In Search of Memory

Pictured: Neuroscientist and Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel

Credit: icarusfilms.com

This film reveals how everything we undergo changes the brain, even our genetic make-up, and can determine the focus of a life's work. In Search of Memory, airing Saturday, November 10 at 5 p.m. on WXXI-TV/HD (DT21.1/cable 11/cable 1011), is a compelling blend of autobiography and history that recounts the life of one of the most important neuroscientists of the 20th century and illuminates scientific developments in our understanding of the brain's role in recording and preserving memory. In addition to archival footage and dramatic re-creations of Kandel's childhood experiences in Nazi-occupied Vienna and his formative years as an emigrant in New York, the film features discussions with Kandel, friends and family, as well as his public lectures in Vienna and New York, which explore both his professional and personal life, especially his emotional ties to Judaism.

Both through its personal journey into the memory of this amazingly spry and witty 79-year old, especially his traumatic experiences during the Holocaust, and a visit to his Columbia University laboratory, where Kandel and his colleagues demonstrate their experimental research, In Search of Memory examines how the brain stores memories, the difference between short-term and long-term memory, Alzheimer's and age-related memory loss, and structural modifications to the brain that enhance memory.

 

Local support for In Search of Memory is provided by The Louis S. and Molly B. Wolk Foundation.