neuron

March 10, 2020

Loss of ‘Jedi’ alters neuron activity

This is not the Jedi you’re thinking of. This Jedi is a receptor that helps clear away dead neurons during development, and its loss changes the activity of dorsal root ganglia neurons, which could have implications for treating chronic pain.

By Leigh MacMillan
January 15, 2020

Study sheds light on link between cannabis, anxiety and stress

A molecule produced by the brain that activates the same receptors as marijuana is protective against stress by reducing anxiety-causing connections between two brain regions.

By Kelsey Herbers
Max Joffe, PhD, left, P. Jeffrey Conn, PhD, and colleagues are studying a new class of antidepressants that may relieve symptoms more rapidly and with fewer side effects.
November 21, 2019

Study explores potential new class of antidepressants

Researchers at VUMC have taken a major step that could ultimately facilitate development of a new class of antidepressants which may relieve symptoms more rapidly and effectively and with fewer side effects than current medications.

By Bill Snyder
August 22, 2019

How nerves may lose their insulation

Vanderbilt’s Bruce Carter and colleagues have discovered how genetic changes in the protein PMP22 may contribute to a disease of peripheral nerves.

By Bill Snyder
January 18, 2018

Investigators eye new target for treating movement disorders

Blocking a nerve-cell receptor in part of the brain that coordinates movement could improve the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, dyskinesia and other movement disorders, researchers at Vanderbilt University have reported.

By Bill Snyder
(iStockphoto)
September 15, 2016

Researchers eye potential schizophrenia ‘switch’

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered a key mechanism that explains how compounds they’re developing can suppress schizophrenia-like symptoms without side effects in mice.

By Bill Snyder
May 7, 2015

Findings reveal new target in quest to ease schizophrenia

Vanderbilt University researchers have uncovered a surprising finding that could lead to the development of new, more effective therapies for schizophrenia, which affects more than 2 million Americans.
By Bill Snyder
May 1, 2015

New player in neuronal communication

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a novel mechanism for the development of dendritic spines – sites of nerve cell communication.
By Leigh MacMillan
November 26, 2014

New tools to probe manganese biology

Vanderbilt researchers have developed tools to probe the role of the essential metal manganese in neurons, and which offer a started point for developing therapeutic agents for manganese-related neurological disorders.
By Leigh MacMillan
December 12, 2013

VU study points to central regulator of neuron development

Developmental biologist Chin Chiang, Ph.D., and his colleagues have discovered that Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum act as central regulators of neuronal development.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 15, 2013

Researchers track neuron branching’s genetic control switch

In an effort to understand how neurons develop different “architectures,” Vanderbilt developmental biologists have discovered a genetic switch that controls one type of neuron branching in the nematode worm.
By Leigh MacMillan
September 19, 2012

How ‘Jedi’ disposes of dead neurons

The protein Syk is essential for clearing away neuron “corpses” in the developing peripheral nervous system.
By Leigh MacMillan
September 6, 2012

Neuronal subtypes in genetic disorder

Inhibitory neurons that connect and regulate signaling in the brain (interneurons) may contribute to epilepsy and autism in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex.
By Leigh MacMillan