Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a $9.4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to test the effectiveness of a transdermal nicotine patch in improving memory loss in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease.

Treating depressed individuals and figuring out who will and won’t respond to antidepressants is mostly trial and error — much to the frustration of patients and the health care providers who treat them.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging has revealed faulty circuits between the thalamus – a central hub of brain activity – and other brain regions.

Many women who receive chemotherapy for breast cancer report problems with their thinking, memory and attention after treatment.

Vanderbilt investigators report the first use of a specialized type of MRI to study the hippocampus in patients with schizophrenia.

Catatonia, a syndrome characterized by muscular rigidity and a trance-like mental stupor, can at times manifest with great excitement and confusion. And while it is often associated with schizophrenia, it can present in patients with either medical or psychiatric conditions. For this reason, the condition has often confused clinicians.

A “transformational” $6.4 million gift from Dallas couple Donald Test Jr., and his wife, Charlotte, who have a very personal connection to the devastating disease of schizophrenia, is supporting Vanderbilt Department of Psychiatry research and treatment into schizophrenia and related disorders.