Neurobiology: Psychopharmacology and Pathophysiology

The aim of the track is to give insight into: the neurobiological substrate of human brain disorders; current pharmaca and their mechanisms of action; and research to develop and test new drugs.

The main aim of this track is to provide you with detailed and up-to-date information about:

1) the neurobiological mechanisms thought to underlie some of the main human brain disorders, e.g. Alzheimer's/Parkinson's disease, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, addiction, epilepsy and MS. 

2) the current animal models available to study these diseases and/or test effects of (novel) pharmaca.

3) the development, selection and testing of drugs to treat brain diseases (validity, efficacy, safety). This is done with experts from the pharma industry. As risk factors for later psychopathology, focus is also on the early life period and on stress. Other key topics are nutrition, plasticity and stem cells.