Vivien Casagrande facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vivien Casagrande
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| Born | June 7, 1942 |
| Died | January 21, 2017 (aged 74) |
| Alma mater | University of Colorado B.S. (1964); Duke University PhD (1973) |
| Known for | Neuroscience, visual system |
| Spouse(s) | James Andrew McKanna |
| Children | 2 sons |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Vanderbilt University |
Vivien Alice Casagrande (born June 7, 1942 – died January 21, 2017) was a brilliant professor. She taught about cells and how living things grow. She worked at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
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About Vivien's Early Life
Vivien Casagrande was born in 1942 in Belmont, Massachusetts. Her parents were Erna and Arthur Casagrande.
She loved learning about the mind. She earned her first degree in psychology in 1964. This was from the University of Colorado.
Later, she got her PhD in 1973 from Duke University. Her studies focused on how the body and mind work together.
Vivien's Amazing Career
After her PhD, Vivien Casagrande continued her studies. She worked at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 1975, she became a professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Professor Casagrande became a full professor in 1986. She also became an investigator at the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. She helped lead important research projects there.
What Did Vivien Research?
Vivien Casagrande's research focused on how we see the world. She studied how the brain's visual system works. This system includes the thalamus and the cortex.
She explored three main ideas:
- First, she looked at how the brain gets visual information. She thought it wasn't just about seeing. It also involved other kinds of information.
- Second, she tested if parts of the brain act as "drivers" or "modulators." This means they either send main messages or fine-tune them.
- Third, she studied how different parts of the visual brain talk to each other. She wanted to know how visual messages are sent. She also looked at how feedback helps us see.
Vivien's Editorial Work
Vivien Casagrande also helped with many science journals. She was on the editorial boards for Cerebral Cortex and Journal of Comparative Neurology. She also worked on Visual Neuroscience.
She was an assistant editor for other important journals too. These included the American Journal on Mental Retardation.
Awards and Honors
Vivien Casagrande received several important awards. In 1981, she won the Charles Judson Herrick Award. This was from the American Association of Anatomists.
She was also chosen as a fellow for two major groups. These were the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2006. And the American Association of Anatomists in 2011.
After she passed away, she was honored again. She was inducted into the Patricia Goldman-Rakic Hall of Honor. This was by the Society for Neuroscience.
