Cognitive Disorders

A single mutation in one gene can impair inhibitory signaling in the brain and cause multiple types of seizures and behavioral abnormalities. Read More

The cognitive impairment that affects patients who survive a stay in the ICU does not appear to have a similar mechanism to Alzheimer’s disease, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

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

Some memory deficits observed in Alzheimer’s disease may be due to co-morbid illnesses – not the disease itself – and may be reversed by lifestyle changes or pharmacologic interventions. Read More

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

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a novel mechanism for the development of dendritic spines – sites of nerve cell communication. Read More

Size may not matter in a lot of things, but when it comes to cognitive decline, the size of the hippocampus definitely seems to be an issue. Read More

In the latest VUCast: ICU patients are leaving hospitals with a dementia-like disease; What’s the fate of the Republican Party?; Hear from Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Distinguished Visiting Professor Jon Meacham; and It's time to celebrate -- the Rate My Professor 2013 rankings are in. All this and more in Vanderbilt’s online newscast. Watch now. Read More

Patients treated in intensive care units across the globe enter their medical care with no evidence of cognitive impairment but often leave with deficits similar to those seen in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that persist for at least a year, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Read More

Paul Newhouse, Jim Turner Professor of Cognitive Disorders, is interviewed about his research showing that nicotine can help boost memory in people with mild cognitive impairment. Read More