The relationship between current information processing and prior associative theories of human and animal learning, memory, and amnesia are discussed. The paper focuses on the two components of the amnesic syndrome, retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia. A neural theory of chunking and consolidation is proposed. (Author/RD)

Describes recent research findings in the area of neurobiology and its relationship to learning and memory. The article provides definitions of associative and nonassociative learning, identifies essential memory trace circuits of the mammalian brain, and discusses some neural mechanisms of learning. (TW)