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Patricia Goldman Rakic, 2003 Photo sourced from

10 Best Facts about Patricia Goldman-Rakic

Patricia Shoer Goldman-Rakic who was born on April 22, 1937 was an American professor of neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry and psychology at Yale University School of Medicine. She pioneered multidisciplinary research of the prefrontal cortex and working memory. 

She was among the very few female doctors at that time. Goldman-Rakic was also the President of the Society for Neuroscience from 1989-1990 and a fellow of The American Psychological Association. Let’s take a look at some of the best facts about her;

1.Patricia was born on 22 April 1937 in Salem, Massachusetts 

Patricia Goldman Rakic, 2003 Photo sourced from

Patricia Shoer Goldman-Rakic, known to family, friends, and colleagues as Pat, was born on 22 April 1937 in Salem, Massachusetts to an immigrant family. Her father, Irving Shoer, was the son of Latvian immigrants while her mother, Jennie Pearl, was a Russian immigrant herself.

Soon after Goldman-Rakic was born, her family moved to Peabody, Massachusetts, where she remained until she left to attend college. Goldman-Rakic grew up with her twin sister Ruth and younger sister Linda. She was one of the coolest kids while growing up and always stood by her sisters.

Read more about her in 10 Famous Female Doctors That Made an Impact

2.She and her sisters studied and pursued a career in science

Born into a family of three girls, Patricia and her sister studied and pursued a career in science, something most families don’t usually do moreso siblings. Patricia and her twin sister Ruth both graduated from Vassar in 1959, while their younger sister also studied science elsewhere.

Goldman-Rakic had two sisters, Dr. Ruth Rappaport, her identical twin, and Dr. Linda Faith Schoer. After Vassar, Patricia earned her doctorate in neuropsychology from the University of California at Los Angeles and was always on top in her class. She later went on to a post-doctoral appointment at the Museum of Natural History in New York City.

3.Patricia became the first person to discover and describe circuitry of the prefrontal cortex and its relationship to working memory

FMRI scan during working memory tasks Photo sourced from

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. This was a feat no other person had been able to accomplish before. 

4.She was also one of the first people to use radioactive tracers to examine the capacity of the brain to repair itself

She was also one of the first people to use radioactive tracers to examine the capacity of the brain to repair itself, this she studied so early in her career. This is phenomenon is one of very first that Patricia tried to explain after she graduated and got a job. 

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.

5.She was married to Pasko Rakic but never had children of their own

Professor Pasko Rakic Photo sourced from

Goldman-Rakic met her future husband, Pasko Rakic, who then was on the faculty at Harvard. They began a personal and professional collaboration that would change the course of contemporary neuroscience. The two were so in love and decided to take it to the next step. 

They married in 1979 and moved as a couple to Yale University, where he headed the newly created Section of Neurology. They however were not able to have children of their own because they were so into research that they could not find time of their own. 

6.Patricia  was a holder of three degrees

Diagram of the gown, hood and bonnet used in graduation/presentation ceremonies of Ph.Ds Photo sourced from

Patricia Goldman-Rakic a holder of three degrees including a bachelors degree, a masters degree and a PhD degree. She earned a bachelor’s degree in experimental psychology at Vassar College, graduating summa cum laude in 1959.

She then went to graduate school in psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and completed her PhD in 1963 under the mentorship of developmental psychologist Wendell Jeffrey. She became one of the most learned people at that time. 

Read more about other PhD holders here

7.Patricia was also a writer and had more than 250 works to her name

Patricia was also a writer and had more than 250 works to her name. She published either as sole author or as a coauthor, many of which are considered seminal in the early twenty-first century.These works include the journal Cerebral Cortex. As the chief co-editors, they made that journal into the premier publication for basic cortical research.

Other works include;Sex-Dependent Behavioral Effects of Cerebral Cortical Lesions in the Developing Rhesus Monkey, Regional and Cellular Fractionation of Working Memory and many more which are still being used by researchers and even other writers in understanding the brain. 

8.She has won several awards in her career 

She has won several awards in her career including;George Peabody Award (1954), W. Alden Spencer Award, Columbia University (1982), Krieg Cortical Discoverer Award, Cajal Club (1989), Fyssen Foundation Prize in Neuroscience (1990), Merit Award of NIMH (1990) and the Lieber Prize, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (1991). 

Other awards include;Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Medical Research Award (1993), John P. McGovern Award in Behavioral Sciences (American Association for the Advancement of Science) (1993), 
Karl Lashley Award, American Philosophical Society (1996), Ariëns Kappers Medal, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (1996) and Ralph Gerard Prize, Society for Neuroscience (2002). 

9.Patricia’s achievements also earned her several other honors 

Patricia’s achievements also earned her several other honors including being, Inducted into the National Academy of Sciences (1990), Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1991) and an Honorary doctorate from Utrecht University (2000). 

Her other honors include; Honorary degree, St. Andrews College of the University of Edinburgh (2003) and Inducted to the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, Science & Health category (2008), She was also the President of the Society for Neuroscience from 1989-1990 and a fellow of The American Psychological Association. 

Read more about other people who have such honors here

10.She died at the age of 66 on 31 July 2003 from injuries sustained when a car struck her

Goldman-Rakic died at the age of sixty-six on 31 July 2003 from injuries sustained when a car struck her. She was struck down by a car while crossing a street in Hamden, Connecticut on July 29, 2003. She could go on to die two days later, on July 31 at Yale-New Haven Hospital and was buried in Grove Street Cemetery. 

In her memory, 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.