Elizabeth Gould (psychologist) facts for kids

Elizabeth Gould is a scientist who studies the brain. She was born in 1962 in the United States. She works at Princeton University as a professor. She is famous for her research on how new brain cells can grow in adults. This idea was quite new and surprising! In 2002, Discover magazine even named her one of the top 50 women scientists.

Dr. Gould found proof that new brain cells can grow in the brains of adult rats, marmosets, and monkeys. These new cells appeared in areas like the hippocampus and olfactory bulb. The hippocampus is important for memory. The olfactory bulb helps with the sense of smell. Her work also showed how stress can affect the growth of these new brain cells. She found that new cells can even grow in the neocortex of adult monkeys. The neocortex is the part of the brain responsible for thinking and problem-solving.

Becoming a Brain Scientist

Elizabeth Gould was born in 1962. She earned her Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience in 1988 from UCLA. After that, in 1989, she joined a research lab at Rockefeller University. There, she studied how stress hormones affect the brains of rats.

While Dr. Gould was looking at brain cells, she noticed something unexpected. She saw signs that the brain might be able to repair itself. This was a very new idea at the time.

Discovering New Brain Cells

At first, Dr. Gould thought she had made a mistake. She searched through many old scientific papers. She found some research from 1962 by Joseph Altman at MIT. He had claimed that adult rats, cats, and guinea pigs could form new brain cells. However, his ideas were not widely accepted then.

Later, Dr. Gould found more research by Michael Kaplan from the University of New Mexico. He had used a special microscope to see new neurons forming in many parts of the mammalian brain. But other scientists, like Pasko Rakic, disagreed. They believed that new brain cells could not grow in adult mammals. Kaplan eventually stopped his work on this topic.

Proving New Brain Cells Can Grow

Dr. Gould spent eight years carefully studying rat brains. She was determined to prove that new brain cells could indeed grow. In 1997, she became a professor at Princeton University.

The very next year, she published several important papers. Her research showed that adult marmosets could create new neurons in their brains. These new cells were found especially in the olfactory cortex and the hippocampus. By 1999, even Dr. Rakic, who had disagreed before, admitted that new brain cells could grow in adults. He published his own paper showing new neurons in the hippocampus of macaques.

What Dr. Gould Studies Now

Today, Dr. Gould's lab at Princeton University continues to study how new brain cells are made. They look at this process in young and adult mammals, including rodents and primates.

Her team wants to understand why these new cells are important. They are also trying to find out how hormones affect the creation of new cells. They also study how different experiences can change how many new cells are made.

How Hormones Affect Cell Growth

Dr. Gould and her team found that a hormone called estrogen helps new cells grow in the rat brain. They also discovered that stress hormones can stop new cells from growing.

How Experiences Affect Cell Growth

Dr. Gould's research has shown that stressful experiences can reduce the growth of new cells in the brain. For example, social stress or even the smell of a predator can slow down cell production in rats and monkeys.

The Importance of a Rich Environment

Dr. Gould's team noticed that many new brain cells in rats and monkeys do not survive if the animals live in simple lab conditions. However, if the animals are put in more interesting and complex environments, more of these new cells survive. This suggests that a stimulating environment is important for brain health. Her team is still exploring this idea.

What New Brain Cells Do

Scientists are still learning what new brain cells do in the adult brain. Dr. Gould and her colleagues believe these new cells play a role in how the hippocampus works. They think these cells might help with learning and managing stress. Their studies show that learning can increase the number of new neurons. They also found that if there are fewer new neurons, it can affect certain types of learning.

Awards and Honors

Elizabeth Gould has received many awards for her important work:

• 1989-1991: NRSA Individual postdoctoral fellowship
• 1991-1992: Winston Tri-Institutional fellowship
• 1992-1993: American Paralysis Association grant
• 1993-1994: NIMH RO3 small grant
• 1994-1996: NARSAD Young Investigator Award
• 1994-1999: NIMH FIRST award
• 2000: National Academy of Sciences Troland Award
• 2006: NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award
• 2009: Benjamin Franklin Medal from the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) for her amazing work on neurogenesis.