Neural substrates of memory, affective functions, and conscious experience.

Full Abstract

This review presents an account of the areas and circuits of the brain that are thought to be involved in such cognitive functions as memory, affect and consciousness. Considerable progress has been made in the past two decades in the identification of the cerebral areas and in our understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in these functions, thanks in large parts to a number of imaging observations (PET and fMRI), together with many clinical neurological and experimental studies. Thus, there is now convincing evidence that these high level functions are represented in a complex organization of interconnected cortical and subcortical areas that operate as spatially distributed systems, specialized for the different cognitive activities. Despite the progress that has been made, it is still not known how genetic and environmental factors interact during early development and throughout life to create the necessary conditions out of which these cognitive capacities emerge, nor is it evident to what extent they are shaped by adaptive changes in synaptic organization and other forms of neuronal plasticity.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Loeb, C (C); Poggio, G F (GF);

Affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Neurologiche e della Visione, Università di Genova Via de Toni 5, 16132 Genova, Italy. loeb(-atsign-)ge.itline.it

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Review

Journal: Advances in anatomy, embryology, and cell biology (Adv Anat Embryol Cell Biol), published in Germany. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-; vol 166 (issue ) : pp 1-111

Dates: Created 2002/09/30; Completed 2002/12/03; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12357989, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Brain Mapping
Consciousness - physiology
Emotions - physiology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Memory - physiology

Memory - physiology
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Neural Pathways - physiology
Psychophysiology
Telencephalon - anatomy & histology; physiology
Tomography, Emission-Computed

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.