Neuroscience

Laura Dugan, M.D., the Larry L. Hillblom Chair in Geriatric Medicine at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), will join the Vanderbilt faculty on April 7 to direct Vanderbilt University’s Division of Geriatric Medicine, a division of the Department of Medicine. Read More

Vanderbilt psychologists show it is possible to selectively manipulate our ability to learn through the application of a mild electrical current to the brain, and that this effect can be enhanced or depressed depending on the direction of the current. Read More

A brain-mapping study of patients with schizophrenia has found that areas associated with the ability to imitate are impaired, providing new support for the theory that deficits in this basic cognitive skill may underlie the profound difficulty with social interactions that characterize the disorder. Read More

A study has found that the time it takes neural networks in the brain to make decisions is remarkably stable regardless of size: a finding that could make it easier to achieve the goal of the President's BRAIN Initiative established last spring. Read More

Jon Kaas is the 2014 recipient of the George A. Miller Prize in Cognitive Neuroscience, which recognizes individuals whose research has had a revolutionary impact on the field. Read More

Vanderbilt University may nominate one candidate for the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award Program for 2014. This award provides $550,000 over five years for young investigators involved in research in the cure and treatment of diseases in the fields of cancer, immunology, and neuroscience. Read More

Neuroscientists have identified the location in the brain's visual cortex responsible for generating a common perceptual illusion: seeing shapes and surfaces that don't really exist when viewing a fragmented background. Read More

Research conducted at Vanderbilt is featured in "Brains on Trial with Alan Alda," a two-part televised series airing Sept. 11 and Sept. 18 on PBS that explores how the growing ability to separate truth from lies may radically affect the way criminal trials are conducted in the future. Read More

Tammy Frazier has battled cervical dystonia for seven years. (Photo by John Russell) Seven years ago Tammy Frazier noticed an odd tremor in her neck. It wasn’t painful but was very noticeable, with her head almost constantly shaking back and forth. Her primary care provider referred… Read More

Vanderbilt may nominate one candidate for the Simons Investigators in the Mathematical Modeling of Living Systems (MMLS) award, which supports junior faculty for five years at $100,000 per year. Read More

A team of Vanderbilt researchers has provided important validation of maps of the brain at rest that may offer insights into changes in the brain that occur in neurological and psychiatric diseases. Read More

Shewa Adelekun (Lauren Holland/Vanderbilt) When Shewa Adelekun was 5, her family emigrated from Nigeria to New York City. Her father, a doctor in his native country, took steps to complete his medical residency in the United States. Her mother, a nurse by training, became certified in the United States… Read More

Last month representatives of more than 140 countries agreed to the terms of a treaty called the Minamata Convention that would ban many uses of mercury by 2020. But the efforts do not go far enough, says Vanderbilt pharmacologist Michael Aschner. Read More

Neuroscientist Kenneth Catania has resolved a long-standing scientific debate by showing that the common mole can smell in stereo. Read More

Kenneth Catania, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University, is one of 18 scientists who have been honored by the National Academy of Sciences for their outstanding scientific achievements in a wide range of fields spanning the physical, biological and social sciences. Read More

Noted neuroscientist Thomas Südhof, M.D., will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Dec. 13. Read More

Researchers have discovered that alligators and crocodiles possess one of the most acute senses of touch in the animal kingdom. Read More

Ford Ebner (Vanderbilt University) Vanderbilt’s Department of Psychology is hosting a daylong symposium to honor Ford Ebner, professor of psychology, emeritus, and professor of cell and developmental biology at Vanderbilt. “Neuroscience Today: A Symposium to Honor the Career Contributions of Dr. Ford Ebner” is scheduled from… Read More

A new study demonstrates how the brain follows Ben Franklin’s famous dictum, “Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste.” Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast: What these “sensitive” alligators have in common with humans.  Brainy bugs! Why ants are smarter than the average bug.  And a worldwide “girl power” movement comes to Vanderbilt. Read More