“The Promise of Discovery” is a podcast hosted by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) that highlights research in intellectual and developmental disabilities. The goals of the podcast are to host conversations about research in plain language and to highlight “real world” implications. The discussions cover why the research matters in the lives of people with disabilities and families, how the research impacts and enhances what we know already and/or raises additional questions in the field, and what implications the research might have for policy.

The Promise of Discovery - Season 1

The Promise of Discovery Season 5, Episode 4

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

Visual perception with motor practice leads to lasting brain changes that support learning

The Promise of Discovery Episode 1: 
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center researchers are using electronic medical record information and biological samples to better understand how Down syndrome is related to a variety of disorders and conditions. 

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Researcher: Jeffrey Neul, M.D., Ph.D., Annette Schaffer Eskind Chair and Director, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center; Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neurology, Pharmacology, and Special Education

Interviewer: Elise McMillan, J.D., Director, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities; Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Understanding critical issues in Down syndrome

The Promise of Discovery Episode 2:
Language growth in in young children with disabilities

The Vanderbilt KidTalk project facilitates studies focused on language learning in young children with disabilities. Interventions typically focus on teaching partners (parents, siblings, peers, etc.) to support language development in children who have language delays. 

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Researcher: Ann Kaiser, Ph.D., Susan Gray Chair in Education and Human Development; Professor of Special Education and Psychology

Interviewer: Elise McMillan, J.D., Director, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities; Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Language Growth In Young Children With Disabilities

The Promise of Discovery Episode 3:
Learning how children with autism spectrum disorders process sensory information

A multidisciplinary, 5-year project focused on understanding how the brain integrates information coming in from multiple senses, and whether we can train multisensory integration abilities in children with autism.

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Researchers:
Mark Wallace, Ph.D., Louise B. McGavock Endowed Chair; Professor of Hearing & Speech Sciences, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and Psychology; Dean, Vanderbilt University Graduate School
Tiffany Woynaroski, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Hearing & Speech Sciences
Carissa Cascio, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Interviewer: Jacob Feldman, Hearing and Speech Sciences Graduate Student

Learning How Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Process Sensory Information

The Promise of Discovery Episode 4:
Paul Yoder: A career in helping children learn to talk 

Paul Yoder, Ph.D., retired from Vanderbilt University in late 2019. A long-time Vanderbilt Kennedy Center investigator, he studied communication and language and intervention in children with language delays. In this episode, Yoder discusses what he learned over the course of his career about young children and communication.   

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Researcher: Paul Yoder, Ph.D., Professor of Special Education (Retired)

Interviewer: Catherine Bush

Paul Yoder: A career in helping children learn to talk

The Promise of Discovery Episode 5:

Laurie Cutting: Understanding how brain mechanisms interact to predict academic outcomes

Cutting is among only 33 Vanderbilt researchers to have received an NIH Merit Award, and one of only 5 women. In this NIH research, she is measuring academic achievement and changes in brain structure and function. The ultimate goal is to develop brain-based causal models of academic achievement to effectively individualize instruction in a way that promotes academic success and prevents academic struggles.

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Researcher: Laurie Cutting, Ph.D., Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Special Education; Professor of Psychology, Radiology, and Pediatrics; Associate Director, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center; Director, IDDRC Translational Neuroimaging Core C; Faculty Director, VKC Reading Clinic.

Interviewer: Sissy Peters, Program Director, VKC Reading Clinic and ECHO Reading

Understanding how brain mechanisms interact to predict academic outcomes

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) facilitates discoveries and best practices to improve the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. More than 200 faculty affiliated with Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center are engaged in multidisciplinary research, training, technical assistance, and dissemination. The VKC’s Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD) works to improve assessment and treatment services for children with autism while advancing knowledge and training.