autobiography. His distinctive memories from many years ago give hints to the formation and permanence of memories. His biographical details also felt very integral to the 'hows and whys' of Kandel's scientific discoveries. Why did Kandel go into neuroscience? How did Kandel get to study what he did? Knowing his background made his scientific process easier to understand, and his background and scientific career lead directly into the last third of the book.
This book did much better for me as an autobiography of Kandel than it did as a primer on the biochemistry of neuroscience. I'm glad that I powered through the dense scientific section to get to the rewarding final third and to see Kandel's story come full circle in a way.
Being a former engineer and someone who enjoys the details of science, I wanted to know how the brain changes as memories are formed. From the 3 rough sections, I figured the middle would be my favorite, but it was my least. The illustrations were a life-saver, as it has been almost 30 years since I've taken a biology class. While challenging, this section and detail was necessary to the story Kandel was telling - how the science of the mind went from dualism of mind & body to current neuroscience where the brain's function is known to be a collection, albeit extremely large, of neurons, synapses & biochemical connections. I would fail a test on the scientific details Kandel writes, but feel it made the third main section much more meaningful.
I tend to be less interested in the biographies of scientists than in their discoveries, but Kandel's life is a miracle. The first and third sections work very well together as a coherent autobiography. His distinctive memories from many years ago give hints to the formation and permanence of memories. His biographical details also felt very integral to the 'hows and whys' of Kandel's scientific discoveries. Why did Kandel go into neuroscience? How did Kandel get to study what he did? Knowing his background made his scientific process easier to understand, and his background and scientific career lead directly into the last third of the book.
This book did much better for me as an autobiography of Kandel than it did as a primer on the biochemistry of neuroscience. I'm glad that I powered through the dense scientific section to get to the rewarding final third and to see Kandel's story come full circle in a way.
November 2, 2024
Almost 20 years old, yet this is a wonderfully astute analysis of the “science of mind.” As a Nobel Prize holding neuroscientist, Dr. Eric R. Kandel’s life is not short on engrossing moments, which he intermixes with plenty of instructive writing on the mind. He covers elementary cell biology clearly during the first parts of the book. Gradually, he connects the dots to his wide-spanning scientific work. In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind outlines how Dr. Kandel’s (and others’) research findings illuminated our understanding of attention and consciousness. In the end, he illustrates his humanity, his science, and indirectly- our nature as humans.
March 17, 2019
Çokça düşünürüm, vücudumun kanlı canlı biyolojisi dışında içimde her şeye hakimmis gibi, gören, konuşan, karar veren, seven, nefret eden, korkan, heyecanlanan, sıkılan şey nedir nasıl bir şeydir diye. Düalistlerin dediği gibi bedenin disinda sonsuz ve ölümsüz bir ruh mu, yoksa karmaşık yapısından dolayı hala tam olarak kavrayamadığımız beynin içinde nöronların ve sinapslarin fiziksel curcunasi mi?
Bu kitap, ikinci onermenin pesinden gidip bunun dogruluguna yaptigi katkilardan dolayi Nobelle odullendirilmis bir adamin kendi dilinden hem konunun teknigi hem de tarihcesini herkesin anlayabilecegi bir dille anlattigi muthis bir yapit, kaynak. Gercegi arayanlarin mutlaka okumasi tavsiyesiyle...
Bu kitap, ikinci onermenin pesinden gidip bunun dogruluguna yaptigi katkilardan dolayi Nobelle odullendirilmis bir adamin kendi dilinden hem konunun teknigi hem de tarihcesini herkesin anlayabilecegi bir dille anlattigi muthis bir yapit, kaynak. Gercegi arayanlarin mutlaka okumasi tavsiyesiyle...
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