Patricia Goldman-Rakic

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Patricia Goldman-Rakic
UCLA
Awards
List
(2002)

Source: Yale News:[1]

Scientific career
Fields
Neurobiology
InstitutionsYale University
Doctoral advisorWendell Jeffrey
Neuropsychology
The lobes of the brain, viewed laterally
Topics
Brain functions
People
Tests

Patricia Goldman-Rakic (

Yale University School of Medicine.[1] She pioneered multidisciplinary research of the prefrontal cortex and working memory.[2]

Early life and education

Patricia Shoer was born in

neurobiology from Vassar in 1959, and her doctorate from the University of California at Los Angeles in experimental Developmental Psychology in 1963.[5][6]

After postdoctoral positions at UCLA and

Developmental Neurobiology from 1975-1979.[5][7] She moved to Yale School of Medicine in 1979 where she remained until her death. She was The Eugene Higgins Professor of Neuroscience in the neurobiology department with joint appointments in the departments of psychiatry, neurology, and psychology.[8][9][10] In 1988 she was granted a five-year, $6 million grant to establish the Center for Neuroscience Research at Yale.[11]

Research

Goldman-Rakic was the first to discover and describe the circuitry of the prefrontal cortex and its relationship to working memory. Previously, scientists thought that the higher cognitive functions of the prefrontal cortex were beyond the scope of scientific study. Goldman-Rakic's research showed that methods employed to study the sensory cortices could be adapted to the highest order prefrontal cortical areas, revealing the circuit basis for higher cognitive function.

Alzheimer's, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, and dementia. She used a multidisciplinary approach, applying biochemical, electrophysiological, pharmacological, anatomical and behavioral techniques to study working memory.[1] She pioneered the first studies of dopamine influences on prefrontal cortical function, research that is critical to our understanding of schizophrenia, ADHD and Parkinson's disease. A review of her life's work, including her special role mentoring women scientists, can be found in Neuron.[13]

Goldman-Rakic co-authored over 300 scholarly articles and co-edited 3 books.[4] She co-founded the Cerebral Cortex Journal, a specialized publication by Oxford Press, with her husband Dr. Pasko Rakic. Early in her career, she studied the capacity of the brain to repair itself in early development, and was one of the first to use radioactive tracers to examine this phenomenon.[14]

She used microelectrode recording in her research and challenged the traditional notion that memory was not controlled or involved in the frontal lobe; she asserted that working memory was in its own structure apart from long-term memory.[15]

Personal life

Goldman-Rakic had two sisters, Dr. Ruth Rappaport, her identical twin, and Dr. Linda Faith Schoer.[16][17] She was married to Dr. Lawrence Goldman.[18] She re-married Pasko Rakic, also a neuroscientist, in 1979.[19]

Death

On July 29, 2003, Goldman-Rakic was struck by a car while crossing a street in

Yale-New Haven Hospital.[8] She is buried in Grove Street Cemetery.[1]

In memory of Goldman-Rakic, Constance and Stephen Lieber created the Goldman-Rakic Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Cognitive Neuroscience to celebrate her memory and her discoveries about the brain's frontal lobe. This prize is awarded every year to outstanding scientists, from psychiatrist to molecular neuroscientist, for their impact on the study of cognition. The prize carries an award of $40,000 and the winners are honored at the annual International Awards Dinner in New York City.[20]

Honors and awards

Goldman-Rakic was also the President of the Society for Neuroscience from 1989-1990 and a fellow of The American Psychological Association.[1][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "In Memoriam: Patricia Goldman-Rakic, Preeminent Yale Neuroscientist who Made Groundbreaking Discoveries in Working Memory and Explored the Brain's Frontal Lobe". Yale News. August 1, 2003. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Renowned neuroscientist Patricia Goldman-Rakic dies". Yale Bulletin and Calendar. 32 (1). August 29, 2003. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  3. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (2003-08-04). "Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic, Neuroscientist, Dies at 66". The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Patricia Goldman-Rakic". Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Patricia Goldman-Rakic", Newsmakers, Issue 4. Gale Group, 2002. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
  6. doi:10.1038/nn1003-1015
    .
  7. ^ a b "Patricia Goldman-Rakic". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  8. ^ a b Dawson, M (2003). "Patricia Goldman-Rakic dies: Sudden death of multidisciplinary trailblazer in frontal lobe studies shocks the world of neuroscience".
  9. PMID 23926115
    .
  10. doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1300325
    .
  11. ^ Goldman-Rakic, Patricia. "April Thompson" (PDF). Vassar. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  12. S2CID 2972281
    .
  13. S2CID 7388615
    .
  14. doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1300325
    .
  15. ^ Goldman-Rakic, Patricia. "Neuroscience" (PDF). In Sage Publications.
  16. ^ a b c "Goldman-Rakic, Patricia Shoer". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  17. ISSN 1740-634X
    .
  18. ^ "Dr. Lawrence Goldman Award in Physiology". University of Maryland School of Medicine. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  19. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  20. ^ "Goldman-Rakic Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Cognitive Neuroscience". 31 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Vassar Quarterly" (PDF). Summer 1993. pp. 38–39. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  22. ^ "Patricia Goldman-Rakic". Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patricia_Goldman-Rakic&oldid=1201535386"