Department of Psychiatry

May 17, 2018

Bladder pain syndrome no laughing matter for comedian

Local comedian Ashley Corby, 35, overshares with her audience as part of her standup routine, including a 5-minute bit about “shady” rest areas she has visited due to interstitial cystitis (IC), a bladder pain syndrome affecting 3 million to 8 million people in the United States.

By Craig Boerner
March 9, 2018

Brain connections in schizophrenia

Brain imaging studies have implicated the connection between two brain regions in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 8, 2018

Gift supports addiction medicine training program

The 2016 Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs and Health, “Facing Addiction in America,” leaves little question about the growing problem of addiction.

By Nancy Humphrey
arm with IV line
December 7, 2017

Study seeks to aid diagnosis, management of catatonia

Catatonia, a syndrome of motor, emotional and behavioral abnormalities frequently characterized by muscular rigidity and a trance-like mental stupor and at times manifesting with great excitement or agitation, can occur during a critical illness and appear similar to delirium. But the management strategies are vastly different.

By Nancy Humphrey
October 16, 2017

Gender, pain and dementia

Understanding sex differences in pain perception could lead to more targeted and effective pain assessment and management strategies in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease.

By Bill Snyder
September 5, 2017

Pain and Alzheimer’s disease

Clinicians should use a structured interview in people with Alzheimer’s disease to identify pain that might be otherwise overlooked.

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
March 28, 2017

Vanderbilt study finds natural chemical helps brain adapt to stress

A natural signaling molecule that activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain plays a critical role in stress-resilience — the ability to adapt to repeated and acute exposures to traumatic stress, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
By Bill Snyder
March 2, 2017

Clues found to recurrent depression

Women who have had repeated depressive episodes tend to pay more attention to negative emotional information, suggesting that they may benefit from cognitive therapy to build new, more positive pathways in their brains.
By Bill Snyder
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
October 13, 2016

Study may help predict anxiety risk in children

In what could be a way to predict which children might be vulnerable to anxiety disorders, a Vanderbilt study has shown that an altered prefrontal cortex function in the brain marks a heightened anxiety risk in children.
By Nancy Humphrey
July 28, 2016

Opioids’ impact on women’s health explored at research symposium

Women may be at higher risk than men when it comes to overuse of opioid-containing painkillers, speakers warned at a research symposium at Vanderbilt University Medical Center earlier this month.
By Bill Snyder
July 18, 2016

Diabetes drugs may ease addiction

Drugs that are being used clinically to treat obesity and diabetes may also have a role in treating drug abuse.
By Bill Snyder