Binding In Human Memory

Description:
The creation and consolidation of a memory can rest on the integration of any number of possibly disparate features and contexts - colour, sound, emotion, arousal, context. How is it that these bind together to form a coherent memory? What is the role of binding in memory formation? What are the neural processes that underlie binding? Do these binding processes change with age? This book offers an unrivalled overview of one of the most debated hotspots of modern memory research: binding. It contains 28 chapters on binding in different domains of memory, presenting classic research from the field of cognitive neuroscience. It is written by renowned scientists and leaders in the field who have made fundamental contributions to the rapidly expanding field of neurocognitive memory research. As well as presenting a state-of-the-art account of recent views on binding and its importance for remembering, it also includes a review of recent publications in the area, of benefit to both students and active researchers.More than just a survey, it supplies the reader with an integrative view on binding in memory, fostering deep insights not only into the processes and their determinants, but also into the neural mechanisms enabling these processes. The content also encompasses a wide range of binding-related topics, including feature binding, the binding of items and contexts during encoding and retrieval, the specific roles of familiarity and recollection, as well as task- and especially age-related changes in these processes. A major section is dedicated to in-depth analyses of underlying neural mechanisms, focusing on both medial temporal and prefrontal structures. Computational approaches are covered as well. For all students and researchers in memory, the book will not only enhance their understanding of binding, but will instigate innovative and pioneering ideas for future research.

Review:
The publication of this volume marks the coming of age of cognitive neuroscience. The quest for the Holy Grail in psychology, the neural patterns encoding our daily experiences, has never seemed more close to fulfilment. It is hoped that the unique blend of experimental psychology and imaging neuroscience in this handbook will enthuse more graduate students and researchers to allocate their grey matter to the remaining grey areas. The Psychologist

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction - Levels of binding: types, mechanisms and functions of binding in remembering; SECTION I - NEURAL MECHANISMS OF BINDING; 2. Memory binding in hippocampal relational networks; 3. Part or parcel? Contextual binding of events in episodic memory; 4. Adaptive binding; 5. Binding principles in the theta frequency range; 6. Relationship between event-related potentials and oscillatory dynamics in episodic retrieval; 7. Rhinal-hippocampal contribution to declarative memory formation; SECTION II - A COMPUTATIONAL APPROACH TO MECHANISMS OF BINDING; 8. Neural mechanisms of binding in the hippocampus and neocortex: insights from computational models; 9. The memory chain model of learning, forgetting and disorders of long-term memory; 10. The role of time in human memory and binding: a review of the evidence; 11. Aging deficits in neuromodulation of representational distinctiveness and conjunctive binding: computational explorations of possible links; SECTION III - BINDING IN PERCEPTION AND KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION; 12. Object tokens, binding and visual memory; 13. Psychophysiological evidence for binding and unbinding arithmetic knowledge representations; 14. Motivated binding: top-down influences in the encoding of compound objects; 15. Brain correlates of binding processes of emotion and memory; SECTION IV - BINDING PROCESSES DURING RETRIEVAL; 16. Associations and dissociations in recognition memory systems; 17. Unpacking explicit memory: the contribution of recollection and familiarity; 18. ERP explorations of dual processes in recognition memory; 19. Mnemonic binding in the medial temporal lobe; 20. Functional imaging studies of intentional and incidental reactivation: implications for the binding problem; 21. Binding memory fragments together to form declarative memories depends on cross-cortical storage; 22. Retrieval inhibition in episodic recall: effects on feature binding; SECTION V - BINDING IN THE AGING BRAIN; 23. Remembering items and their contexts: effects of aging and divided attention; 24. Prefrontal and medial temporal lobe contributions to relational memory in young and older adults; 25. Binding of memories: adult-age differences and the effects of divided attention in young on episodic memory; 26. Binding of source and content: new directions revealed by neuropsychological and age-related effects; 27. Age-associated changes in episodic memory: event-related potential (ERP) investigations of recollection and familiarity; 28. Episodic memory impairment in preclinical Alzheimer's disease