Local and Global Factors in Learning.
Abstract
Recent progress in the interaction of theoretical ideas and experimental results that relate to learning and memory is discussed. Consideration is given, in particular, to the effects of the neurotransmitters GABA, Norepinephrine and Acetylcholine on the development of circuitry in visual cortex. That most intriguing aspect of human memory: its persistence in spite of continual loss of individual neurons over the lifetime of the individual has led many workers to the concept of distributed memory. For a distributed memory (more like a hologram than a photograph) possesses in a very natural way the property of relative invulnerability to the loss of storage units: individual memory sites hold superimposed information concerning many events. We can make complex decisions in small parts of a second. This suggests very strongly that there is much parallel processing in the brain - an idea that is almost obvious on inspection of component such as the retina. It is now commonly thought that the synaptic junction may be a means to store information (memory, for example) as well as to transmit it from neuron to neuron.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 06, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA161128
Entities
People
- Leon Cooper
Organizations
- Brown University