The Neuroimaging Research Group of the Department of Psychiatry at UMC Utrecht studies brain structure and function in humans throughout life, in health and (psychiatric) disease. Studies are aimed at finding biomarkers in brain structure and function that are associated with disease. To this end, we develop and implement Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) brain scan protocols and processing pipelines at 1.5T/3T and 7T to identify markers for deviant brain development and aging patterns. We employ machine learning techniques to make predictions at an individual level and study family members of patients to identify genetic and environmental factors that explain vulnerability for psychiatric disease.

The Neuroimaging Research Group is based in the Psychiatry Department, Neuroscience Division, of the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), The Netherlands. It is also part of the UMC Utrecht Brain Center (Hersencentrum) which encompasses many research groups from the UMCU as well as from the Utrecht University.

Recent Publications

  • Gangadin SS, Nasib LG, Sommer IEC, Mandl RCW (2019)  MRI investigation of immune dysregulation in schizophrenia. Curr Opin Psychiatry. May;32(3):164-169. doi: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000498.
  • Ferguson B, Petridou N, Fracasso A, van den Heuvel MP, Brouwer RM, Hulshoff Pol HE, Kahn RS, Mandl RCW (2019) Detailed T1-Weighted Profiles from the Human Cortex Measured in Vivo at 3 Tesla MRI. NeuroinformaticsApr;16(2):181-196.
  • Díaz-Caneja CM, Schnack H, Martínez K, Santonja J, Alemán-Gomez Y, Pina-Camacho L, Moreno C, Fraguas D, Arango C, Parellada M, Janssen J (2019) Neuroanatomical deficits shared by youth with autism spectrum disorders and psychotic disorders. Hum Brain Mapp Apr 1;40(5):1643-1653. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24475.
  • Nuninga JO, Mandl RCW, Boks MP, Bakker S, Somers M, Heringa SM, Nieuwdorp W, Hoogduin H, Kahn RS, Luijten P, Sommer IEC (2019) Volume increase in the dentate gyrus after electroconvulsive therapy in depressed patients as measured with 7T.Mol PsychiatryMar 12. doi: 10.1038/s41380-019-0392-6.
  • Teeuw J, Brouwer RM, Koenis MMG, Swagerman SC, Boomsma DI, Hulshoff Pol HE (2019) Genetic Influences on the Development of Cerebral Cortical Thickness During Childhood and Adolescence in a Dutch Longitudinal Twin Sample: The Brainscale Study.Cereb CortexMar 1;29(3):978-993. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhy005.