Patricia Goldman-Rakic
Born	April 22, 1937 Salem, Massachusetts, USA
Died	July 31, 2003 Hamden, Connecticut, USA
Residence	USA
Nationality	USA
Fields	neurobiology
Institutions	Yale University
Alma mater	Vassar, UCLA
Doctoral advisor	Wendell Jeffrey
Notable awards	National Academy of Sciences; Karl Lashley Award; Fyssen Prize; Ralph Gerard Prize.

Neuropsychology

Topics Brain-computer interface Traumatic brain injury Brain regions Clinical neuropsychology Cognitive neuroscience Dissociation Human brain Misconceptions Neuroanatomy Neurophysiology Optogenetics Phrenology

Brain functions Arousal Attention Consciousness Decision making Executive functions Natural language Learning Memory Motor coordination Sensory perception Planning Problem solving Thought

People Arthur L. Benton David Bohm António Damásio Phineas Gage Norman Geschwind Elkhonon Goldberg Patricia Goldman Rakic Pasko Rakic Donald O. Hebb Kenneth Heilman Edith Kaplan Muriel Lezak Benjamin Libet Rodolfo Llinás Alexander Luria Brenda Milner Karl H. Pribram Oliver Sacks Mark Rosenzweig Roger W. Sperry H. M. K. C.

Tests Bender-Gestalt Test Benton Visual Retention Test Clinical Dementia Rating Continuous Performance Task Glasgow Coma Scale Hayling and Brixton tests Johari window Lexical decision task Mini-mental state examination Stroop effect Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Wisconsin card sorting

Mind and Brain Portal

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Patricia Goldman-Rakic (pronounced ra-KEESH) (born Patricia Shoer) (April 22, 1937 – July 31, 2003) was an American neuroscientist/neurobiologist known for her pioneering study of the frontal lobe and her work on the cellular basis of working memory.^[1]

Contents 1 Life 1.1 Education 1.2 Family 1.3 Career 2 Death 3 Contributions to science 4 Awards [2] 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Life

[edit] Education

Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Goldman-Rakic earned her bachelor's degree in neurobiology from Vassar in 1959, and her doctorate from the University of California at Los Angeles in Developmental Psychology in 1963.^[2][3]

[edit] Family

Goldman-Rakic had two sisters, both of whom earned PhD’s in science. Goldman-Rakic was married to Pasko Rakic, also a neuroscientist; they had no children. Before they were married, Goldman-Rakic and Rakic maintained a long distance relationship between 1974 and 1977. They were married in 1977.^[2]

[edit] Career

After postdoctoral positions at UCLA and New York University, she worked at the National Institute of Mental Health in neuropsychology and ultimately as chief of developmental neurobiology.^[2] 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.^[4]

[edit] Death

On July 29, 2003, Goldman-Rakic was struck by a car while crossing a street in Hamden, Connecticut. She died two days later, on July 31 at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Goldman-Rakic was 66 years old.^[4] She is buried in Grove Street Cemetery.^[5]

[edit] Contributions to science

Goldman-Rakic was the first to discover and describe the order and structure of the frontal cortex. Because of Goldman-Rakic, scientists began to better understand the neurobiological basis of normal behavior and of such disorders as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, A.D.D., cerebral palsy, Parkinson's, and dementia. She used a multidisciplinary approach applying biochemical, electrophysiological, pharmacological, anatomical and behavioral techniques to study memory, behavior and drugs.^[5]

[edit] Awards ^[2]

• National Institute of Mental Health grantee (1980-2000)
• Alden Spencer Award, Columbia University (1982)
• Krieg Cortical Discoverer Award, Cajal Club (1989)
• inducted National Academy of Sciences (1990)
• Fyssen Foundation Prize in Neuroscience (1990)
• Lieber Prize, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (1991)
• inducted American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1991)
• Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award (1993)
• Karl Lashley Award, American Philosophical Society (1996)
• honorary doctorate, Utrecht University (2000)
• Gerard Prize, Society for Neuroscience (2002)

[edit] See also

• Cerebral Cortex

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Patricia Goldman-Rakic: Mapping the Prefrontal Cortex
• P. Levitt, Patricia Goldman-Rakic: The quintessential multidisciplinary scientist, PLoS Biol. 2003 November; 1(2):e38. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0000038.