Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery

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Understanding the molecules and brain circuits recruited by stressful experience

Stressful experiences can lead to adaptive or detrimental behaviors. Understanding how stress can affect our brains can help understand basic brain function and is also essential to discerning causes and treatments for some diseases. A group of researchers led by Jeffrey Conn, professor of pharmacology at Vanderbilt, explored how specific types of neurons within the prefrontal cortex, the brain area involved in decision-making, mood, and motivation, responded to acute stress in models. They found that one type of inhibitory neuron was persistently activated after acute stress, and this research implicated a receptor that has been targeted by the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery (WCNDD) for drug development.


Jerri Rook is awarded the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s prestigious Melvin R. Goodes prize

Vanderbilt University Assistant Professor of Pharmacology Jerri Rook has been recognized with the 2020 Melvin R. Goodes Prize for Excellence in Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery. Presented by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, the prize recognizes leading researchers who are developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.