The Evolution of Memory Systems

Capitalizing on major advances in our understanding of both memory and brain evolution, this book provides the first - and long overdue - account of memory systems placed in an evolutionary context. The result is a captivating and comprehensive survey of two histories, the history of the brain and the history of ideas about memory, which culminates in a new and provocative proposal for the origin of memory. Anyone interested in the brain and behaviour, evolution, or the history of science will find The Evolution of Memory Systems a stimulating read. * Morgan Barense, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada *
The authors convincingly demonstrate that memory systems, and perhaps all neural systems, are best understood in terms of when and why they evolved to meet challenges of the past. Thus, this is a book for those interested in how brains work, and how they differ. This impressive book is like no other in its scope on the successive evolution of memory systems from early vertebrates to present-day humans. I want all my students and co-workers to read it. * Jon H. Kaas, Distinguished Centennial Professor of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, USA *
A critical component of defining who we are requires an understanding of our individual past experiences and how they are represented in the brain, as well as how our brain, and in particular memory circuits, evolved in mammals. This book is a tour-de-force on the evolution of memory systems in mammals. It provides a wonderful historical perspective, and an extensive comparative analysis. While the major thrust is to understand human capabilities, particularly circuitry involved in memory, the authors painstakingly review the literature and clearly articulate that these systems did not evolve de novo in humans, but that a basic plan was present in our earliest ancestors. This type of discussion is rarely found in a neuroscience community entrenched in studies of single animal models. Kudos to the authors for writing the most comprehensive and interesting text currently available on this topic. * Leah Krubitzer, MacArthur Fellow, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis *
Through their combined evolutionary and neuroscience approach the authors beautifully reveal the building blocks of memory systems that combine to produce the complexities of cognition in the human brain. * Trevor W. Robbins CBE, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, UK *
This is an important book for several reasons. First, there is the unique way that the authors formulate their proposals within an evolutionary context, explaining what makes memory special in mammals, in primates, and in humans. Second, their survey of the cognitive neuroscience of memory is guided by an exciting and provocative new taxonomy of memory systems that takes the reader far beyond the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe. * Matthew Rushworth, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK *