In Search of Memory 2008
Distributed by Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Producer n/a
Directed by Petra Seeger
DVD, color, 95 min.
College - Adult
Psychology, Neuroscience, Memory, Biography
Date Entered: 01/12/2010
ALA Notable: ALA.gif
Reviewed by Thomas I. Nathaniel, Center for Natural and Health Sciences, Marywood University, Scranton, PA
According to Eric Kandel, memory is everything. He describes memory as the glue that binds our mental life together and provides a sense of continuity in our lives. The film blends together the autobiography and history that narrates the life of one of the best neuroscientists of our time and reflects scientific developments in our understanding of the brain's role in recording and preserving memory. The archival footage of his childhood experiences in Nazi-dominated Vienna and his migration to the U.S. feature deliberations with Kandel, friends and family. His public lectures in New York detail his professional and personal life, especially his religious beliefs. The film demonstrates his traumatic experiences during the Holocaust, his research in how the brain stores memories, the variation between short-term and long-term memory, and age-related memory loss, and neuronatomical alterations to the brain that augment memory.