Cellular Mechanisms of Learning and the Biological Basis of Individuality

THROUGHOUT THIS BOOK we have emphasized that all behavior is a function of the brain and that malfunctions of the brain give rise to characteristic disturbances of behavior. Behavior, in turn, is shaped by learning. How does learning act on the brain to change behavior? How is new information acquired and, once acquired, how is it retained? In the preceding chapter we saw that memory—the outcome of learning—is not a single process but has at least two forms. Implicit (declarative) memory is unconscious memory for perceptual and motor skills, whereas explicit (nondeclarative) memory is a memory for people, places, and objects that requires conscious recall.