Neuron

By studying extracellular vesicles from the brain, researchers at Vanderbilt and Argentina’s Universidad Nacional de Córdoba are the first to show how the incorporation of extracellular proteins into a neuron can modify neurotransmission Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

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

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. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

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

Vanderbilt researchers have identified the role that a key protein associated with autism and the co-occurrence of alcohol dependency and depression plays in forming the spines that create new connections in the brain. Read More

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. Read More

Developmental biologist Chin Chiang, Ph.D., and his colleagues have discovered that Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum act as central regulators of neuronal development. Read More

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. Read More

The protein Syk is essential for clearing away neuron “corpses” in the developing peripheral nervous system. Read More

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

Cells in the back of the developing brain can give rise to brain tumors, suggesting they may be a target for treatment. Read More