P. Goldman-Rakic, 66; Did Pioneer Studies on the Brain and Memory

Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic, 66, a professor of neuroscience at Yale and a pioneering researcher on brain and memory function, died July 31 at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The cause of death was injuries she sustained after being hit by a car while crossing a street in Hamden, Conn.

A native of Salem, Mass., she earned her bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and a doctorate from UCLA. She had been a member of the Yale faculty since 1979 and before that had conducted research at UCLA, New York University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Institutes of Health.

The research of Goldman-Rakic, who was considered a pioneer in the area of memory function, also paved the way for scientists to understand the neurobiological basis of normal behavior and of diseases such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

In announcing her death, a statement from Yale University said that among her seminal discoveries was the demonstration that cells in the prefrontal cortex are dedicated to specific memory tasks.

In the 1970s, she found that the loss of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex produced profound working memory deficits. The study helped changed the view of neuropsychiatry.