Vanderbilt Brain Institute

New research reveals that alcohol use can cause long-lasting changes in the brain’s dopamine system, even during abstinence. Vanderbilt researchers found that even after a month without alcohol, key regulators of dopamine activity remained altered, potentially increasing the risk of relapse. The study also challenges long-held assumptions about how gene expression relates to brain function, opening new doors for precision treatments in alcohol use disorder. Read More

For her studies related to the molecular and cellular mechanisms of touch circuit development, Shan Meltzer received a prestigious honor from the American Association for Anatomy. Read More

In 2024 the National Institutes of Health awarded Sando a New Innovator Award, part of their High-Risk, High-Reward Research program. This award, which provides $1,500,000 over five years, supports early-career scientists proposing innovative and impactful research that might not get funded in the traditional peer-review process due to its inherent risk. Read More

Hang out with Nashville’s brain scientists at Brain Blast 2024. Open to students in grades K–8 and their families, the event will take place Saturday, March 23, at the downtown Nashville Public Library. Read More

Bruce Carter, Lisa Monteggia, Richard O’Brien, Andrea Page-McCaw, and Kevin Schey have been named endowed chairs, the highest academic award that Vanderbilt can give to a faculty member. Read More

Led by Terunaga Nakagawa, an international collaboration describes for the first time the fundamental mechanism underpinning cellular processes that lead to learning and memory. Read More

Vanderbilt University faculty members have been elected this year to membership in the National Academy of Medicine, a prestigious, non-governmental organization that advises the nation and the world on important aspects of medical science, health care and public health. Monteggia was recruited to Vanderbilt in 2018 to… Read More

Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and acclaimed neuroscientist Lisa Monteggia was named incoming co-principal editor, along with Dr. Tony George from the University of Toronto, of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology. Their appointments begin in January 2023. According to an NPP release, “Drs. George and Monteggia… Read More

By Aaron Conley Lisa Monteggia, Ph.D. Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and acclaimed neuroscientist Lisa Monteggia was named incoming co-principal editor, along with Dr. Tony George from the University of Toronto, of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology. Their appointments begin… Read More

THE IDEA Vanderbilt researchers found that ketamine’s rapid antidepressant action is due to specific synaptic effects. This represents a new target for drug development that could fill a major gap in care for depression. Ege Kavalali (Vanderbilt University) Lisa Monteggia (John Russell/Vanderbilt University) The research was led by… Read More