Mechanistic Relationships Between Development and Learning : Beyond Metaphor

At the turn of the century, the pioneering neuroscientist Ramon y Cajal articulated the hypothesis that growth processes involved in the development of the central nervous system may persist into adulthood, where they might be retained to mediate the formation and maintenance of memory. Over the decades since Cajal s seminal suggestion, extensive experimental attention has been directed at elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying both neuronal development and learning and memory. Many exciting technical and conceptual advances have been made on each front. Thus, as we approach the end of this century, the field is now poised to assess the status of Cajal s provocative hypothesis directly. This volume reflects a highly interdisciplinary dialog among experts in the fields of development and learning and memory, who came together not only to assess the validity of the general hypotheses that development and learning might share mechanistic features, but also to identify issues, preparations, and paradigms that would allow for a rigorous evaluation of ways to advance the hypothesis, on the one hand, and determine its fundamental limitations, on the other. Towards this end, the volume is organized into four levels of analysis: behavioral, systems, cellular, and molecular. At each level, neuroscientists from the general fields of development and learning engage in lively exchange of ideas which serve to highlight the similarities and differences of both the concepts and the experimental approaches used in their diverse fields. The result of this endeavor is a collection of seminal chapters and summary reports that provide a novel synthesis of important advances in two exciting areas of modern neuroscience. Goal of this Dahlem Workshop: to evaluate the validity of the general thesis that mechanisms utilized in the development of the nervous system are reutilized in the adult to mediate formation and maintenance of memory.