James McGaugh

Who is James McGaugh?

James L. McGaugh is an American neurobiologist working in the field of learning and memory. He is currently a Research Professor at the University of California, Irvine.

Education and Positions:

McGaugh received his B.A. from San Jose State University in 1953 and his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1959. He was briefly a professor at San Jose State and then did postdoctoral work in neuropharmacology with Nobel Laureate Professor Daniel Bovet at the Istituto Superiore di Sanitá in Rome, Italy. He then became a professor at the University of Oregon from 1961-1964. He was recruited to the University of California, Irvine, in 1964 to be the founding chair of the Department of Psychobiology. He became dean of the School of Biological Sciences and Vice Chancellor and executive Vice Chancellor of the university, though he maintained his laboratory throughout that time. In 1983, he founded the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory and remained director from 1983-2004.

Early Research findings:

McGaugh's early work demonstrated that memories are not instantly created in a long-term, permanent fashion.