Modelling amnesia and the study of memory in animals

doi:10.1016/0166-2236(83)90230-8

Trends in Neurosciences

Volume 6, 1983, Pages 479-483

https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-2236(83)90230-8 Get rights and content

Abstract

In the last few years, neurobiological research on memory in animals has been evolving from a preoccupation with the modelling of human global amnesia. Studies of the cerebral localization and logical structure of memory in primates are still guided by the prospect of finding a valid model of the clinical syndrome, but such attempts are complicated by new discoveries which have revealed discrete subsystems of primate memory. Work with rats is also moving away from all-encompassing models towards a concern for such issues as recovery of function and the analysis of neurotoxin-induced lesions of brain regions only indirectly related to human amnesia. There is now a broad measure of agreement about the types of memory task that are or are not impaired by diecephalic and/or medical temporal lobe damage in animals^1,2. However, a satisfactory classification of the underlying types of information processing in these impaired and unimpaired memory tasks remains elusive. The search for new directions in current research reflects the fact that separating out the superficially similar predictions of rival hypotheses is proving difficult.

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Trends in Neurosciences

Research newsModelling amnesia and the study of memory in animals

Abstract

Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev.

Trends NeuroSci.

Neuropsychologia

Brain Res.

Brain Res.

Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav.

Behav. Brain Res.

Learn. Motiv.

Behav. Brain Res.

Neuropsychologia

Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. B

J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol.

Research news
Modelling amnesia and the study of memory in animals