Alexander Cools

Alexander Cools
Born1941
The Hague, Netherlands
Died7 September 2013(2013-09-07) (aged 71)
Nijmegen, The Netherlands
EducationRadboud University Nijmegen
Known forResearch on dopamine and the basal ganglia
AwardsDistinguished Achievement Award (EBPS)
Scientific career
FieldsPsychoneuropharmacology
WorkplacesRadboud University Nijmegen
Thesis The Caudate Nucleus and Neurochemical Control of Behaviour: The Function of Dopamine and Serotonin in the Caput Nuclei Caudati of Cats  (1973)
Jacques van Rossum, Jo Vossen
Signature

Alexander ("Lex") Rudolf Cools (1941 in The Hague – 7 September 2013 in Nijmegen) was a Dutch behavioral pharmacologist.

He obtained his Ph.D. under the supervision of Jacques van Rossum and Jo Vossen in 1973 at the Radboud University Nijmegen, where he was a professor from 1985 until his retirement in 2006. In 2014, a special issue of the scientific journal Behavioural Pharmacology was dedicated to his memory. Cools was one of the founders of the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society and its second president. In 2003 he received that society's Distinguished Achievement Award.

In 1976, Cools was the first to propose the existence of different types of dopamine receptors, an essentially correct claim that initially was generally dismissed.

Besides his work on dopamine, Cools is mostly known for his work on the basal ganglia and the dorsal and ventral striatum.

References

  1. ↑ Cools, A.R. (1973). The Caudate Nucleus and Neurochemical Control of Behaviour: The Function of Dopamine and Serotonin in the Caput Nuclei Caudati of Cats (Ph.D.). Drukkerij Brakkenstein. LCCN 76379116. OCLC 001179054.
  2. 1 2 Ellenbroek, Bart A.; Homberg, Judith; Verheij, Miche l; Spooren, Will; Van Den Bos, Ruud; Martens, Gerard (2014). "Alexander Rudolf Cools (1942–2013)". Psychopharmacology. 231 (11): 2219–2222. doi:10.1007/s00213-014-3583-5. PMID 24770629.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Robbins, Trevor (2015). "Alexander R. Cools (1941–2013)". Behavioural Pharmacology. 26 (1–2): 4–5. doi:10.1097/FBP.0000000000000101. PMID 25692200. S2CID 10471063.
  4. 1 2 Willner, Paul; Bergman, Jack; Vanderschuren, Louk; Ellenbroek, Bart (2015). "The behavioural pharmacology of the basal ganglia". Behavioural Pharmacology. 26 (1–2): 1–2. doi:10.1097/FBP.0000000000000125. hdl:1874/314557. PMID 25539481. S2CID 5455276.
  5. ↑ Cools, AR; van Rossum, JM (1976). "Excitation-mediating and inhibition-mediating dopamine-receptors: a new concept towards a better understanding of electrophysiological, biochemical, pharmacological, functional and clinical data". Psychopharmacologia. 45 (3): 243–254. doi:10.1007/bf00421135. PMID 175391. S2CID 40366909.
  6. ↑ van den Bos, Ruud (February 2015). "The dorsal striatum and ventral striatum play different roles in the programming of social behaviour: a tribute to Lex Cools". Behavioural Pharmacology. 26 (1–2): 6–17. doi:10.1097/FBP.0000000000000110. PMID 25545961.