Now available as a low priced paperback, this is an innovative, readable and engaging companion to the language of memory research. It consists of over 130 entries, bound within a coherent conceptual framework. Each entry starts with a definition, or a set of definitions, followed by in-depth and provocative discussion of the origin, meaning, usage and applicability of ideas and problems central to the neuroscience of memory and scientific culture at large. The entries, linked by webs of associations, can be read and enjoyed, and provide a versatile tool kit; a source for definitions, information and further reading; a trigger for contemplation, discussion and experimentation; and an aid to study, teaching and debate in classes and seminars. The text is supported by an extensive reference listing, and there is a comprehensive subject index, incorporating a much wider range of terms relevant to the field. Memory from A to Z provides a unique, highly valuable introduction to the field of memory for students and researchers approaching the subject for the first time, while at the same time serving and stimulating the more experienced.

Examples of entries (all together 132); Acquisition; Amnesia; Capacity; Coincidence detect; Collective memory; Confabulation; Consolidation; Cue; Engram; Enigma; Episodic memory; Experimental extinc; Flashbulb memory; Learning set; Map; Metamemory; Neurogenetics; Observational Learning; Palimpsest; Persistence; Priming; Reduction; Reinforcer; State-dependent lea; Surprise; Working memory

`The author of this themed set of short notes has his roots firmly planted in the microscopic aspects of memory, yet shows an enviable grasp of the big picture, crossing between levels of analysis with ease and grace. For his insights on subjects as diverse as Birdsong and Immediate early genes, he easily averages alpha double plus . . . According to the author, the book aims to serve as a sort of idealised lexicon for his students, but it has much wider value as a map and compass for everyone who wishes to maintain his bearings in this increasingly complex field.' Journal of Neurology, 250 |d 2003