Howard Eichenbaum talks with
ScienceWatch.com and answers a few questions about
this month's New Hot Paper in the field of Neuroscience
& Behavior.
Article Title: The medial temporal lobe and
recognition memory
Authors: Eichenbaum,
H;Yonelinas, AP;Ranganath, C
Journal: ANNU REV NEUROSCI
Volume: 30
Page: 123-152
Year: 2007
* Boston Univ, Ctr Memory & Brain, Boston, MA 02215
USA.
* Boston Univ, Ctr Memory & Brain, Boston, MA 02215
USA.
(addresses have been truncated)
Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
The article reviews a growing body of research that suggests a functional
organization of the brain system that supports our capacity for conscious
recollection.
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or
synthesis of knowledge?
"This research is of substantial
interest to philosophers and cognitive
scientists who seek to understand the
mind."
The paper describes a synthesis of research that includes studies on humans
with amnesia due to brain damage, functional brain imaging in normal
humans, and studies on animals that involve experimental removal of
specific brain areas and recordings of neural activity in different brain
areas. The results are converging on a relatively simple flow diagram of
information processing by the cerebral cortex and structures in the medial
temporal lobe that are critical for memory.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper
in layman's terms?
The significance of this paper is that it provides a framework for thinking
about how our capacity for conscious recollection works in relatively
simple terms of the flow of information through a system of brain areas.
How did you become involved in this research, and
were there any problems along the way?
More so than any other human capacity, our ability for memory defines who
we are as individuals. The study of memory is key to an understanding of
the inner workings of the mind. There are major challenges in this
research. In particular, characterizing the brain circuitry that supports
recollection requires studies on experimental animals. However, it is
difficult to study recollection in animals that cannot tell you about their
memories. Our success relies on going past the subjective aspects of
conscious recollection and focusing on the contents of recollected
memories.
Where do you see your research leading in the
future?
There is still a long way to go in outlining the detailed circuitry of this
brain system. However, it promises to unlock a major mystery: how do we
recollect the past?
Do you foresee any social or political implications
for your research?
This research is of substantial interest to philosophers and cognitive
scientists who seek to understand the mind. The findings are also central
to progress in developing treatments for memory disorders in disease and
aging.
Howard Eichenbaum, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Center for Memory and Brain
Boston University
Boston, MA, USA Web
Keywords: amnesia, brain damage, functional brain imaging,
animal studies, experimental removal of specific brain areas, recordings
of neural activity, cerebral cortex, medial temporal lobe, conscious
recollection, memory defines who we are, brain circuitry, memory
disorders in disease and aging.