Celebrating 40 Years of Discovery

From the day the University of California, Irvine first opened its doors, neuroscience has been among our towering academic strengths, including the establishment of the first department of neuroscience (at the time called Psychobiology) in the world in 1964 by James McGaugh.

In 1983, McGaugh and colleagues Gary Lynch and Norman Weinberger went on to make history again by creating the first institute in the world dedicated to solving the fundamental challenge of understanding how we learn and remember.

The Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (CNLM) was established by the University of California Regents as an Organized Research Unit in 1983 with McGaugh as its founding director.

Biologists, engineers, computer scientists, cognitive scientists and psychologists work together at the intersection of disciplines to generate fundamental and often unexpected breakthroughs. This approach has already yielded discoveries that have transformed our understanding of the workings of memory.

From uncovering how emotional arousal strengthens memories to understanding how false memories arise, to revealing the impact of stress, sleep and exercise on memory, to shedding light on how memories are stored in synaptic connections, to discovering a rare and unusual form of superior autobiographical memory, our faculty have been at the forefront of discovery in the field for over 40 years.

What began as the visionary thinking of a handful of scientists is now more than 100 Fellows strong and continues to be one of the most prolific and visible neurosience research centers in the world.

Fellows are leading scholars providing both theoretical and empirical contributions to the neuroscience of learning and memory. For over forty years, they have worked together to generate new insights into the inner workings of memory and the brain. Now, as we look to the future, our scientists are once again poised to make radical discoveries and critical scientific breakthroughs.

In 2016, Michael Yassa was appointed director of the CNLM, continuing its legacy of excellence and charting a re-invigorated mission and vision that integrates the Fellows’ research with the communities it is intended to serve. Importantly, the

CNLM is now more focused than ever on embracing diversity and inclusion at every level and creating new opportunities for training the next generation of brain scientists.

The Center’s membership is the most diverse it has ever been. Its flagship K-12 Brain Explorer Academy is best in class. Its public lecture series has reached more than 70,000 audience members to date. Its student “Ambassadors” design and implement public outreach programs that teach neuroscience to underserved communities. And the list goes on...

Read more at cnlm.uci.edu or scan the QR code to check out our recent annual reports. For more information or to inquire about opportunities email memory@uci.edu.