Understanding & Targeting

To effectively treat disorders of the brain, we must first understand the intricate mechanisms that shape how it functions and how these mechanisms may become disrupted. Our research innovation ‘Understanding and Targeting’ unites fundamental neuroscience with translational research to uncover the biological, cognitive, and behavioural foundations of brain health and disease.

‘Understanding and targeting’ means uncovering the root causes of brain and nerve disorders and identifying the precise processes that drive them. This is essential because by knowing what goes wrong at a cellular and molecular level, we can better design treatments that are accurate, effective, and long-lasting.

By combining deep scientific understanding with a clear route to application, this research innovation accelerates progress from discovery to practical solutions, paving the way for more effective treatments for people affected by neurological disorders. 

Breakthroughs and impact

Our research spans from the smallest neural circuits to real-life behaviour, revealing how brain networks, neurochemistry, and life experiences interact to influence how we think, feel, and act. Using advanced brain imaging, non-invasive stimulation, precision medicine, and innovative digital tools, we translate these insights into targeted treatments. These range from new rehabilitation strategies to personalised therapies designed for each individual’s unique needs. 

  • Epilepsy n-of-1 trials

    Researchers from Utrecht aim to implement precision medicine, which includes the targeted treatment of monogenic rare epilepsy syndromes with repurposed drugs. To test treatment efficacy, they developed a methodological, statistical and ethical framework for so-called n-of-1 trials. In such trial, each child is his or her own control, with active drug and placebo being given in a blinded, alternating and block-wise design. This pipeline for epilepsy n-of-1 trial design will be used throughout the  

  • Emotion in language

    Researchers from Utrecht investigate the intricate interplay between language and emotion by using facial electromyography (EMG) to measure subtle emotional responses during language comprehension. The team of researchers explores how readers emotionally engage with narratives. This work reveals that frowning muscle activity reflects both the simulation, or re-enactment, of characters' emotions and the reader's moral evaluations, providing insight into affective language processing and supporting broader theories of embodied cognition.  

  • Healthy Play, Better Coping

    Play is fun, but play is also important for the development of brain and behaviour and is increasingly considered as an important indicator for wellbeing. Healthy Play Better Coping brings researchers with different expertises together to study the impact of (individual variations) in play behaviour on the development of brain and behaviour across species. Using rodent models, we study the role of social and risky play in the development of cognitive control, social behaviour and emotion processing, as well as the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Also, in collaboration with other research groups, we study play in children and how this, for instance, relates to a chronic disease. 

  • Improving recovery after stroke

    Despite improvements in acute stroke treatment and rehabilitation strategies, many stroke patients experience long-term motor impairment in their upper limbs. The   research program aims to develop effective non-invasive brain stimulation treatments to promote upper limb recovery. The B-STARS showed that inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in combination with upper limb training, initiated within three weeks after a stroke, promotes upper limb motor recovery. This is now further tested in an ongoing phase 3 trial involving over 450 patients across 16 Dutch rehabilitation centers.

  • Job-E-Tunities

    The Job-E-Tunities project evaluates digital tools—a neuropsychological assessment and a Virtual Reality simulation—for young adults with acquired brain injury (ABI). The simulation is co-created with researchers, programmers, game designers, and clinicians, including job coaches and occupational therapists. Eye and hand movements, along with environmental interactions, are analyzed to develop biomarkers that reflect efficiency of cognitive strategies. These are compared to gold-standard work assessments to explore their relation to existing measures. Ultimately, the project aims to improve the connection between people with brain injury and the labor market. 

  • Role of the cerebellum

    The cerebellum plays an important role in motivation, emotion and psychopathology. In this multidisciplinary research program, structural and functional neuroimaging are combined with non-invasive brain stimulation to unravel the cerebellar mechanisms underlying affect regulation. Following, non-invasive cerebellar neuromodulation techniques are explored to treat mood disorders and non-motor related clinical symptoms arising from disruptions in the cerebellum.