Combining sleep- and affective neuroscience, the group focuses on the neural basis of the role of sleep in emotion regulation and derailment. Insomnia is the primary transdiagnostic factor determining the risk, treatment resistance and relapse of at least two third of the mental disorders. Insomnia is characterized by restless sleep and round-the-clock hyperarousal. In an innovative integrative model, we study how restless sleep impedes the overnight limbic plasticity that underlies emotional memory processing, resulting in a lack of relief, chronic hyperarousal and psychopathology.
Another major focus is to unravel brain mechanisms involved in risk to develop chronic insomnia. We facilitate citizen science through our Netherlands Sleep Registry (slaapregister.nl), and use it as well for online guided lifestyle e-Health interventions. We use large-scale imaging and genetics cohort data to understand genetic predispositions, risk factors, and brain mechanisms involved in disturbed sleep and its adverse consequences that are key to mental health.

Team members