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Margaret Livingstone

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Not to be confused with Margaret Livingston or Margaret Livingstone, Countess of Orkney.
Margaret Livingstone
Born (1950-04-03) April 3, 1950 (age 74)[1]
Danville, Virginia
Alma materMIT
Harvard University
Awards
Scientific career
ThesisMonoamines in the lobster: Biochemistry, anatomy, and possible functional role (1981)
Doctoral advisorEdward Kravitz
Doctoral studentsStephen Macknik
Doris Tsao
Bevil Conway

Margaret Stratford Livingstone is the Takeda Professor of Neurobiology in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School in the field of visual perception.[2] She authored the book Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing. She was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2015 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2020.

Education and career

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Livingstone was born in Virginia, started college at Duke University and then transferred to Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she received her undergraduate degree in 1972.[3][1] In 1981 she earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University.[4] Following her Ph.D. she worked as a visiting fellow at Princeton University[1] and then was a postdoctoral fellow under David H. Hubel at Harvard University.[5] In 1983 she became an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and in 1988 she was promoted to professor, and in 2014 she was named the Takeda Professor of Neurobiology.[1]

Research

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Livingstone's early research was on neurons that respond to serotonin, which she conducted by using lobsters as a model organism.[6][7] She went on to examine the visual responses in cats,[8] monkeys,[9] and how primates sense color.[10] Her research provides insight into how mammals perceive form and movement,[11][12] the physiological details leading to dsylexia,[13] and the region of the brain used to identify faces.[14][15]

Allegations of animal cruelty

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In 2022, following Livingston's election as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, she published an inaugural article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences titled Triggers for Mother Love, in which she described the reactions of monkey mothers to being given a stuffed toy after the removal of their baby. This drew attention to her research on vision with monkey infants, which included suturing the eyelids of two monkeys shut.[16][17]

In response, a group of over 250 scientists sent a letter to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences to request retraction of the article.[16][17] PETA also asked for retraction of the article, and asked that Livingston's work be defunded.[16] In a response statement, Harvard Medical School defended the value of Livingston's work.[16][17]

In 2023, members of the Animal Law & Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School and the Wild Mind Labs at the University of St. Andrews wrote a letter, signed by over 380 researchers, asking the National Institute of Health to stop funding Livingstone's research with monkeys.[18]

Selected publications

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Awards and honors

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In 2011, the Society for Neuroscience awarded Livingstone the Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award.[20] In 2015 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,[21] and in 2020 she was elected to the United States' National Academy of Sciences.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Albright, Thomas D.; Squire, Larry R., eds. (1996). The history of neuroscience in autobiography (PDF). Vol. 9. Washington DC: Society for Neuroscience. ISBN 0-916110-51-6. OCLC 36433905. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2021.
  2. ^ "Margaret Livingstone". Harvard Catalyst Profiles. Harvard Catalyst. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Margaret S. Livingstone". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  4. ^ Livingstone, Margaret (1981). Monoamines in the lobster : biochemistry, anatomy, and possible functional role (Thesis). Harvard University. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  5. ^ "Margaret Livingstone | Department of Neurobiology". neuro.med.harvard.edu.
  6. ^ Livingstone, Margaret S.; Harris-Warrick, Ronald M.; Kravitz, Edward A. (1980-04-04). "Serotonin and Octopamine Produce Opposite Postures in Lobsters". Science. 208 (4439): 76–79. Bibcode:1980Sci...208...76L. doi:10.1126/science.208.4439.76. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17731572. S2CID 32141532.
  7. ^ Livingstone, Margaret S.; Schaeffer, Susan F.; Kravitz, Edward A. (1981). "Biochemistry and ultrastructure of serotonergic nerve endings in the lobster: Serotonin and octopamine are contained in different nerve endings". Journal of Neurobiology. 12 (1): 27–54. doi:10.1002/neu.480120104. ISSN 0022-3034. PMID 6782192.
  8. ^ Livingstone, Margaret S.; Hubel, David H. (1981). "Effects of sleep and arousal on the processing of visual information in the cat". Nature. 291 (5816): 554–561. Bibcode:1981Natur.291..554L. doi:10.1038/291554a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 6165893. S2CID 4335864.
  9. ^ Livingstone, M S; Hubel, D H (1982). "Thalamic inputs to cytochrome oxidase-rich regions in monkey visual cortex". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 79 (19): 6098–6101. Bibcode:1982PNAS...79.6098L. doi:10.1073/pnas.79.19.6098. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 347060. PMID 6193514.
  10. ^ Livingstone, M. S.; Hubel, D. H. (1984-01-01). "Anatomy and physiology of a color system in the primate visual cortex". Journal of Neuroscience. 4 (1): 309–356. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.04-01-00309.1984. ISSN 0270-6474. PMC 6564760. PMID 6198495. S2CID 15340643.
  11. ^ Livingstone, M. S.; Hubel, D. H. (1987-11-01). "Psychophysical evidence for separate channels for the perception of form, color, movement, and depth". Journal of Neuroscience. 7 (11): 3416–3468. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.07-11-03416.1987. ISSN 0270-6474. PMC 6569044. PMID 3316524. S2CID 15485966.
  12. ^ Livingstone, Margaret; Hubel, David (1988-05-06). "Segregation of Form, Color, Movement, and Depth: Anatomy, Physiology, and Perception". Science. 240 (4853): 740–749. Bibcode:1988Sci...240..740L. doi:10.1126/science.3283936. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 3283936.
  13. ^ Livingstone, M S; Rosen, G D; Drislane, F W; Galaburda, A M (1991-09-15). "Physiological and anatomical evidence for a magnocellular defect in developmental dyslexia". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 88 (18): 7943–7947. Bibcode:1991PNAS...88.7943L. doi:10.1073/pnas.88.18.7943. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 52421. PMID 1896444.
  14. ^ Tsao, Doris Y.; Freiwald, Winrich A.; Tootell, Roger B. H.; Livingstone, Margaret S. (2006-02-03). "A Cortical Region Consisting Entirely of Face-Selective Cells". Science. 311 (5761): 670–674. Bibcode:2006Sci...311..670T. doi:10.1126/science.1119983. ISSN 0036-8075. PMC 2678572. PMID 16456083.
  15. ^ Tsao, Doris Y.; Livingstone, Margaret S. (2008-07-01). "Mechanisms of Face Perception". Annual Review of Neuroscience. 31 (1): 411–437. doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.30.051606.094238. ISSN 0147-006X. PMC 2629401. PMID 18558862.
  16. ^ a b c d Grimm, David (October 19, 2022). "Harvard studies on infant monkeys draw fire, split scientists". Science Insider. Science. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  17. ^ a b c "Harvard study on monkeys reignites ethical debate over animal testing". CBS News. November 21, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  18. ^ Wang, Austin H.; Yuan, Ammy M. (February 24, 2023). "Researchers Call on NIH to Stop Funding Primate Experiments at Harvard Medical School". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  19. ^ Reviews for Vision and Art
  20. ^ "Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award". www.sfn.org. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  21. ^ "Dr. Margaret S. Livingstone". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  22. ^ "National Academy of Sciences Elects New Members". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
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