neuroscience
International collaboration with Vanderbilt scientists sheds light on rare exocyst mutations that cause severe developmental disabilities in children
Sep. 14, 2020—Mukhtar Ahmed, Christian de Caestecker and Ian Macara, in collaboration with geneticists from Australia and Italy discover novel mutations in the Exocyst, providing new understanding of a critical cellular protein complex.
Turning Heads: The Vanderbilt Brain Institute has emerged as a hub of discovery as neuroscience’s influence expands
Aug. 5, 2020—The VBI recently marked its 20th anniversary, a span that has seen the institute’s wide-ranging missions—including administering the university’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, as well as postdoctoral training and community outreach—steadily coalesce under a single umbrella.
Mental Notes: Music Cognition Lab is dedicated to the scientific study of how music affects the brain and behavior
Aug. 5, 2020—The past decade in particular has been marked by a dramatic increase in music cognition inquiry, as about 100 laboratory groups around the world, including at Vanderbilt, are working across disciplines to understand music’s relationship to the brain, behavior and health, and to develop effective intervention strategies.
Committed to Memory: VU319 may hold the key to improving memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients
Jul. 23, 2020—VU319, an investigational drug product developed by Vanderbilt researchers, targets one of medicine’s most bedeviling challenges: improving memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Neuroscientists at Vanderbilt identify the brain cells that help humans adapt to change
Jul. 15, 2020—New research on cognitive flexibility points to a small class of brain cells that support switching attention strategies when old strategies fail.
What leads to compulsive alcohol use? With new experiments into binge drinking, researchers are finally getting answers
Nov. 22, 2019—New study from neuroscientists at Vanderbilt provides initial answers to long-standing scientific questions on what causes the transition from moderate to compulsive alcohol consumption – and what makes some drinkers particularly vulnerable to developing alcohol use disorders.
Microscopic spines connect worm neurons
Oct. 17, 2019—Worm neurons have microscopic “spines” — where nerve-to-nerve communication happens — that share features with mammalian neurons, supporting the use of worms to study spine genetics and biology.
ORAU award supports BME professor’s work on whole brain statistical modeling
Aug. 26, 2019—Mika Rubinov, whose research involves building statistical models of whole brain data sets, has received a competitive research grant from Oak Ridge Associated Universities.
Neuroscience Seminar Series: ‘Brain, Mind and Society’
Aug. 26, 2019—Neurobiological Processes in Reading: Findings and Connections Across Disorders and Development
Vanderbilt neuroscientists, art museum collaborate on NEA-funded visual cognition research
May. 17, 2019—Vanderbilt neuroscientists Isabel Gauthier and Thomas Palmeri will collaborate with a Buffalo, New York, art gallery on a two-year project that recently earned a National Endowment for the Arts Research: Art Works program award.
Two students awarded prestigious Goldwater Scholarships
May. 8, 2019—Vanderbilt University sophomore Aakash Basu and junior Eric Zhang have been named Goldwater Scholars. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier award for undergraduate STEM students who show exceptional promise of becoming the nation’s next generation of research leaders.
Flying on to Medical School: Riley Ferguson, BA’19
Apr. 11, 2019—A Facebook query seeking Vanderbilt students who were pilots led Riley Ferguson to two of her closest friends and the founding of AviaDORES, a campus organization with the mission of making aviation accessible to VU students.