beginnermolecular neurosciencehistorypioneer

Eric Kandel

Nobel laureate who revealed the molecular mechanisms of memory using the sea slug Aplysia. Showed how learning produces lasting changes in synaptic strength.

Eric Kandel used the sea slug Aplysia to reveal the molecular mechanisms of memory. He showed that short-term memory involves covalent modification of existing proteins, while long-term memory requires new protein synthesis and gene expression — particularly CREB-mediated transcription. Kandel shared the 2000 Nobel Prize and authored 'Principles of Neural Science', the field's definitive textbook.

“We are who we are because of what we learn and what we remember.”

1929 — Present · American