Brad Grueter

March 2, 2023

Sex counts in the brain as seasons change

Photoperiod, or length of day, has sex-specific impacts on dopamine dynamics in the brain, offering insights into sex differences in neuropsychiatric disorders, Vanderbilt researchers report.

By Paul Govern
November 3, 2022

Social behavior brain circuitry

Vanderbilt researchers have identified a novel mechanism regulating social behavior: Neuropeptide Y signaling in the nucleus accumbens brain region.

By Leigh MacMillan
October 29, 2020

Histamine circuits in brain reward center

Histamine — commonly associated with allergies — also has a signaling role in the brain’s reward center and may offer a novel target for treating addiction.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 18, 2018

Shaping reward circuits

Using techniques to control and monitor the activities of individual neurons, Vanderbilt investigators are probing the brain’s reward circuitry.

By Leigh MacMillan
August 4, 2017

An immune regulator of addiction

Although drug addiction is classically studied in a neuron-centric way, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that the immune system also plays a critical role.

By Sanjay Mishra
November 4, 2016

Probing drug abuse circuitry

Vanderbilt researchers have identified cocaine-induced modifications at specific neuronal connections, which could aid the development of new therapies for substance abuse disorders.

By Leigh MacMillan
November 6, 2014

Optogenetics sheds new light on brain’s behavior modulators

A new light-based technology is allowing scientists to peer deep into the brain and alter animal behavior with the “flip of a switch.”
By VUMC News and Communications