
Peter Bos
Associate Professor
- Name
- Dr. P.A. Bos
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 4836
- p.a.bos@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Short CV
Peter Bos has a permanent position as Associate Professor at the Institute of Child and Education Studies, Leiden University. He graduated in 2007 at the University of Utrecht and obtained his PhD in 2012 (cum laude) at the same university. Currently, Peter is developing a line of research that targets the neuroendocrine mechanisms of caregiving behavior and parental communication.
He uses functional MRI, EEG, and EMG, and hormone administration methods to investigate neural sensitivity to hormonal factors in response to stimuli relevant for caregiving behavior. Peter has published over 35 research and review papers mostly in high-impact journals, and in 2014 he received a VENI grant to develop his own line of research. His work has have received wide attention in the (international) media and he frequently shares his scientific findings with the general audience, including with children. Currently, he is working on a popular science book that will focus on the biology underlying human relations.
Research summary of research interests, projects and/or programs
My main research interest is the role of hormones and neuropeptides in human caregiving and its neural underpinnings. I am especially fascinated by modulating factors during child development such as the quality of caregiving and parental communication, which can alter social-emotional behavior via endocrine mechanisms such as epigenetic programming. A future aim to which I would like to contribute is the further integration of psychological and neurobiological perspectives on human caregiving behavior and child development. The experimental methods I employ are: single drug administration, functional MRI (fMRI), facial Electromyography (EMG), and electroencephalography (EEG).
Grants
- 2015 Dynamics of Youth seed grant (91k) “Getting together; how (epi)genetics and family history predict sensitive parenting behavior.”
- 2014 NWO (The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) VENI grant (250k) “Off to a bad start – Investigating the role of oxytocin and estradiol in the cycle of harsh parenting over generations”
- 2013 Travel grant: ISPNE conference, Leiden (0.5k) - 2012 University of Cape Town: Medical Research Council Competitive Post-Doctoral Fellowship Grant (50k)
Awards
- 2014 Praemium Erasmianum thesis prize (3k)
- 2012 Editor’s choice award NeuroImage for: Bos P. A., Hermans E. J., Ramsey N. F. & van Honk J. (2012) The neural mechanisms by which testosterone acts on interpersonal trust. NeuroImage, 61: 730-7.
Supervisors
- prof. Jack van Honk
Supervised PhD candidates
- Estrella Montoya, Shaped and Balanced by Hormones: cortisol, testosterone and the psychoneuroendocrinology of human socio-emotional behavior, 2015
Relevant links
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-a-bos-0b549bb/
- Research Gate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter_Bos
- Website https://peterbos.org/
Workdays
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Associate Professor
- Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen
- Instituut Pedagogische Wetenschappen
- Opvoeding en Ontwikkeling
- Brummelman E., Terburg D., Smit M., Bögels S.M. & Bos P.A. (2019), Parental touch reduces social vigilance in children, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 35: 87-93.
- Spencer H., Heitland I., Montoya E.R., Branje S.J.T. & Bos P.A. (2018), Ethnic effects when facing children: An ERP study., Biological Psychology 138: 56-62.
- Kraaijenvanger E.J., He Y., Spencer H., Smith A.K., Bos P.A. & Boks M.P.M. (2019), Epigenetic variability in the human oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene: A possible pathway from early life experiences to psychopathologies., Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 96: 127-142.
- Bos P.A., Spencer H. & Montoya E.R. (2018), Oxytocin reduces neural activation in response to infant faces in nulliparous young women., Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 13(10): 1099-1109.
- Terburg D., Scheggia D., Triana del Rio R., Klumpers F., Ciobanu A.C., Morgan B., Montoya E.R., Bos P.A., Giobellina G., Burg E.H. van den, Gelder B. de, Stein D.J., Stoop R. & Honk J. van (2018), The Basolateral Amygdala Is Essential for Rapid Escape: A Human and Rodent Study., Cell Journal 175(3): 723-735.e16.
- Endendijk J.J., Spencer H., Baar A.L. van & Bos P.A. (2018), Mothers' neural responses to infant faces are associated with activation of the maternal care system and observed intrusiveness with their own child., Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience 18(4): 609-621.
- Bos P.A., Hechler C., Beijers R., Shinohara K., Esposito G. & Weerth C. de (2018), Prenatal and postnatal cortisol and testosterone are related to parental caregiving quality in fathers, but not in mothers., Psychoneuroendocrinology 97: 94-103.
- Heany S.J., Bethlehem R.A.I., Van Honk J., Bos P.A., Stein D.J. & Terburg D. (2018), Effects of testosterone administration on threat and escape anticipation in the orbitofrontal cortex., Psychoneuroendocrinology 96: 42-51.
- Endendijk J.J., Spencer H., Bos P.A. & Derks B. (2019), Neural processing of gendered information is more robustly associated with mothers' gendered communication with children than mothers' implicit and explicit gender stereotypes., Social Neuroscience 14(3): 300-312.
- Bos P.A. (2017), The endocrinology of human caregiving and its intergenerational transmission., Development and Psychopathology 29(3): 971-999.
- Kraaijenvanger E.J., Hofman D. & Bos P.A. (2017), A neuroendocrine account of facial mimicry and its dynamic modulation., Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 77: 98-106.
- Montoya E.R. & Bos P.A. (2017), How Oral Contraceptives Impact Social-Emotional Behavior and Brain Function. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 125-136.
- Bos P.A., Jap-Tjong N., Spencer H. & Hofman D. (2016), Social Context Modulates Facial Imitation of Children's Emotional Expressions., PLoS ONE 11(12): e0167991.
- Meier I.M., Bos P.A., Hamilton K., Stein D.J., Van Honk J. & Malcolm-Smith S. (2016), Naltrexone increases negatively-valenced facial responses to happy faces in female participants., Psychoneuroendocrinology 74: 65-68.
- Bos P.A., Hofman D., Hermans E.J., Montoya E.R., Baron-Cohen S. & Van Honk J. (2016), Testosterone reduces functional connectivity during the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes' Test, Psychoneuroendocrinology 68: 194-201.
- Bos P.A., Brummelman E. & Terburg D. (2015), Cognition as the tip of the emotional iceberg: A neuro-evolutionary perspective, The Behavioral and Brain Sciences 38: e72.
- Montoya E.R., Van Honk J., Bos P.A. & Terburg D. (2015), Dissociated neural effects of cortisol depending on threat escapability, Human Brain Mapping 36(11): 4304-4316.
- Van Honk J., Bos P.A., Terburg D., Heany S. & Stein D.J. (2015), Neuroendocrine models of social anxiety disorder, Dialogues in clinical neuroscience 17(3): 287-293.
- Bos P.A., Montoya E.R., Hermans E.J., Keysers C. & Van Honk J. (2015), Oxytocin reduces neural activity in the pain circuitry when seeing pain in others., NeuroImage 113: 217-224.
- Syal S., Ipser J., Terburg D., Solms M., Panksepp J., Malcolm-Smith S., Bos P.A., Montoya E.R., Stein D.J. & Van Honk J. (2015), Improved memory for reward cues following acute buprenorphine administration in humans., Psychoneuroendocrinology 53: 10-15.
- Bethlehem R.A., Baron-Cohen S., Van Honk J., Auyeung B. & Bos P.A. (2014), The oxytocin paradox., Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 8: e48.
- Bos P.A., Montoya E.R., Terburg D. & Van Honk J. (2014), Cortisol administration increases hippocampal activation to infant crying in males depending on childhood neglect., Human Brain Mapping 35(10): 5116-5126.
- Montoya E.R., Bos P.A., Terburg D., Rosenberger L.A. & Van Honk J. (2014), Cortisol administration induces global down-regulation of the brain's reward circuitry, Psychoneuroendocrinology 47: 31-42.
- Montoya E.R., Terburg D., Bos P.A., Will G.J., Buskens V., Raub W. & Van Honk J. (2013), Testosterone administration modulates moral judgments depending on second-to-fourth digit ratio, Psychoneuroendocrinology 38(8): 1362-1369.
- Bos P.A., Van Honk J., Ramsey N.F., Stein D.J. & Hermans E.J. (2013), Testosterone administration in women increases amygdala responses to fearful and happy faces., Psychoneuroendocrinology 38(6): 808-817.
- Hofman D., Bos P.A., Schutter D.J. & Van Honk J. (2012), Fairness modulates non-conscious facial mimicry in women., Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279(1742): 3535-3539.
- Bos P.A., Hermans E.J., Ramsey N.F. & Van Honk J. (2012), The neural mechanisms by which testosterone acts on interpersonal trust., NeuroImage 61(3): 730-737.
- van Honk J., Montoya E.R., Bos P.A., van Vugt M. & Terburg D. (2012), New evidence on testosterone and cooperation., Nature 485(7399): E4-5; discussion E5-6.
- Montoya E.R., Terburg D., Bos P.A. & Van Honk J. (2012), Testosterone, cortisol, and serotonin as key regulators of social aggression: A review and theoretical perspective., Motivation and Emotion 36(1): 65-73.
- Bos P.A., Panksepp J., Bluthé R.M. & Van Honk J. (2012), Acute effects of steroid hormones and neuropeptides on human social-emotional behavior: a review of single administration studies, Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology 33(1): 17-35.
- Van Honk J., Terburg D. & Bos P.A. (2011), Further notes on testosterone as a social hormone., Trends in Cognitive Sciences 15(7): 291-292.
- Van Honk J., Schutter D.J., Bos P.A., Kruijt A.-W., Lentjes E.G. & Baron-Cohen S. (2011), Testosterone administration impairs cognitive empathy in women depending on second-to-fourth digit ratio, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 108(8): 3448-3452.
- Hermans E.J., Bos P.A., Ossewaarde L., Ramsey N.F., Fernández G. & Van Honk J. (2010), Effects of exogenous testosterone on the ventral striatal BOLD response during reward anticipation in healthy women., NeuroImage 52(1): 277-283.
- Bos P.A., Terburg D. & Van Honk J. (2010), Testosterone decreases trust in socially naïve humans, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107(22): 9991-9995.
- Bos P.A., Hermans E.J., Montoya E.R., Ramsey N.F. & Van Honk J. (2010), Testosterone administration modulates neural responses to crying infants in young females, Psychoneuroendocrinology 35(1): 114-121.
- Hermans E.J., Wingen G. van, Bos P.A., Putman P. & Honk J. van (2009), Reduced spontaneous facial mimicry in women with autistic traits., Biological Psychology 80: 348-353.
- Les geven