839 search results for “brain” in the Public website
-
Understanding the brain via language
Professor Jenny Doetjes at Leiden University researches similarities and differences in languages, specifically in the area of numerals and quantifiers. Her research provides insight into language patterns, bu also in the working of the human brain. Inaugural lecture on 26 January.
-
Daphne Tona maps the brain
Psychologist Daphne Tona is one of the first to investigate a small nucleus in the brain stem 'in vivo' in living volunteers. That nucleus is involved in cognitive function and neurological and psychiatric disorders. With this research Tona is further mapping the brain. PhD defence on September 10.
-
Functional networks in healthy and sick brains
Are disturbances to the brain, such as Alzheimer's or autism, linked to specific defects in the underlying communication networks in the brain? If this is the case, subtle changes in the networks can act as a marker for brain disturbances. Neuroscientist Serge Rombouts will be investigating this, together…
-
New substances inhibit inflammation in the brain
Chemical biologists from Leiden, led by Dr Mario van der Stelt, have discovered substances that can reduce inflammation processes in the brain. This is a first step in the development of potential medicines for the treatment of brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Published in Proceedings…
-
Brains react differently to ADHD medication than expected
A tried and tested medication for treating ADHD works differently than expected in the brains of healthy individuals during rest: rather than stimulating brain activity, it suppresses it.
-
Social brain active in childhood already
Exclusion elicits the same response in children as in adolescents and adults. That is what psychologist Mara van der Meulen found when she studied brain activity in primary schoolchildren. ‘What is new for us is that it is the same in childhood as later in life.’ Doctoral defence on 10 December.
-
Distinguishing differences in dementia using brain scans
Neuroscientist Anne Hafkemeijer is able to distinguish two different forms of dementia using advanced imaging techniques. This is the first step towards early recognition of dementia in patients on the basis of brain networks. PhD defence 26 May.
-
Functional architecture of the brain revealed
An international partnership of brain researchers from 35 research centres - from the US to China - including the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), has collected resting-state functional MRI data from more than 1400 healthy volunteers and put the information online so that it is available…
-
Brain changes underlying social anxiety: numbers count!
In a recent mega-analysis, researchers from Leiden University aimed to clarify the contradictory findings of research into social anxiety disorder. They found that to obtain reliable research results having the largest possible sample size is important. Publication in NeuroImage:Clinical.
-
How harmful is alcohol for the adolescent brain?
Under 18, no alcohol. In spite of this slogan, adolescents still have access to alcohol. But how harmful is that one beer for the adolescent brain? Research, including in Leiden, may provide the answer.
-
Media attention for the learning adolescent brain
The brains of adolescents react more strongly to receiving rewards. This can lead to risky behaviour, but research in Leiden has shown that it also has a positive purpose: it makes learning easier. The publication of an article on the research findings led to a lot of media attention.
-
The importance of friendships in reducing brain responses to stress in adolescents exposed to childhood adversity: a pre-registered systematic
Up to 50% of all children and adolescents growing up worldwide are exposed to at least one form of childhood adversity (CA), which is one of the strongest predictors for later-life psychopathology.
-
Right brain hemisphere also important for learning a new language
Novel language learning activates different neural processes than was previously thought. A Leiden research team has discovered parallel but separate contributions from the hippocampus and Broca's area, the learning centre in the left hemisphere. The right hemisphere of the brain also seems to play…
-
Mapping Sex-by-genotype Interactions in Brain Functions
Fatemeh (Simin) Tabassi Mofrad has recently received a project grant (€ 25,000) from LUF/Gratama Foundation for her ideas in investigating sex-by-genotype interactions in brain functions. She has a multidisciplinary research perspective which enables her to look at research issues from different angles.…
-
New paper in Experimental Brain Research
Miranda Smit, Ineke van der Ham and colleagues have published a paper in Experimental Brain Research, entitled: Body ownership and the absence of touch: Approaching the rubber hand in- and outside peri-hand space.
-
Mathematical model predicts drug concentration in the brain
Do medicines arrive in the right amount at the right spot in our brain? By making a model that depicts our brain in small 'brain blocks', Esmée Vendel tries to find an answer to this question. Her new, mathematical model predicts the concentration of medicines in the brain over time and space. Vendel…
-
Rebecca Schaefer on 'Learning with music can change brain structure'
Using musical cues to learn a physical task significantly develops an important part of the brain, according to a new study co-authored by Leiden psychologist Rebecca Schaefer. The results are published in the journal Brain & Cognition.
-
Novel detection method for iron in Alzheimer’s brain
For many years, scientists have observed a correlation between Alzheimer’s disease and a surplus of iron in the brain. However, a causal link between the two has not been proven yet. We lack knowledge concerning the specific form of iron that is involved in the development of neurodegenerative diseases.…
-
Genetic predisposition to social anxiety disorder measurable in the brain
It was already known that social anxiety disorder often affects more than one person in the same family. But research by PhD student Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam has now shown that there are genetic brain characteristics that are associated with social anxiety. The PhD ceremony will take place on 14 Ja…
-
Pilgrims came to Leiden for ‘brain training’
The Pilgrims to America exhibition at Museum De Lakenhal inspires reflection. How far do you go in the quest for freedom? It focuses on the Pilgrims’ relationship with the University and which knowledge they took with them from Leiden.
-
Back to the scanner: brain science in times of corona
For their research many neuropsychologists use the brain scanners at the LUMC. At the start of the pandemic, the rules for visiting the hospital became stricter and a large amount of psychology research looked as though it would fall through. Thanks to good protocols the researchers can now pick up…
-
A different take on differences between men’s and women’s brains
There is greater variety in the size of men’s brains than of women’s. This could help explain why some psychiatric disorders such as ADHD and autism are more prevalent in boys. Leiden brain researcher Lara Wierenga has published an article about this in the international journal Cerebral Cortex.
-
Major international study links genes to brain structural changes over time
There seem to be genes that influence how our brains develop over time. A large international consortium has discovered this with an extensive study. The results of the study were recently published in Nature Neuroscience.
-
When you know how your brain works, you better understand who you are
On Sept. 29, Lara Wierenga, together with graphic designer Dirma Janse, presented their new book Atlas of our Brain. In the presence of fellow scientists and other interested parties, they shared some of the stunning illustrations and mind-boggling facts that can be found in the book.
-
Het puberende brein
Eveline Crone wrote a new edition of
-
What happens to the brain when you become a mother?
May 12 is Mother's Day in many countries. Becoming a mother is no mean feat: brain scientist Elseline Hoekzema has shown that a woman's brain changes drastically during pregnancy. She explained how in TV show De Kennis van Nu.
-
‘Brain scanners are bringing about a revolution in neurolinguistics’
Brain scanners have radically changed neurolinguistics. They are increasing our understanding of how the brain processes language. Professor Niels Schiller has produced a standard work on this.
-
Deciphering the link between Iron and Brain Disease
Aceruloplasminemia is a very rare, genetic disease accompagnied with iron accumulation that causes movement disorder and brain damage at early age.
-
Leiden delves into the mystery of the brain and language
The Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC) is concentrating increasingly on research into the role of the brain in language development. The institute has now set up the LIBC Language website that brings together all the information on this research.
-
Parental criticism hurts: a glimpse inside the adolescent brain
It may seem as though adolescents do as they please, but they are more sensitive to their parents’ opinions than they would appear. The adolescent brain reacts strongly to parental criticism or praise. These are the results of a study by an interdisciplinary research group of psychologists and neuroscientists…
-
AI recognizes anxious youth based on their brain structure
A unique multicenter study, including about 3,500 youth between 10 and 25 years old from across the globe, shows that artificial intelligence - specifically machine learning - is able to identify individuals with anxiety disorders based on their unique brain structure.
-
Volunteers needed for brain study in resilience research project
Why do some people with adverse childhood experiences develop mental health conditions whereas others do not? A Leiden research project is looking for volunteers aged between 18 and 24 to help us understand more about human resilience.
-
Increased striatal activity in adolescence benefits learning
Heightened activation of the striatum that adolescents show in response to reward is often associated with risk-taking and negative health consequences. This article in Nature Communications investigates a potential positive side of this heightened activation. It shows that the activity peak in late…
-
How do parents’ brains react to feedback about their child?
Parents appear to be extremely sensitive to feedback they receive about their child. Just how sensitive depends on the (‘rose-tinted’) glasses through which they look at their child. All this can be seen in the brain. Neuroscientist Lisanne van Houtum and her Leiden colleagues published on this issue…
-
How does the brain of Japanese speakers choose pronunciation?
The way in which written language is processed in the brain is a hot topic in cognitive research. Cognitive psychologist Rinus Verdonschot studied a Japanese script in which a single character can have up to three possible pronunciations. He discovered that all three are simultaneously activated in…
-
Overstimulated? Artist pictures her brain with cacophony of colours
'With this artwork, I want to give the audience a glance into my overstimulated brain and that of other people with autism', says Jasmijn den Hoed. The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences is exhibiting her artwork 'Overstimulated' in the restaurant near the blue wall during Autism Week 25 March…
-
Lecture “Speed in Music, Brain and Body” at Café Chercher
ACPA’s PhD candidate and composer/flutist Ned McGowan will give a lecture at Café Chercher on March 27 called Speed in Music, Brain and Body.
-
Granted STW Project: Energy Efficient Computer-Brain Interaction
The STW project Energy Efficient Computer-Brain Interaction (principal investigator for LIACS: dr. T.P. Stefanov) has been granted. Funding for LIACS: 1 PhD student + travel/equipment budget, project duration: 4 years.
-
How brain disorder models are like the Night Watch
Professor of Human Genetics Willeke van Roon will give her inaugural lecture on Monday 28 March entitled: ‘Translational research, where small parts make the bigger picture.’ She will emphasise how university medical centres should take responsibility for finding treatments for very rare diseases.
-
Stimulating the gut–brain nerve can influence emotion
Stimulating the vagus nerve, which provides a direct link between the gut and brain, makes people pay less attention to sad facial expressions. This research study by psychologists Katerina Johnson and Laura Steenbergen is published in the journal Neuroscience.
-
Brain research shows punishing is more rewarding than helping
Just imagine: you see someone being treated unfairly. Do you find it more rewarding to help the victim or punish the perpetrator? Research by Leiden psychologist Mirre Stallen indicates that punishing is more rewarding. Publication in JNeurosci.
-
Michelle Achterberg receives Award for PhD Thesis on brain development in children
On June 10, Michelle Achterberg received the prize for best dissertation from the Dutch Neurofederation, the network of Dutch neuroscientists, for her thesis 'Like me, ore else...'. Achterberg obtained her doctorate cum laude from the Gravitation Program 'Samen Uniek' of the Leiden Consortium on Individual…
-
Why the brain needs to get out and about
We are all at home in familiar surroundings. Not only is this boring but it can also have a negative influence on our learning, explains cognitive neuropsychologist Judith Schomaker. ‘Discovering new environments gets our brain learning and remembering. We are now missing this stimulus.’
-
Eveline Crone
Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen
ecrone@fsw.leidenuniv.nl | +31 71 527 2727
-
Elise Kortink
Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen
e.d.kortink@fsw.leidenuniv.nl | +31 71 527 2727
-
Oana Georgiana Rus-Oswald
Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen
o.g.rus@fsw.leidenuniv.nl | +31 71 527 2727
-
Young thinkers pit their brains on the circular economy
How can we speed up the transition from large cities to a circular metropolis? This is the question that Leiden students and former students Elsemieke, Fabian and Eveline are getting their teeth into. They and seventeen other young academics are taking part in the National ThinkTank and they have four…
-
Anne-Laura van Harmelen appointed to new chair Brain, Security and Resilience
Leiden University will appoint Dr Anne-Laura van Harmelen as Professor of Brain, Security and Resilience at the Institute of Education and Child Studies with effect from 1 September 2020. She will focus on the brain in relation to the development of transgressive behaviour and its prevention and tre…
-
Best friends forever? How the adolescent brain reacts to good friends
During adolescence, some young people have stable best-friend relationships, while others change best friends frequently. Developmental psychologist Lisa Schreuders has studied the brains of young adolescents: ‘It seems that friendships in your early years can have consequences for your friendships…
-
It is a myth that boys lag behind in brain development
It is true that girls perform better at school than boys, but this is not due to differences in brain development. This is the conclusion psychobiologist Lara Wierenga draws from a recent study. Publication in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.