brain

November 4, 2019

Sleep experts: daylight saving time has long-term brain effects

Sleep experts published a JAMA Neurology commentary in which they recap large epidemiological studies to advocate for ending the practice.

By VUMC News and Communications
October 3, 2019

Team discovers one more piece to the autism puzzle

Vanderbilt investigators have linked genetic mutations in a single receptor to epilepsy, autism and intellectual disability.

By Bill Snyder
brain and lightning
September 9, 2019

Astrocytes and epilepsy

A protein with important functions in astrocytes — star-shaped brain support cells — may alter neuronal excitability and contribute to seizure activity, Vanderbilt researchers report.

By Leigh MacMillan
April 25, 2019

Immune ‘pruning’ in schizophrenia

Ariel Deutch and colleagues have discovered that overactive brain immune cells during adolescence may contribute to schizophrenia.

By Bill Snyder
March 14, 2019

Exploring the brain’s white matter

New comprehensive functional MRI measurements point to the need to update models for assessing brain white matter activity and physiology.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 14, 2019

Modulating stress circuits

Danny Winder and colleagues demonstrate an interaction between two signaling pathways — and its impact on the activity of neurons that respond to stress.

By Leigh MacMillan
December 14, 2018

Using a mapping technique to reassess prior Alzheimer’s studies finds ‘powerful,’ improved reproducibility

A neurologist is using a mapping analysis in a new study to rethink where symptoms or cognitive processes should show up in the brain. The results are ‘powerful.’
By Holly Fletcher
December 6, 2018

Team seeks to create gene expression map of worm’s nervous system

How do you build a brain? What “rules” govern where neurons end up, how they connect to each other, and which functions they perform?
By Leigh MacMillan
October 3, 2018

New study looks at brain networks involved in free will

Using lesion network mapping, a recently developed technique for analyzing how the brain works, Ryan Darby, MD, assistant professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt, studied free will perception related to movement decisions.
By Tom Wilemon
October 1, 2018

Cytokine-cognition connection

Targeting the immune system may provide a new avenue for therapeutic intervention in psychiatric diseases characterized by motivational and cognitive deficits.
By Laura Daniel
April 19, 2018

MRI technique detects spinal cord changes in MS patients: study

A Vanderbilt University Medical Center-led research team has shown that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect changes in resting-state spinal cord function in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
By Bill Snyder
November 21, 2017

‘Mind’s eye blink’ proves ‘paying attention’ is not just a figure of speech

Vanderbilt psychologists have discovered that when you shift your attention from one place to another, your brain 'blinks'—or experiences momentary gaps in perception.
By VUMC News and Communications
April 28, 2017

Regulating anxiety in the brain

Two brain signaling pathways have overlapping functions in regulating anxiety, suggesting that therapeutics aimed at one or the other will impact both.
By Leigh MacMillan