Author
Isabel Gauthier, David K. Wilson Chair of Psychology, Vice Chair Department of Psychology, Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
May. 21, 2025—Object Perception Laboratory (OPLab) Isabel Gauthier heads the Object Perception Laboratory (OPLab) in the Vanderbilt Psychology Department. She began her career using behavioral and cognitive neuroscience approaches to test the perceptual expertise account of face-recognition specialization, demonstrating how training with novel “greeble” objects can recruit the same neural machinery as faces, and result in several...
Ziqi (Joanna) Wang, BA ’25
May. 15, 2025—“As a member of the Bodily Self in the Virtual World Immersion group, I was given opportunities to conduct and showcase my research to the public. These were incredible experiences and laid the groundwork for my interest in pursuing research on bodily self-disturbances and the relationships between body, mind, and self in schizophrenia. Under the...
Yihan (Sophy) Xiong wins Vivien Casagrande Neuroscience Travel Award
May. 9, 2025—Congratulations to Sophy Xiong, a graduate student in André Bastos’ lab, for being a co-winner of the Vivien Casagrande Neuroscience Travel Award, on the basis of her research on neuronal oscillatory mechanisms underlying attention and awareness. The Vivien Casagrande Neuroscience Travel Award is given in recognition of outstanding research by a graduate student or post-doctoral scholar to support their travel for presenting their research at a conference. This award honors...
Gabrielle Reimann successfully defends dissertation
May. 9, 2025—Gabrielle Reimann, under the direction of Professor Antonia Kaczkurkin, PhD, has successfully defended her dissertation! Congratulations Gabby! Delineating Neurobiological Subtypes Underlying Psychopathology: A Machine Learning Approach Traditionally, symptom-based classifications define mental health diagnoses. However, this approach can oversimplify clinical presentations, and these diagnoses often do not correspond with biological markers or meaningful clinical outcomes. A...
5/12/25: Department Colloquium Speaker Joy Hirsch, PhD: The New Neuroscience of Two: Understanding the human brain during live dyadic interactions
May. 7, 2025—Joy Hirsch Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Comparative Medicine and of Neuroscience Yale University Date: Monday, May 12th, 2025 Time: 1:15 – 2:30 pm Location: Wilson Hall 115 The New Neuroscience of Two: Understanding the human brain during live dyadic interactions Most of what is known about human brain...
Allie Adamis wins Vanderbilt Award for Doctoral Discovery
Apr. 29, 2025—Congratulations Allie Adamis Allie has won the Vanderbilt Award for Doctoral Discovery. The College of Arts and Science Vanderbilt Award for Doctoral Discovery (VADD), previously named the Summer Research Award (SRA) program, is designed to help graduate students with outstanding potential to accelerate progress on their research. VADDs provide funding to support student research at...
Jon Kaas Festschrift 2025
Apr. 28, 2025—Celebrating the Career of Jon Kaas Our Department and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute celebrated Jon Kaas on April 12th, with a whole day symposium of esteemed scholars, long-term friends, local colleagues, and Jon’s extended family. Speakers of the symposium highlighted the personal growth and encouragement they experienced while working with Jon. Leading his team of...
Melina Mueller wins Quesenberry Award
Apr. 24, 2025—Melina Mueller wins the Quesenbery Award The Lisa M. Quesenberry Scholarship was established by Irvin and Mary Ann Quesenberry and Kathryn Quesenberry to memorialize the accomplishments of their daughter and sister, Lisa M. Quesenberry. The scholarship is designed to provide research or study awards to motivated graduate students studying psychology at Vanderbilt University. Congratulations Melina!
4/1/25 Abigail Snow: Parent Emotion Socialization in Adolescents with Tourette Syndrome: Associations with Psychological Symptoms
Mar. 31, 2025—Clinical Brown Bag Abigail Snow Graduate Student Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2025 Time: 12:00-1:00pm Location: Zoom Parent Emotion Socialization in Adolescents with Tourette Syndrome: Associations with Psychological Symptoms Adolescents with Tourette syndrome (TS) are at heightened risk for experiencing psychosocial difficulties. While tics are the defining symptom of TS, there is evidence for widespread deficits in...
4/4/25 Mia Elbon: Do animals go as far as they can, or as far as they have to?
Mar. 31, 2025—Neuroscience Brown Bag Mia Elbon Graduate Student Date: Friday, April 4th, 2025 Time: 1:25-2:15pm Location: Wilson Hall 316 Do animals go as far as they can, or as far as they have to? An animal’s “home range” is the surface area where it can normally be found over a given time. Larger animals have larger home ranges,...