The term 'episodic memory' refers to our memory for unique, personal experiences, that we can date at some point in our past - our first day at school, the day we got married. It has again become a topic of great importance and interest to psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers. How are such memories stored in the brain, why do certain memories disappear (especially those from early in childhood), what causes false memories (memories of events we erroneously believe have really taken place)? Since Endel Tulving's classic book 'Episodic memory' (OUP, 1983) very few books have been published on this topic. In recent years however, many of the assumptions made about episodic memory have had to be reconsidered as a result of new techniques, which have allowed us a far deeper understanding of episodic memory. In 'Episodic memory: new directions in research' three of the worlds leading researchers in the topic of memory have brought together a stellar team of contributors from the fields of cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, and neuroscience, to present an account of what we now know about about this fundamentally important topic. The list of contributors includes, amongst others, Daniel Schacter, Richard Morris, Fareneh Vargha-Khadem, and Endel Tulving. The work presented within this book will have a profound effect on the direction that future research in this topic will take.

The amygdala is a central component of the limbic brain system and is known to be vital to understanding aspects of emotion, memory and social behaviour. Dysfunction of the structure is also thought to contribute to a variety of disorders, including autism, Alzheimer's Disease and schizophrenia. The nature of its contribution to these fundamental aspects of behaviour and cognition, and its relationship with other regions of the brain has remained elusive. However, since Aggleton's first book on the subject - The Amygdala: Neurobiological Aspects of Emotion, Memory, and Mental Dysfunction (1992) - there have been major advances in our understanding of the processes involved and a dramatic rise in the volume of research. Scientists are now able to define its contribution in an increasingly precise manner. Leading experts from around the world have contributed chapters to this comprehensive and unique review, describing current thinking on this enigmatic brain structure. This is a book for all those with an interest in the neural basis of emotion and memory.