Patricia Goldman-Rakic ( ; née Shoer, April 22, 1937 – July 31, 2003) was an American professor of

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

at Yale University School of Medicine. She pioneered multidisciplinary research of the

prefrontal cortex In mammalian brain anatomy, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) covers the front part of the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex. It is the association cortex in the frontal lobe. The PFC contains the Brodmann areas BA8, BA9, BA10, BA11, BA12, ...

and

working memory Working memory is a cognitive system with a limited capacity that can Memory, hold information temporarily. It is important for reasoning and the guidance of decision-making and behavior. Working memory is often used synonymously with short-term m ...

Early life and education

Patricia Shoer was born in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

. Her father, Irving Shoer, was the son of Latvian immigrants and her mother, Jenny Pearl, was a Russian immigrant. She grew up in

Peabody, Massachusetts Peabody () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 54,481 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Peabody is located in the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore region of Massachusetts, and is known ...

and attended Peabody High School. Goldman-Rakic earned her bachelor's degree cum laude in

neurobiology Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

from Vassar in 1959, and her doctorate from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in experimental Developmental Psychology in 1963."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 After postdoctoral positions at UCLA and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, Goldman-Rakic worked at the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primar ...

neuropsychology Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology focus on how injuries or illnesses of the brai ...

starting in 1965 and later as Chief of Developmental Neurobiology from 1975-1979. She moved to

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the medical school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. It is the sixth-oldest m ...

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. In 1988 she was granted a five-year, $6 million grant to establish the Center for Neuroscience Research at Yale.

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. Because of Goldman-Rakic, scientists began to better understand the neurobiological basis of higher cognitive function, and of such disorders as

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

(ADHD),

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, and

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

. She used a multidisciplinary approach, applying

biochemical Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, ...

electrophysiological Electrophysiology (from ee the Electron#Etymology, etymology of "electron" ; and ) is the branch of physiology that studies the electrical properties of biological cell (biology), cells and tissues. It involves measurements of voltage change ...

, pharmacological, anatomical and behavioral techniques to study working memory. She pioneered the first studies of

dopamine Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. It is an amine synthesized ...

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''. Goldman-Rakic co-authored over 300 scholarly articles and co-edited 3 books. She co-founded the '' Cerebral Cortex Journal'', a specialized publication by Oxford Press, with her husband Dr.

Pasko Rakic Pasko Rakic (; ; born May 15, 1933) is a Yugoslav-born American neuroscientist, who currently works in the Yale School of Medicine Department of Neuroscience in New Haven, Connecticut. His main research interest is in the development and evolut ...

. 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. 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.

Personal life

Goldman-Rakic had two sisters, Dr. Ruth Rappaport, her identical twin, and Dr. Linda Faith Schoer. She was married to Dr. Lawrence Goldman. She re-married

, also a neuroscientist, in 1979.

Death

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

Hamden, Connecticut Hamden is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant (Connecticut), Sleeping Giant". The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecti ...

. She died two days later, on July 31 at

Yale-New Haven Hospital Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) is a 1,541-bed hospital located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the second-largest hospital in the United States and one of the List of hospitals by capacity, largest in the world. It is the primary teaching hospi ...

. She is buried in

Grove Street Cemetery Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace th ...

. 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.

Honors and awards

Goldman-Rakic was also the President of the

Society for Neuroscience The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a professional society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., for basic scientists and physicians around the world whose research is focused on the study of the brain and nervous system. It is especially well k ...

from 1989-1990 and a fellow of The

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

References

External links

Patricia Goldman-Rakic: Mapping the Prefrontal Cortex

Amy F.T. Arnsten and Pasko Rakic, "Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2022)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldman-Rakic, Patricia American neuroscientists American women neuroscientists 1937 births 2003 deaths People from Salem, Massachusetts University of California, Los Angeles alumni New York University staff Yale University faculty Vassar College alumni Burials at Grove Street Cemetery Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American scientists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Schizophrenia researchers Alzheimer's disease researchers Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder researchers Parkinson's disease researchers American women academics 21st-century American women Members of the National Academy of Medicine Presidents of the Society for Neuroscience APA Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology recipients