ABSTRACT
Like Jane Austen, the contributors to this volume are inherently fascinated by the process of memory-the brain’s ability to store virtually endless amounts of information, retaining it so that we can retrieve, ponder, and use it hours, days or even decades later. Unlike Jane Austen, however, many of us believe that scientists will eventually unlock some of the basic secrets to our “powers of recollecting and forgetting.” Furthermore, many of us also believe that one key to unlocking these secrets will emerge through systematic studies of memory development. In our view, studies of memory development yield important information about memory processes in general, including important lessons for understanding adult memory.
