World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Neuroscience

D-Index
96
Citations
38096
World Ranking
852
National Ranking
459

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
95
Citations
36261
World Ranking
1887
National Ranking
1037

Research.com Recognitions

  • 1976 - Fellow of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Overview

Richard W. Olsen is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles in the United States. Their research primarily spans the fields of Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology as well as Neuroscience.

The main subfields of study for Olsen include Molecular Biology and Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, alongside interests in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Pharmacology, and Plant Science.

The scientist's research topics cover a range of subjects, including:

  • Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Study
  • Alkaloids: synthesis and pharmacology
  • Natural product bioactivities and synthesis
  • Medicinal Plants and Neuroprotection
  • Phytochemistry and Biological Activities
  • Medicinal plant effects and applications

Olsen has published several papers in various journals. Notable recent papers include:

  • "Flavonoid compounds isolated from Tibetan herbs, binding to GABAA receptor with anxiolytic property" (2020), Journal of Ethnopharmacology
  • "Modulation of Hippocampal GABAergic Neurotransmission and Gephyrin Levels by Dihydromyricetin Improves Anxiety" (2020), Frontiers in Pharmacology
  • "GABAA receptors in GtoPdb v.2021.3" (2021), IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology CITE
  • "Ionotropic glutamate receptors in GtoPdb v.2023.1" (2023), IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology CITE
  • "Multivariate statistical and comparison analysis of chemical constituents in Arenaria kansuensis Maxim. from different regions in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" (2021), Phytochemical Analysis

Olsen frequently published in the following venues:

  • IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology CITE
  • Journal of Ethnopharmacology
  • Frontiers in Pharmacology
  • Phytochemical Analysis

The scientist has collaborated extensively with several co-authors, including:

  • John A. Peters
  • Delia Belelli
  • Tim G. Hales
  • Jeremy J. Lambert
  • Bernhard Lüscher

Richard W. Olsen was recognized as a Fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 1976.

Best Publications

  • GABAA Receptor Channels

    Robert L. Macdonald;Richard W. Olsen

  • International Union of Pharmacology. XV. Subtypes of gamma-aminobutyric acidA receptors: classification on the basis of subunit structure and receptor function.

    E. A. Barnard;P. Skolnick;R. W. Olsen;H. Mohler

  • Molecular biology of GABAA receptors.

    Richard W. Olsen;Allan J. Tobin

  • International Union of Pharmacology. LXX. Subtypes of γ-Aminobutyric AcidA Receptors: Classification on the Basis of Subunit Composition, Pharmacology, and Function. Update

    Richard W. Olsen;Werner Sieghart

  • GABAA receptors: Subtypes provide diversity of function and pharmacology

    Richard W. Olsen;Werner Sieghart

  • GABA‐Benzodiazepine‐Barbiturate Receptor Interactions

    Unknown

  • A nomenclature for ligand-gated ion channels

    Graham L. Collingridge;Richard W. Olsen;John Peters;Michael Spedding

  • GABA(A)-receptor-associated protein links GABA(A) receptors and the cytoskeleton.

    Hongbing Wang;Fiona K. Bedford;Nicholas J. Brandon;Stephen J. Moss

  • Attenuated sensitivity to neuroactive steroids in γ-aminobutyrate type A receptor delta subunit knockout mice

    Robert M. Mihalek;Pradeep K. Banerjee;Esa R. Korpi;Joseph J. Quinlan

  • Mice devoid of γ-aminobutyrate type A receptor β3 subunit have epilepsy, cleft palate, and hypersensitive behavior

    Gregg E. Homanics;Timothy M. DeLorey;Leonard L. Firestone;Joseph J. Quinlan

  • Mice lacking the beta3 subunit of the GABAA receptor have the epilepsy phenotype and many of the behavioral characteristics of Angelman syndrome.

    T. M. DeLorey;A. Handforth;S. G. Anagnostaras;G. E. Homanics

  • Jasper's basic mechanisms of the epilepsies

    Jeffrey L Noebels;Massimo Avoli;Michael A Rogawski;Richard W Olsen

  • Ethanol enhances α4β3δ and α6β3δ γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors at low concentrations known to affect humans

    M. Wallner;H. J. Hanchar;R. W. Olsen

  • Functional domains of GABAA receptors.

    Unknown

  • Withdrawal from chronic intermittent ethanol treatment changes subunit composition, reduces synaptic function, and decreases behavioral responses to positive allosteric modulators of GABAA receptors.

    Elisabetta Cagetti;Jing Liang;Igor Spigelman;Richard W. Olsen

  • Steroid anesthetics and naturally occurring analogs modulate the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor complex at a site distinct from barbiturates.

    D. M. Turner;R. W. Ransom;J. S.-J. Yang;R. W. Olsen

  • Identification of Direct Protein Targets of Small Molecules

    Brett Lomenick;Richard W. Olsen;Jing Huang

  • GABAA receptor α4 subunits mediate extrasynaptic inhibition in thalamus and dentate gyrus and the action of gaboxadol

    D. Chandra;F. Jia;J. Liang;Z. Peng

  • GABA and Epileptogenesis

    Richard W. Olsen;Massimo Avoli

  • Alcohol-induced motor impairment caused by increased extrasynaptic GABA(A) receptor activity.

    H Jacob Hanchar;Paul D Dodson;Richard W Olsen;Thomas S Otis

  • GABAA receptor subtypes: autoradiographic comparison of GABA, benzodiazepine, and convulsant binding sites in the rat central nervous system.

    R W Olsen;R T McCabe;J K Wamsley

  • Neuronal Synchronization and Thalamocortical Rhythms in Sleep, Wake and Epilepsy -- Jasper's Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies

    Noebels Jl;Avoli M;Rogawski Ma;Olsen Rw

Frequent Co-Authors

Antonio V. Delgado-Escueta
Antonio V. Delgado-Escueta University of California, Los Angeles
Massimo Avoli
Massimo Avoli McGill University
Michael A. Rogawski
Michael A. Rogawski University of California, Davis
Igor Spigelman
Igor Spigelman University of California, Los Angeles
Gregg E. Homanics
Gregg E. Homanics University of Pittsburgh
Allan J. Tobin
Allan J. Tobin University of California, Los Angeles
James K. Wamsley
James K. Wamsley IQVIA (United States)
Carolyn R. Houser
Carolyn R. Houser University of California, Los Angeles
Hongbing Wang
Hongbing Wang Michigan State University
Jonathan B. Cohen
Jonathan B. Cohen Harvard University

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