Karalyn Patterson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Karalyn Patterson
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Patterson in 2014
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| Born |
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
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| Education | South Shore High School |
| Alma mater | University of California, San Diego |
| Spouse(s) | Roy D. Patterson |
| Awards | Suffrage Science award (2020) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cognitive neuropsychology |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge |
| Thesis | Limitations on retrieval from long-term memory (1971) |
Karalyn Eve Patterson is a leading British psychologist. She works at the University of Cambridge and the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. She is an expert in cognitive neuropsychology. This field studies how brain injuries or diseases affect our thinking, memory, and language skills. She is also an Emeritus Fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge.
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Early Life and Education
Karalyn Patterson was born in Chicago, USA. She went to South Shore High School in Chicago. She finished high school in 1961.
Later, she earned her PhD degree in 1971. She completed her studies at the University of California, San Diego.
Career and Research Focus
In 1975, Patterson moved to England. She started working at the Medical Research Council (MRC) in Cambridge. She joined their Applied Psychology Unit.
Her research focuses on how our brains handle language and memory. She studies what happens when these brain functions are affected by diseases. This includes conditions like Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.
Understanding the Brain
Patterson uses many different ways to study the brain. She looks at how people behave and uses special tests. She also uses advanced brain imaging techniques. This helps her understand how language and memory are organized in the brain.
Her work has greatly helped us understand how these important brain functions can change. This is especially true when someone has a brain disease.
Awards and Special Honours
Karalyn Patterson has received many important awards. She is a fellow of two major UK academies. These are the Royal Society for science and the British Academy for humanities and social sciences. Being a fellow means she is recognized as a top expert in her field.
Her nomination for the Royal Society praised her work. It said she helped start the field of cognitive neuropsychology. Her studies have made this field very strong. She has developed new ways to study brain disorders.
In 2020, she received the Suffrage Science Life Sciences Award. This award celebrates women in science.
Personal Life
Outside of her scientific work, Karalyn Patterson has other interests. She enjoys learning about food and wine. She has even worked as a wine steward at Darwin College, Cambridge.
She is married to Roy D. Patterson.
