Dr. Carissa Cascio

My graduate training was in neuroscience at Emory University. My work was centered on sensory neuroscience applied to human and nonhuman primates, with an emphasis on tactile perception and functional imaging. Having developed an interest in the neuroscience of autism, I pursued postdoctoral studies at the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center at the University of North Carolina. There I focused dually on somatosensory processing in individuals with autism, and diffusion tensor imaging in young children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
In 2007, I joined the Psychiatric Neuroimaging Program in Vanderbilt’s Department of Psychiatry. I hold a secondary appointment in the Department of Psychology and Human Development, and am affiliated with the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, and Vanderbilt Vision Research Center. My lab focuses on the neural basis of sensory and repetitive behaviors in individuals with autism spectrum disorders.