Neuroscience at Vanderbilt

No one knows how brain processes produce mental processes - how what is happening in your brain as you read these words produces the comprehension you are experiencing. Insights will come only through the interdisciplinary efforts of brain scientists, psychologists, clinicians and engineers whose efforts will ultimately provide effective prevention and treatment of mental and neurological disorders and the development of new engineering applications such as prosthetic devices and autonomous robots. The Center for Integrative & Cognitive Neuroscience fosters symbiosis and serendipity among groups of investigators across the Vanderbilt University campus with no less a goal than to push back the last great frontier in modern science. We believe that learning how the brain produces thought and emotion will herald a change in humanities conception of our place in the universe akin to that brought about by Copernicus and Darwin. The Center builds on recognized strength in neuroscience research, training and education in the College of Arts & Science, the Peabody School of Education, the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine.

Research Programs


Perception

Vanderbilt Vision Research Center
The Vanderbilt Vision Research Center (VVRC) promotes research and training on a wide range of problems in vision science including:

• Visually guided behavior and cognition
• Neural processes underlying visually guided behavior
• Comparative anatomy and physiology of visual systems
• Development and plasticity of the visual systems
• Molecular mechanisms in the eye
• Diagnosis and treatment of vision disorders
• Machine vision


Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center
The Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center for Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences is dedicated to serving persons with diseases of the ear, nose, throat, head and neck, and hearing, speech, language and related disorders. As a part of one of the nation’s leading academic health systems, the Center restores health and the ability to communicate to thousands of people every year through patient care, professional education, and clinical research. The Center is comprised of Vanderbilt’s Department of Otolaryngology and Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences.


Vanderbilt Sensory Science
In addition to the strong research emphasis on vision reflected within the CICN, there is also a significant representation of scientists working on fundamental questions within other sensory systems. Included within this emphasis area are topics such as:

• the organization of auditory cortex and auditory processing (Hackett, Kaas)
• the organization of somatosensory cortex and tactile processing (Catania, Ebner, Kaas, Roe)
• evolution of sensory systems (Catania, Kaas)
• development and plasticity within sensory systems (Ebner, Kaas, Wallace)
• multisensory processes (Hackett, Wallace)


Development & Learning

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development
Our mission is to facilitate discoveries and best practices that make positive differences in the lives of persons with developmental disabilities and their families. We support and apply scientific research to bring better services and training to the community.


Disorders

Psychiatry
The faculty in the Department of Psychiatry is conducting clinical and translational research in patients with mental illness as well as basic studies of human behavior and brain function.

Neurology
The Department of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is committed to providing the highest-quality patient care, conducting cutting-edge research, and training the future leaders in neurology.

Psychological Sciences
Psychological Sciences at Vanderbilt represents a diverse group of scholars in the Department of Psychology in the College Arts and Science, the Department of Psychology and Human Development in Peabody College, and faculty in allied disciplines across the university. Psychological Sciences at Vanderbilt combines breadth across the traditional domains of academic psychology with depth in specific programs of inquiry likely to contribute to solutions of major scientific, social, and psychological problems.

Psychology and Human Development
The Department of Psychology and Human Development is a group of scholars who work to increase understanding of basic psychological functioning in family, school, and other social contexts that influence development.

Special Education
The mission of the Department of Special Education is to improve the lives of children and youth with disabilities through (a) the preparation of exceptionally competent teachers and researchers, (b) conducting research that informs and improves educational programs and behavioral interventions, and (c) leadership in professional associations and advocacy for persons with disabilities.


Engineering

Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science
The Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science aims to support and integrate advances in physics, engineering, chemistry, computing and other basic sciences for the development and application of new and enhanced imaging techniques to address problems and stimulate new research directions in biology and medicine, in health and disease.

Center for Intelligent Systems
Our mission is to advance the state of the art in intelligent systems through the research and development of intelligent embodied agents such as autonomous robots. Current R&D includes skill learning for humanoid robots, perception learning for mobile robots, and memory structures for task learning for cognitive robots.

Center for Technology-Guided Therapy
The field of Technology Guided Therapy (TGT) combines a number of different medical disciplines, including Medical Imaging, Image Registration, Image Segmentation, and Surgical Data Collection and Processing.

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
The department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science offers a wide range of opportunities for research. Vanderbilt faculty and students are actively involved in research groups and programs. Many of the EECS research projects involve other departments.


Rhythms and Emotions

Terry Page
I am interested in understanding the mechanisms by which circadian oscillators (biological clocks) in the nervous system regulate daily rhythms of behavior. My current research utilizes invertebrate preparations as model systems to investigate specific questions about the development, anatomy, and physiology of biological clocks. In the cockroach, I have developed a relatively complete description of the anatomical organization of the circadian system so that for example, we know quite precisely where the clock is located in the nervous system. I am currently using that information as a foundation to explore a variety of additional specific questions about the physiology and function of the circadian system. One area we have just begun to focus on is the regulation of olfactory sensitivity by the circadian system. Insects rely heavily on olfaction for directing a variety of behaviors including reproductive behavior, foraging, and intra-specific competition. We have found that there is a circadian rhythm of sensitivity to stimulation by various odors in the cockroach antennae. We are beginning to investigate the physiological and molecular basis for the rhythm and to ask questions about its functional significance.



Neuroscience at Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt Brain Institute
The Vanderbilt Brain Institute (VBI) was founded in 1999 as a transinstitutional entity to oversee and facilitate the extensive neuroscience-related endeavors carried out at Vanderbilt University. As such, the primary missions of the VBI are to promote research, education and training in the brain-related disciplines at Vanderbilt, with the stated goal of fostering excellence in each if these arenas.


Vanderbilt Vision Research Center
The Vanderbilt Vision Research Center (VVRC) promotes research and training on a wide range of problems in vision science including:

• Visually guided behavior and cognition
• Neural processes underlying visually guided behavior
• Comparative anatomy and physiology of visual systems
• Development and plasticity of the visual systems
• Molecular mechanisms in the eye
• Diagnosis and treatment of vision disorders
• Machine vision


Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development
Our mission is to facilitate discoveries and best practices that make positive differences in the lives of persons with developmental disabilities and their families. We support and apply scientific research to bring better services and training to the community.


Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science
The Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science aims to support and integrate advances in physics, engineering, chemistry, computing and other basic sciences for the development and application of new and enhanced imaging techniques to address problems and stimulate new research directions in biology and medicine, in health and disease.


Center for Molecular Neuroscience
The Center for Molecular Neuroscience (CMN) at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine supports interdisciplinary research and training in cellular and molecular neurobiology. Internationally recognized faculty approach the intricacies of neurogenesis, neural signaling and synaptic plasticity using leading-edge techniques in state-of-the-art research facilities.


Psychological Sciences
Psychological Sciences at Vanderbilt represents a diverse group of scholars in the Department of Psychology in the College Arts and Science, the Department of Psychology and Human Development in Peabody College, and faculty in allied disciplines across the university. Psychological Sciences at Vanderbilt combines breadth across the traditional domains of academic psychology with depth in specific programs of inquiry likely to contribute to solutions of major scientific, social, and psychological problems.