The Institute of Psychology is responsible for innovative and interdisciplinary research and education within psychology and related disciplines.

Eveline Crone, Professor of Neurocognitive Developmental Psychology, has been awarded the NWO Spinoza Prize for her high-profile research on adolescent development. NWO announced the award on 16 June. What will Crone do with the award of 2.5 million euros?

When we are around four years old we suddenly start to understand that other people think and that their view of the world is often different from our own. Researchers in Leiden and Leipzig have explored how that works. Publication in Nature Communications on 21 March.

Our ability to learn and control movements is essential for engaging in goal-directed behaviour. From buttoning your shirt and driving a car, to cooking dinner and brushing your teeth -- our actions in daily life rely on this ability.

Cognitive enhancement reflects the use of any (legitimate) means such as for example food supplements to reach one’s personal best.

Molecular Physiology is a research group at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry dedicated to the design, synthesis and application of chemical tools to study important biological and biomedical questions. The group is headed by Prof. Dr. Mario van der Stelt and includes the research lines of Assistant…

Although rarely considered by the pharmaceutical industry or clinicians, 24-hour rhythms in physiology are a factor of potential influence on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs.

Research of the Methodology & Statstics unit of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University.

An international mega-analysis on the neurobiological link between inhibited temperament and social anxiety disorder

Is it possible to pharmacologically condition oxytocin responses in healthy individuals and identify the neural circuitry underlying such conditioning?

PhD defence

Of the 111 Spinoza Prizes that have been awarded since 1995, 28 have gone to researchers from Leiden University.

Here, you can browse the publications of the Navigation Lab Leiden:

We recognize the importance of communicating about our scientic work to the general public and we enjoy doing so. Recently, we received funding from the Pilot fund Science communication by scientists: Appreciated! (with members of Change Leiden) to engage children and adolescents in science communication…

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel

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, and made it to the cover.

The HOPES study is one of the largest investigations of this kind to date! By studying existing brain scans and data collected form over 4,000 14-25 year olds, the project team hopes to identify specific changes in the brain that make young people vulnerable to suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

Reactions and reaction times in cognitive tasks.

The unit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology offers eduction and conducts research on related fields of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology.

N-acylethanolamines (NAEs), which include the endocannabinoid anandamide, represent an important family of signaling lipids in the brain. The lack of chemical probes that modulate NAE biosynthesis in living systems hamper the understanding of the biological role of these lipids.

The group is involved in training in areas of diagnostic skills, treatment/prevention/intervention, neuropsychological assessment, behavioral observations, clinical interviewing, knowledge of intellectual disability, autism, ADHD, psychosis and aggression.

Neurodegenerative diseases pose a large medical and societal challenge. The etiology of these diseases is still poorly understood, which makes drug discovery for these diseases difficult.

This book investigates the effects of brain lesions in the left hemisphere, specifically Broca's area, on the production and perception of vowels, of word tones and of the linguistic use of sentence melody.

When foreign matter enters our body, our immune system has to make a choice whether or not to go on the attack. There are times when the system goes wrong, and we end up with an illness or an allergic reaction. Researchers at LUMC are trying to steer the immune system. The dossier on Immunity, Infection…

Leiden professor of Cellular Immunology of Parasitic Infections Maria Yazdanbakhsh receives the prestigious NWO Spinoza Prize this year. This, in many ways, border-crossing scientist contributes with her research to more effective vaccines against parasitic infections and better medication for inflammatory…

For nine years he worked on the three-volume standard work Plant Galls of Europe. It yielded 2300 pages about 10,000 species of European galls, abnormal outgrowths in plants caused by parasites. Hans Roskam from the Institute of Biology Leiden: ‘The abundance of galls says something about the natural…

Prediction of human (CNS) target site concentrations in health and disease In the vision of Prof. de Lange we will only be able to predict human (central nervous system, CNS) target site concentrations and effects if we perform systematic, condition-dependent, integrative, and strictly quantitative…

Yearly, the LIBC organizes a public event to share scientific research in the field of brain & cognition

Bernet Elzinga (Clinical Psychology) is one of the seven scientists from the Leiden University who has received a Vici grant of 1.5 million euros from NWO. Vici is one of the largest grants for individual scientists in the Netherlands. The funding will enable her to do research for the next five years…

On 25 October 2017, the current class of students of the advanced LL.M. programme International Children’s Rights visited juvenile detention center ‘De Hunnerberg’ in Nijmegen (the Netherlands).

Previous research has shown that extreme shyness is hereditary, but because shyness is such a broad concept it is difficult to identify specific genes. Anita Harrewijn has discovered particular brain measurements that can help. PhD defence 18 January.

Laura Nijkamp’s biggest dream came true recently: she took a parabolic flight and was weightless for a moment. The BrainFly student team, which includes psychology students from Leiden, needed volunteers. She signed up immediately. She tells us all about her experience.

The Institute of Psychology is committed to play a prominent role in teaching and research at the national and international level.

The Leiden Institute of Education and Child Studies aims to conduct high-quality research that addresses major social issues. This inspires its BSc, MSc and PhD programmes.

Promotor: H.J.M. de Groot, Co-Promotor: A. Alia

How do humans construct their self?

BrainTrain connects scientists with young people. We achieve this by offering a platform where scientists learn from the experiences of young people, and where young people can discover all about their own (brain) development. We organize youth panels and create short podcasts in which both scientists…

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded Vidi grants to 14 Leiden researchers. This grant of a maximum of 850,000 euros will enable them to start a new research group and develop their own line of research over the next five years.

A comprehensive analysis of the state of play, the design of monitoring mechanisms, and creation of a toolbox of support measures.

The research team

Researchers at Leiden study group behaviour. One of their findings is that when people make sacrifices for another member of their group, it is probably instinctive. Insights of this kind enable us to better understand and influence the social processes in a neighbourhood or company.

Cognitive decline (amongst other problems with attention, concentration, memory) is a common symptom in patients with a variety of brain disorders and has been related to healthy ageing as well. People suffering from cognitive deficits are often significantly hampered in their day-to-day functioning…

In the track Cognitive Neuroscience we focus on the investigation of the psychological, computational, and neuroscientific bases of human cognition by means of mind and brain research.

Pharmacologist Liesbeth de Lange has won the Lewis B. Sheiner Lecturer Award from the International Society of Pharmacometrics (ISoP). As Professor of Predictive Pharmacology she is working, among other things, on a mathematical model that can predict drug concentrations in the brain. On the occasion…

A master's degree in Psychology at Leiden University combines theoretical knowledge with academic and professional skills, making you an attractive candidate for many employers.

This research profile area brings together descriptive, historical and theoretical linguistics, as well as psycho- and neurolinguistics.

The Cognitive Psychology Unit contributes to the three-year BSc program and organizes two MSc specialisations.

A collection of newly written chapters by various specialists from different disciplines (with a background in philosophy) on the subject of free will as it is discussed in their (inter)disciplinary field.