brain

September 30, 2021

Project seeks to treat Alzheimer’s in people with Down syndrome

A joint project between the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and the Vanderbilt Center for Cognitive Medicine will help deliver Alzheimer’s disease therapies and treatments to people with Down syndrome (DS). 

By Emily Stembridge
September 20, 2021

Brain circuits in schizophrenia

Vanderbilt psychiatrists are probing brain circuit hyperactivity implicated in schizophrenia, with the idea that normalizing the hyperactivity may improve cognitive processes.

By Leigh MacMillan
September 2, 2021

White matter and schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia have functional changes in the white matter of the brain, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered, which may contribute to impaired working memory and processing speed.

By Emily Stembridge
August 23, 2021

Estrogen, depression and menopause

A shift in emotional processing may help women adapt to lower estrogen after menopause —unless they have a history of major depressive disorder, Vanderbilt researchers have found.

By Emily Stembridge
July 15, 2021

Arterial stiffening linked to Alzheimer’s disease

A research team from Vanderbilt University Medical Center reports in Neurology that greater stiffening of the aorta, the main artery in the human body, is associated in older adults with increased Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology as reflected in a range of neurochemical indicators measured in cerebrospinal fluid.

By Paul Govern
June 23, 2021

Common mechanism found for diverse brain disorders: study

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified a common mechanism underlying a spectrum of epilepsy syndromes and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, that are caused by variations in a gene encoding a vital transporter protein in the brain.

By Bill Snyder
May 13, 2021

Research explores how people with traumatic brain injury have adapted to the pandemic

The Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences has conducted research to better understand how individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) have adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers think the findings may apply to many disability populations in future crises.
By Emily Stembridge
April 15, 2021

Alzheimer’s study tracks protein located inside cells

New research from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, published recently in the journal PLOS Genetics, suggests an essential role for a somewhat obscure biomolecule and casts light on a potential drug target in Alzheimer’s disease.
By Paul Govern
March 22, 2021

Chemo for cancer lowers dementia risk

Cancer chemotherapy lowered risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurocognitive disorders that disproportionately affect older people.
By Paul Govern
February 22, 2021

MRI view of brain tumor prognosis

In patients with glioblastoma brain tumors, features detected on MRIs at diagnosis were associated with survival, Vanderbilt Medical Center investigators found.
By Leigh MacMillan
November 16, 2020

Imaging “biomarker” for Alzheimer’s disease progression

Changes in connectivity in the brain’s white matter may be a novel neuroimaging biomarker for assessing Alzheimer’s disease progression.
By Bill Snyder
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
October 19, 2020

Depression and the brain-age gap

Older depressed adults show accelerated brain aging, according to a new study from Vanderbilt researchers, who suggest that the effects of depression may speed the decline in cognitive functions in older individuals.
By Sarah E. Glass