Memory: The Key to Consciousness

Richard F. Thompson · Stephen A. Madigan

Oct 2013 · Science Essentials Book 3 · Princeton University Press

About this ebook

Memory is perhaps the most extraordinary phenomenon in the natural world. Every person's brain holds millions of bits of information in long-term storage. This vast memory store includes our extensive vocabulary and knowledge of language; the tremendous and unique variety of facts we've amassed; all the skills we've learned, from walking and talking to musical and athletic performance; many of the emotions we feel; and the continuous sensations, feelings, and understandings of the world we term consciousness. Without memory there can be no mind as we understand it.


Focusing on cutting-edge research in behavioral science and neuroscience, Memory is a primer of our current scientific understanding of the mechanics of memory and learning. Over the past two decades, memory research has accelerated and we have seen an explosion of new knowledge about the brain. For example, there now exists a wide-ranging and successful applied science devoted exclusively to the study of memory that has yielded better procedures for eliciting valid recollections in legal settings and improved the diagnosis and treatment of memory disorders.


Everyone fascinated by the scope and power of the human brain will find this book unforgettable.

About the author

Richard F. Thompson is the William M. Keck Chair in Biological Sciences and professor of psychology and biological sciences at the University of Southern California. Stephen A. Madigan is associate professor of psychology at the University of Southern California.