In a new series of articles, we explore how the humanities study topics related to sustainability. First up: waste. How and why study waste as a humanities scholar? We asked Elena Burgos Martinez, University Lecturer South and Southeast Asian Studies, and Katarzyna Cwiertka, Professor of Modern Japan…

Promotor: M.L. van Hecke

The work presented in this thesis addresses the role of the locus coeruleus (LC) - norepinephrine (NE) system in various aspects of human cognition, and the modulation of brain state.

The Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic (LAPP) is a pro bono initiative concerning legal questions on plastics and is founded to address and research the legal issues related to plastic pollution.

Promotor: P.M. Brakefield

How is structural and functional brain development related to behavioral change in cognitive-control, impulse regulation, and socio-emotional functioning?

Nowadays children grow up with social media. This may influence the development of brain regions involved in social interaction. In their review article in Nature Communications, Crone and Konijn illustrate how neuroscience can contribute to a better understanding of how media and peers influence adolescents'…

What is the relation between brain development and social and cognitive development across childhood, adolescence and adulthood?

An Integrative Approach to the Hominin Record

Our goal is to develop usable, practical and meaningful Brain-Computer Interfaces to diagnose, restore, repair and enhance functions of the impaired brain.

Researchers have been working for centuries in mapping the human brain. But in the year 2017 some brain structures remain still not well mapped, especially those located at the brainstem. In this paper, we quantified the test–retest reliability of imaging the brainstem nucleus locus coeruleus in vivo…

In the Brain and Education Lab we study the development of complex cognitive processes involved in skills such as learning, reading and math.

Fundamental insights into the working of the adolescent brain help lecturers and parents to teach adolescents to function better. Professor Eveline Crone studies executive functions – such as planning and behaviour – in the adolescent brain.

Dementia is a progressive disease, diagnosed at a relatively late stage when intervention may not be effective. Aim of the research is to study scans of brain networks to help discover the early network changes related to dementia. Early diagnosis may benefit effectiveness of future treatment.

What is the relation between brain development and social and cognitive development across childhood, adolescence and adulthood?

The more opportunities a child has to learn and develop, the stronger his or her future position in society. Leiden University investigates how the brain picks up information, and how learning processes can be influenced positively.

What is the neural basis of social decision-making across childhood, adolescence and adulthood and what are the developmental patterns in terms of behavior and brain activation?

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This study is the first to directly relate brain development to sex differences and school performance. The results debunk the myth that brain development is slower in boys.

The factors that dynamically sculpt the inter-regional correlation of brain patterns are poorly understood. Here, we test the hypothesis that they are shaped by the catecholaminergic neuromodulators norepinephrine and dopamine.

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Danhof, Co-promotor: E.C.M. de Lange

Cognitive processes of learning with a focus on reading comprehension and the development of mathematical skills.

Diacylglycerol lipases (DAGLα and DAGLβ) convert diacylglycerol to the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol. Our understanding of DAGL function has been hindered by a lack of chemical probes that can perturb these enzymes in vivo.

A neurobiological perspective on individual differences in social competence

The Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC) is a network focusing on science valorisation and outreach, stimulating interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge and expertise on topics related to brain and cognition.

Can playing certain games decrease cognitive decline or even enhance cognitive performance in the aging population?

A novel mathematical model describes spatial-temporal drug distribution within one or more brain units, which are cubic representations of a piece of brain tissue with brain capillaries at the edges.

Promotores: Prof.dr. P.M. Brakefield, Prof.dr. B.J. Zwaan (Wageningen Universiteit)

The sand on European beaches may look pristine, but in every kilogram of sand there are on average 250 microplastics: fragments smaller than 5mm. These results are part of a study from Leiden researchers with the help of beach-goers throughout Europe.

On Friday 8 February, the first Plastic Avengers Conference took place in Amsterdam. Initiator Merijn Tinga, the Plastic Soup Surfer from Leiden, brought together ‘independent plastic fighters' to arrive at a manifesto against plastic pollution. The Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic was also invited…

A P300-based Brain Computer Interface character speller, also known as P300 speller, has been an important communication pathway, under extensive research, for people who lose motor ability, such as patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or spinal-cord injury because a P300 speller allows human-beings…

Two weeks after 3 October the Leiden canals were still full of plastic disposable cups. Auke-Florian Hiemstra and fellow students have fished thousands of these cups out of the canals and photographed them. Now they put a photo of one of these canal cups on Instagram every day.

Nanoplastics influence the behaviour of larval zebrafish, says new research by the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) and the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML). The researchers observed that a certain type of nanoparticles leads to stress reactions in the sugar balance, resulting in hyperactivity…

'We have to look for products that can replace ordinary disposable plastics, for example of organic material. Within 20 years, the average plastic use of a household will be largely reduced.' According to Thijs Bosker, Associate Professor at Leiden University College, in Edition NL of Tuesday, October…

We develop and test a novel and interdisciplinary approach for responsible innovation of Brain-Computer Interfaces

Children and adolescents really do use their ‘smart’ brain areas. This has been confirmed by an extensive and long-running study of the brain carried out by developmental psychologist Sabine Peters . Her findings can have important consequences for education. PhD defence 27 January.

Brain researcher Elseline Hoekzema has discovered that the structure of the brain changes during pregnancy, particularly those areas related to social functions. These changes persist for at least two years after the mother gives birth. Publication in Nature Neuroscience on 19 December.

Help us spot and clean up the plastic in the canals of Leiden! Leiden University is calling on the good folk of Leiden to help our researchers study the plastic in the city’s canals. And if you’d like our canals to be plastic-free, why not donate towards a fleet of canoes to clean them up?

Neuroscientist Elseline Hoekzema receives a large European grant from the European Research Council (ERC). This ERC starting grant for promising young researchers allows her to investigate the effects of pregnancy on the brain in detail.

Shell, our country's largest company, is constructing a vast plastics plant in the United States. And it is doing so at a time when the European Union, led by the Netherlands, is launching a major pact to combat use of plastic.

There is a link in adolescents between brain connections and impulsiveness. Leiden researchers have discovered that these connections also predict which adolescents will make more impulsive choices two years further on.

What role do parent-child interactions play in the development, maintenance and treatment of depression in young people?

The Plastic Soup Foundation and Parley for the Oceans hosted the very first Plastic Heath Summit in Amsterdam on 3 October, covering the most relevant and pressing health concerns surrounding plastics and human health. Beyond discussing the latest findings in the field we asked the urgent question:…

What is the influence of the 2016 ban on free plastic bags on the environment? Industrial ecologist Stefano Cucurachi received a LUF grant of €75.000 to answer this question.

Quantifying physical activity (using accelerometers) and combining the frequency and intensity of activities with health data (brain MRI, traditional clinical parameters and metabolomics) is of utmost importance to monitor mobility and health among older individuals and study health promotion during…

Adolescents who were more popular among their classmates in junior school are often the ones who are more inclined to share things fairly with others. During this sharing process, 'social' areas of the brain are more strongly activated than in adolescents who are less popular. This is the finding of…

Our childhood years largely determine how we will fare later in life. In the first two decades of our life, our brain is still developing, which is clearly reflected in our behaviour. By studying how the young brain develops and how children behave, researchers can learn important information about…

From 27 to 31 January, a workshop on the regulation of plastic pollution based on scientific evidence will be held at the Lorentz Center in Leiden.