Research output per year
Research output per year
The Neurobiology group studies the role of the brain in the capacity of animals and humans to adapt to challenges and opportunities in the environment. High resolution imaging of brain and behaviour, in vivo interrogation of metabolism and physiology, and targeted manipulation of cellular and molecular substrates are being employed to understand the neurobiology of adaptive behaviour, social communications and memory formation, and how these neurobiological processes are shaped by genetic background and fetal programming. These mechanisms are studied in relevant environmental conditions, such as the metabolic (e.g., available food quality and quantity, ambient temperature, workload) and temporal (i.e., daily and seasonal rhythms) constraints, often combined with the prevailing dominance hierarchy within a social context. We consider this “Evolutionary Medicine” approach a prerequisite to understand fitness strategies, sustainable health, and human diseases, and it may offer innovative strategies for treatment and prevention. This is urgently needed because the prevalence of psychopathologies (e.g., depression, schizophrenia), cardio-metabolic and eating disorders, and neurodegenerative derangements (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson) is increasing, which takes a tremendous toll on our society. Rather than only focussing on clinical expressions of these pathologies, we aim to unravel their aetiologies by investigating them in animal models with highest refinements and face validity for the human condition (such as in socially housed rodents), and – where possible - in in vitro systems (such as neuronal cultures). Social functioning (e.g., social withdrawal) and sensory information processing are key biological processes herein; animal models and novel smartphone technologies to assess these processes in human subjects have been developed and are available for future studies.
Person: Scientific Staff
Organisational unit: Research Group LS
Research output: Thesis › Thesis fully internal (DIV)
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Gertjan van Dijk (Advisor)
Activity: External assignment › Consultancy › Professional
Martien Kas (Invited speaker)
Activity: Talk and presentation › Academic presentation › Academic
Martien Kas (Invited speaker)
Activity: Talk and presentation › Academic presentation › Academic
Kat, R. (Contributor) & Kas, M. (Contributor), University of Groningen, 22-Mar-2023
Dataset
Hut, R. (Creator), Rosmalen, van, L. (Creator) & Hazlerigg, D. G. (Creator), University of Groningen, 25-Jul-2019
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCA_007455615.1/
Dataset
Hut, R. (Creator), Rosmalen, van, L. (Creator) & Hazlerigg, D. G. (Creator), University of Groningen, 25-Jul-2019
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCA_007455595.1/
Dataset
16/06/2023
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities › Popular
10/05/2023
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research › Popular
26/04/2023 → 04/05/2023
5 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities › Popular
01/01/2023 → 01/01/2027
Project: Research
01/01/2023 → 01/01/2025
Project: Research
Gordijn, Marijke (Recipient), 26-Apr-2023
Prize: National/international honour › Popular
van Dis, Natalie Elisabeth (Recipient), 16-Sept-2022
Prize › Academic