This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. (February 2019) |
Edward Kravitz | |
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Born | New York City, U.S. | December 19, 1932
Alma mater | City College of New York (BS) University of Michigan (PhD) |
Known for | Identifying gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as a neurotransmitter |
Awards |
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Scientific career | |
Fields | Neuroscience |
Institutions | National Institute of Health Harvard Medical School |
Doctoral students | Margaret Livingstone Thomas Schwarz |
Edward Arthur Kravitz (born December 19, 1932) is an American neuroscientist who is the George Packer Berry Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School.[1] He is widely recognized for demonstrating that gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) functions as a neurotransmitter.[2] In addition, he and Antony Stretton were the first to use the intracellular dye procion yellow to visualize neuronal architecture.[3]
Kravitz's work with neuroamines demonstrated that serotonin and octopamine act as synaptic modulators. Kravitz continued to explore the function of amines using Homarus americanus, the American lobster, as a model organism to study aggression. He currently works on aggressive behavior using the genetically manipulable model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly.