The Promise of Discovery

It’s important for speech language pathologists to learn about children’s grammar because grammar deficits are often a sign of a language impairment. For this experiment, researchers had parents and speech language pathologists fill out a checklist (Children’s Communication Checklist-2), to report on children communication skills, and then we compared the results. We learned that parents and speech language pathologists both identified speech deficits in children but that parents are not sensitive to differences in their children’s grammar.  

Featuring: Jane (Janie) Sommer Eppstein, Ph.D. Student; Vanderbilt University

Interviewer: Melanie Schuele, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Hearing and Speech Sciences and a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Member

This research explored how combining visual perception with motor practice—specifically drawing unfamiliar symbols—leads to lasting brain changes that support learning. Participants trained by drawing new letter-like symbols over four days while researchers tracked their brain activity using fMRI scans before, immediately after, and one-week post-training. The after-training scans revealed significant differences in activity within several brain regions—including the motor cortex—during the perception of trained compared to untrained symbols that were greater one-week post-training. This suggests that hands-on, visual-motor learning builds long-term changes in how the brain processes visual information, with potential implications for educational strategies and interventions.

Featuring: Shelby Buettner, Graduate Student, Vanderbilt University

Interviewer: Sophia Vinci-Booher, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology & Human Development and a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Member

Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) is a neurodevelopmental disease which affects about 100,000 people in the US. Around 80% of these patients experience cognitive and intellectual impairments which are unaffected by currently approved therapies for NF1. A recent genetic study from our lab identified an association between the NF1 disease and a receptor protein called metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (mGlu7). This project investigates how using small molecules to augment mGlu7 function could help identify new therapies for NF1 patients struggling with cognitive impairments.

Featuring: Harrison Parent, Ph.D. Candidate- Niswender Lab, Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Interviewer: Colleen Niswender, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pharmacology; Director of Molecular Pharmacology, Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, and a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Member

Although children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) more often experience mental health concerns, they do not always receive mental health services. This episode outlines a study that examined the barriers of caregiver familiarity with services.
 
Featuring: Verity Rodrigues, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; TRIAD Educational Consultant

Interviewer: Robert Hodapp, Ph.D., Professor of Special Education and a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Member

While public attitudes towards many stigmatized groups have improved in recent years, the same has not been true for people living with schizophrenia, making those with the disorder particularly at risk for social exclusion. The research presented in this episode explores how people with schizophrenia experience and respond to social exclusion, as well as what can be done to promote inclusion. 

Featuring: Lauren Weittenhiller, M.A., Clinical Psychology Intern, Vanderbilt University

Interviewer: Julia Sheffield, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences; Jack Martin, M.D., Research Professor in Psychopharmacology; and a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Member

The needs of siblings of individuals with disabilities are under studied. The research presented in this episode highlights theme areas of support as raised by 446 siblings of individuals with autism, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome. It asks and answers the question: What would have been beneficial to you growing up as the sibling of a person with a disability? 

Featuring: Gillian Neff, graduate student, Vanderbilt University

Interviewer: Alexandra Da Fonte, Ph.D., associate professor of the practice, Special Education; and a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Member

This research examines mGlu7, a transmembrane receptor involved in several neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Rett syndrome, ADHD, schizophrenia, and Neurofibromatosis Type 1. The project discussed studies the mechanism of mGlu7 activation by allosteric modulators to develop new treatments and help guide drug discovery efforts.

Featuring: Xia Lei, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow, Vanderbilt University

Interviewer: Colleen Niswender, Ph.D., associate professor of Pharmacology; Director of Molecular Pharmacology, Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery; and a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Member

Many people with autism experience executive functioning (EF) impairments, and its widely acknowledged that these challenges play a significant role in autism. Anxiety symptoms are highly prevalent and impairing challenges for autistic youth, and emerging evidence suggests EF impairments exacerbate anxiety. This study examines how everyday EF impairments are related to specific anxiety symptoms in autistic youth.

Featuring: Christina Burroughs, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow, Vanderbilt University

Interviewer: Blythe Corbett, Ph.D., James G. Blakemore Chair and Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences; Professor of Psychology; Associate Director, Division of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and VKC Member