Department Of Psychiatry

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. Read More

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

Two brain signaling pathways have overlapping functions in regulating anxiety, suggesting that therapeutics aimed at one or the other will impact both. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have identified cocaine-induced modifications at specific neuronal connections, which could aid the development of new therapies for substance abuse disorders. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

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

A genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease in later life appears to benefit younger adults as they age. Read More

COX-2 inhibitors – used clinically to reduce inflammation and pain – may find new applications for treating PTSD and other stress-related psychiatric disorders like major depression. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Sachin Patel, associate professor of Psychiatry and of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, is one of 106 researchers named today by President Obama as a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. Read More

An inability to recognize faces may be an important mechanism underlying social inhibition and may contribute to, or maintain, social anxiety. Read More

Harsh Trivedi, M.D., MBA, associate professor of Psychiatry, vice chair for Clinical Affairs for Vanderbilt’s Department of Psychiatry, and executive director and chief medical officer of Vanderbilt Behavioral Health, has been named CEO of Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital. He will remain administrative director for Vanderbilt Behavioral Health. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have established a link between the neurotransmitter serotonin and certain behaviors of some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a link that may lead to new treatments for ASD. Read More

Vanderbilt University scientists are a step closer to understanding how inflammation in the body can affect mood and behavior. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

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

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