101 Theory Drive: The Discovery of Memory - Softcover

McDermott, Terry

3.67

203 ratings by Goodreads

9780307388339: 101 Theory Drive: The Discovery of Memory

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307388336 ISBN 13: 9780307388339

Publisher: Vintage, 2011

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A riveting narrative account of a brilliant, rebel scientist and his notorious lab as they unlock the mystery of memory.

For decades Gary Lynch sought to uncover what physically happens in the brain when we form a memory. Luckily award-winning journalist Terry McDermott was with Lynch in his lab as his staff worked tirelessly to achieve this groundbreaking scientific discovery. Here with the verve of a novelist, McDermott introduces the cutting-edge science and wild cast of characters that enabled Lynch to reveal the inner workings of the memory machine. He then explains some practical applications of these discoveries: drugs that could possibly cure a wide range of neurological conditions, including ADHD. He also shows where Lynch’s sights are now set: on discovering the larger architectural of memory formation.

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Review:

Amazon Exclusive: Terry McDermott on 101 Theory Drive

Neuroscientist Gary Lynch, almost a cult figure in some circles, has spent four decades searching for one thing--the mechanism by which the human brain makes memories. For most of human history, scientists who wanted to investigate memory, or any other cognitive process, had been forced to stand outside the brain and guess what was going on in the lost world inside. The tools and abilities hadn’t existed to look directly for the answers to questions they wanted to ask. They were little better than monkeys climbing over the wreckage of a downed airliner, Lynch thought. In the second half of the 20th century, Lynch’s generation for the first time moved the search into the complex machinery of the brain’s interior. The move from outside in had finally given them a fighting chance to uncover the molecular mechanisms of the brain--to learn what actually happens when people think and talk, how they learn and remember. When I first met him in 2004, Lynch thought he was at the threshhold of addressing some of the fundamental questions of the human condition. He invited me to his lab to watch as he made one final attempt to throw open the door and see inside. 101 Theory Drive is an account of what I saw. --Terry McDermott

(Photo � Nelly Min)

About the Author:

Terry McDermott is a former national reporter for the Los Angeles Times and the author of Perfect Soldiers: The 9/11 Hijackers—Who They Were, Why They Did It. He lives in Southern California.

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