This is the proceedings of the fourth in a series of inter national gatherings on kindling held on the University of British Columbia campus, June 15-17, 1989. Since the last gath ering in 1985, kindling continues to attract an ever-increasing number of investigators as reflected by the phenomenal increase in the number of kindling-related research reports. No other acute or chronic model has been exploited so extensively using electrophysiological, pharmacological, biochemical and behav ioural approaches involving a variety of brain sites and ani mal species. The continuing search, during the past few years, for the mechanism underlying the enduring change induced by kindling is beginning to shed some light on aspects of its molecular basis and to suggest the future direction of research. The late Graham Goddard, the original kindler, would have been delighted with this development. We were all shocked and saddened by his tragic death, but his spirit is very much alive among all of us who gathered together to share new information and collectively reassess the present state of knowledge at this symposium. I must say that we miss him very, very much. We know he is happy in his heaven knowing that he accomplished more in a short lifetime than most and that his love for mankind, and life's challenges, remain as a legacy, and goal, for us all.