I am a behavioral neuroscientist with a background in functional neuroanatomy and neuropharmacology. I am interested in how our brain controls motivated behavior and why we sometimes lose that control. My scientific focus lies on how release of the neurotransmitter dopamine (and other neuromodulators such as serotonin) regulates cortico-basal ganglia networks under normal (e.g., reward learning, decision making), as well as pathological conditions (e.g., OCD, drug addiction). My research group pursues these goals by collecting a range of neurobiological measurements in awake behaving rodents (using voltammetry, electrophysiology, fluorescence imaging etc.) and by probing neural mechanisms with optogenetic, chemogenetic, and pharmacological interventions, as well as high-frequency electrical deep-brain stimulation that can be applied in humans. In the long run, our research is intended to lead to novel insights that improve therapy in psychiatric patients.
I received my PhD from The Chicago Medical School at the end of 2007 and then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle, before I accepted my current position as group leader at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and principal investigator at the AUMC Department of Psychiatry in 2013.