Two Yale neurobiologists, who also happen to be husband and wife, were jointly honored with the Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience of the Society of Neuroscience.
Dr. Pasko Rakic, the Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor and chair of the Department of Neurobiology at the School of Medicine, and Patricia Goldman-Rakic, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Neurobiology, received the prize at the group's annual meeting in November.
The Society for Neuroscience endows the Gerard Prize, sponsored by Eli Lilly & Co., to honor and recognize outstanding contributions to the field of neuroscience research. The prize, consisting of a plaque and an honorarium, is named after Ralph W. Gerard, who helped found the Society for Neuroscience and served as its honorary president from 1970 until his death in 1974. The prize holds great prestige in the field of neuroscience; 11 of the previous recipients also received the Nobel Prize.
Rakic and Goldman-Rakic were recognized for their "extraordinary" contributions to present understanding of the cerebral cortex, said Fred H. Gage, current president of the society. Speaking before more than 3,000 attendees at the ceremony, Gage said that the cerebral cortex is considered one of the most complex structures in the human brain and in biology, but is often shunned by researchers. However, he noted, the Rakics have devoted their independent careers to exploring the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which it evolves and mediates the highest mental functions and their dissolution in various brain disorders.
While Rakic's research centered on early developmental events such as neuronal proliferation and migration in the cerebral cortex, Goldman-Rakic has studied the cellular mechanisms of cortical function, particularly as they relate to learning and memory and disorders of higher brain functions such as in schizophrenia.
Rakic's studies of molecular and cellular events in the developing cerebral cortex provided the foundation for studies of cellular interactions and differential cell adhesion as key mechanisms for cell-cell recognition and guidance of migrating neurons to their appropriate final positions, setting the stage for the formation of synaptic connections.
Goldman-Rakic is recognized for path-breaking studies on the cellular basis of short-term memory and the selective modulation of cortical microcircuits by dopamine receptors -- studies that have invigorated the frontal lobe hypothesis of schizophrenia. Her work is credited with placing cognitive phenomena on a firm neurobiological foundation.
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