101 Theory Drive

February 8, 2010
Memory takes on a physical presence in this raucous scientific saga. Former L.A. Times
reporter McDermott (Perfect Soldiers: The 9/11 Hijackers
) profiles UC-Irvine “psychobiologist” Gary Lynch and his decades-long effort to understand the biochemical processes and structural changes in neurons that underlie memory. (His research has identified drugs that could stem memory loss and treat Alzheimer’s and ADHD.) In McDermott’s portrayal, Lynch comes off as a hippie-ish, hard-drinking, foul-mouthed visionary at odds with the neuroscientific establishment, who both inspires and exploits the students and post-docs under his sway. McDermott is a bit too taken with his charismatic protagonist,and loves to quote Lynch’s profane, inarticulate ramblings for pages on end (“Memory’s continuous. You walk through the day. Da duh da duh da dah”). Fortunately, his own exposition of the science is lucid, and his first-hand account of Lynch’s seething laboratory is riveting, full of prickly egos, desperate battles for grants, and epic experiments—Lynch’s students spent years slicing up and photographing thousands of rat brains—that become daily roller-coasters of triumph and despair as results trickle in.This is an engrossing story of science and the brilliant, flawed people who make it. Photos.