Jennifer Blackford

An $8.9 million grant from the NIH will establish the Vanderbilt AUD Research and Education Center, enhancing Vanderbilt University’s national leadership in neuroscience and addiction research. This initiative aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, advance understanding and treatment of alcohol use disorder, and engage the public through education and outreach efforts. Read More

Research Snapshot: Neuroimaging research is the first to show an area of the brain’s role in early abstinence from alcohol, revealing key sex differences. Est. reading time 2.5 mins. Read More

Inhibited temperament—a tendency to respond to novelty with wariness, fear or caution—may be a risk factor for schizophrenia that could be targeted for preventative interventions. 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

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

Vanderbilt investigators have used two types of neuroimaging to establish a “map” of connections for a brain region important in anxiety and addiction. Read More

Shyness may be caused by deficits in the brain. Read More

Brain imaging reveals clues about fear in Williams syndrome. Read More