Evolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms

Evolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms is an exploration of laboratory and field research on the many ways that evolution has influenced learning and memory processes, such as associative learning, social learning, and spatial, working, and episodic memory systems. This volume features research by both outstanding early-career scientists as well as familiar luminaries in the field. Learning and memory in a broad range of animals are explored, including numerous species of invertebrates (insects, worms, sea hares), as well as fish, amphibians, birds, rodents, bears, and human and nonhuman primates. Contributors discuss how the behavioral, cognitive, and neural mechanisms underlying learning and memory have been influenced by evolutionary pressures. They also draw connections between learning and memory and the specific selective factors that shaped their evolution. Evolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms should be a valuable resource for those working in the areas of experimental and comparative psychology, comparative cognition, brain–behavior evolution, and animal behavior.

Mark A. Krause is Professor of Psychology at Southern Oregon University. He has served as Associate Editor of Animal Behavior and Cognition, and is co-author of Introduction to Psychological Science (2020).

Karen L. Hollis is Professor Emerita of Psychology at Mount Holyoke College. She served as President of APA's Divisions 3 and 6 and has received the Comparative Cognition Society Research Award for contributions to the field.

Mauricio R. Papini is Professor of Psychology at Texas Christian University. He was Editor of the International Journal of Comparative Psychology and is the author of Comparative Psychology: Evolution and Development of Brain and Behavior, Third Edition (2021).