NIMH

There’s promise in specific immune system peptides—amino acid compounds that signal cells how to function. In this case, they may be affecting brain activity and, by extension, drug cravings. Read More

Brain imaging studies have implicated the connection between two brain regions in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have identified an interaction between two proteins that play a role in learning and memory. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered that oxidative damage may play an important role in the development of a rare cholesterol synthesis disease and in the behavioral changes of autism spectrum disorders. Read More

Researchers in the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health are testing whether a unique “couples-centered” intervention developed in the southern African nation of Mozambique can reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV. 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

Vanderbilt University scientists have received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that testing in humans may proceed for an investigational new drug for Alzheimer's disease after more than 10 years of research by scientists at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered how antidepressant medicines that block serotonin uptake can increase bleeding risk. Read More

Traditional healers in sub-Saharan have a high rate of exposure to blood, putting them at risk for HIV and hepatitis C. Read More

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

A new compound developed at Vanderbilt treats multiple symptoms of schizophrenia in an animal model, without causing sedation. Read More

A new animal model can be used to “dissect” the inflammatory response to infection. Read More

The hormone leptin regulates glucose balance, but not fat stores, in zebrafish. 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

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

Vanderbilt investigators report the first use of a specialized type of MRI to study the hippocampus in patients with schizophrenia. Read More

Inhibitors of the enzyme phospholipase D1 suppress the replication of HIV-1, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. Read More

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

Although heteromeric dopamine receptors composed of both D1 and D2 subunits have been proposed to play a role in depression and schizophrenia, recent studies suggest these heteromers do not exist. Read More