Psychology

When it comes to using a star to endorse a product, new Vanderbilt research finds the less people know about the celebrity’s personal opinions, the better. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that the pulvinar, a mysterious structure buried in the center of our brains, determines how we see the world — and whether we see at all. Read More

A new brain imaging study that has found an individual’s willingness to work hard to earn money is strongly influenced by the chemistry in three specific areas of the brain. Read More

Neuroscientists from Vanderbilt and Harvard have proposed the first neurobiological model for third-party punishment, outlining potential cognitive and brain processes that evolutionary pressures could have re-purposed to make this behavior possible. Read More

A brain-mapping study has found that people's ability to make decisions in novel situations decreases with age and is associated with a reduction in the integrity of two specific white-matter pathways. Read More

Vanderbilt University has emerged as one of the nation’s leading academic centers in neuroscience. Read More

Autism experts from Vanderbilt University are available for interviews on World Autism Awareness Day, designated by the United Nations as April 2. Read More

Sohee Park's schizophrenia research may lead to a greater understanding of the benefit of movement therapies such as yoga and dance for the 2.2 million people in the United States who suffer from this mental disorder. Read More

Jonathan Metzl, director of the Center for Medicine, Health and Society, explains the science behind how the brain weighs decisions and forms political beliefs on the "Melissa Harris-Perry" show. Read More

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

Vanderbilt psychologist David Schlundt weighs in on the issue of whether or not cutting calories is bound to lead to binge eating and explains why we need to "personalize" our diets. Read More

Sohee Park’s research explores the impaired and enhanced abilities of the schizophrenic brain Sohee Park (John Russell/Vanderbilt) The “rubber hand illusion” is not a new scientific method, but Sohee Park has used it to make some groundbreaking discoveries about schizophrenia. RHI, which was discovered in 1998, is… Read More

A network of scientists who study how the brain acquires visual expertise has received a five-year renewal of support from the National Science Foundation. Read More

Greg Barz (Vanderbilt) Greg Barz, associate professor of ethnomusicology, has co-edited a volume of essays, The Culture of AIDS in Africa: Hope and Healing Through Music and the Arts, published by Oxford University Press. Anne Davis, instructor in law, has been named managing attorney of the Southern Environmental Law… Read More

A study using a procedure called the rubber hand illusion has found striking new evidence that people experiencing schizophrenia have a weakened sense of body ownership and has produced the first case of a spontaneous, out-of-body experience in the laboratory. Read More

The new Center for Diabetes Translation Research will translate scientific breakthroughs into practices that can be applied in the doctor’s office and the patient’s home. Read More

The "Tower of Hanoi" task (Courtesy Dan Levin) “Learning by teaching,” a method in which teaching facilitates the tutor’s own understanding, may be improved when the audience is not human, new research from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College finds. The study, based on research that suggests a person learns… Read More

Tracy Barrett (Vanderbilt) Tracy Barrett, senior lecturer in Italian, has written Dark of the Moon, a re-telling of the Theseus myth for young adult readers, published by Harcourt Children’s Books. Leonard Bickman, the Betts Chair and professor… Read More

Early motor experiences can shape infants’ preferences for objects and faces, new research indicates. The study supports evidence that early motor development and experiences contribute to infants’ understanding of their world and implies that when motor skills are delayed or impaired – as in autism – future social interactions could be negatively impacted. Read More

How the brain is wired to control impulsive behavior differs significantly from what psychologists have thought, new research finds. Read More