Andrew Koob

Who is Andrew Koob?

Andrew Koob is an American neuroscientist and writer. Koob is the author of The Root of Thought, which explores the theory that the astrocyte, a type of glial cell in the brain, is 'responsible for our creative and imaginative existence as human beings.'

Originally thought to do nothing in the brain, glial cells are now believed to be the new frontier in neuroscience research and play a significant role in brain processing. Earlier concepts, such as Robert Galambos's theory about glial cell involvement in synaptic functioning, were controversial. When published in 1961, this theory resulted in Galambos's departure from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. However, since the discovery of gliotransmitters, the idea of active glial cell involvement in brain function is considered valid, and Koob discusses what may have led to the repression of glial research throughout most of the 19th and 20th centuries. Recent evidence has indicated that astrocytes may act as the brain's 'supervisors' and guide neuronal function during learning and memory, as well as regulate other processes originally believed to be strictly the domain of neurons.

Koob is from Cascade, Iowa.