The neurobiology of learning and memory is entering a new interdisciplinary era. Advances in neuropsychology have identified regions of brain tissue that are critical for certain types of function. Electrophysiological techniques have revealed behavioral correlates of neuronal activity. Studies of synaptic plasticity suggest that some mechanisms of memory formation may resemble those of neural development. Molecular approaches have also identified genes with patterns of expression that influence behavior. It is clear that future progress depends on interdisciplinary investigations. The current literature of learning and memory is large but fragmented. Until now, there has been no single journal devoted to this area of study and no dominant journal that demands attention by serious workers in the area, regardless of specialty. LEARNING & MEMORY provides a forum for these investigations in the form of research papers and review articles.

學習與記憶神經生物學正進入一個跨學科的新時代。神經心理學的進步已經確定了大腦組織中對某些功能至關重要的區域。電生理學技術揭示了神經元活動的行為相關性。突觸可塑性的研究表明，記憶形成的某些機制可能類似于神經發育的機制。分子方法也發現了具有影響行為的表達模式的基因。很明顯，未來的進展取決于跨學科的研究。目前關于學習和記憶的文獻很多，但都是零散的。到目前為止，還沒有一份專門研究這一領域的期刊，也沒有一份占主導地位的期刊需要該領域的嚴肅工作者關注，無論他們的專業是什么。學習與記憶以研究論文和評論文章的形式為這些調查提供了一個論壇。