Stress in your mind: mind the stress?

Severe stress can affect our somatic well-being – but is part of this stress created in our minds? A recent meta-analysis on the link between worrying and the physiological stress response suggests that worrying does indeed affect our heart and hormones.

Bart Verkuil • February 08, 2016

Interfering with the hormonal system: oral contraceptive use

In the Netherlands, about 37 percent of women aged between 18 and 49 use oral contraceptives¹, taking them on average for 12 years of their lives. Why do so many of us interfere with our hormonal systems, and what are the effects on brain and behavior?

Jiska Peper • January 12, 2016

Decision making in the game of life

Recent research has revealed a causal link between serotonin levels and people’s ‘sense of fairness’. A fascinating discovery because serotonin levels are in part dependent on what we eat. So, can you eat yourself toward a fairer world?

Jonathan Barnhoorn • July 08, 2013

Can you ‘pose’ your way to success?

Have you ever wondered why is it that sometimes you perform extremely well at presentations or job interviews while at other times your brain seems to freeze? Your performance in such tasks depends on the levels of two hormones: testosterone and cortisol.

Tina van Dam • June 03, 2013

The pregnant brain: good or bad?

Are pregnancy hormones detrimental to cognitive capacities, or do they make the brain resilient to stress and increase memory performance?

Jiska Peper • February 25, 2013

Alcohol and adolescents: why do teens drink?

Recently the Dutch government proposed to raise the legal drinking age from 16 to 18. High levels of alcohol use in adolescence are related to alcohol dependence later in life. Recent research shows that also pubertal hormones play a role.

Barbara Braams • February 18, 2013

Happiness and hormones: spring breaks, autumn falls

Our mood can be affected by the changing of the seasons. What do we understand about seasonal affective disorder (a.k.a. winter depression)?

Marc Molendijk • February 01, 2013

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