Behavioural Neuroscience
Welcome to the website of the Behavioural Neuroscience research group. We are one of the four research groups within the Department of Animal in Science and Society at the Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Utrecht. Our team investigates how early life experiences, particularly play, contribute to the development of the brain, behaviour, and well-being of both humans and animals.
About us
We are fascinated by behaviour, particularly (social) play behaviour. We aim to comprehend not only how healthy behaviours develop but also how vulnerability to, or resilience against, behavioural problems arises. Our team primarily examines the role of play behaviour at a young age in the development of the brain and the emergence of emotional, social, and cognitive behaviours. We conduct laboratory research for this purpose, but we are increasingly expanding our research to include play in children and in domestic animals, such as calves. Additionally, we collaborate extensively with other research groups and actively participate in the strategic theme 'Dynamics of Youth' at the University of Utrecht.
What we do
In our lab, we are dedicated to understanding how healthy behaviour as well as vulnerability to or resilience against behavioural problems are established. We investigate the role of (risky) play in the development of cognitive control over behaviour in later life (Research: Risky Play), the neurobiological mechanisms of play behaviour (Neurobiology of Social Play), and the impact of age on the development of addictive behaviours (Research: Aging Matters). Additionally, we are running smaller research projects where we systematically examine children's play behaviour (Research: LEGO play) and explore improved housing for laboratory animals (Research: EC4Rats). Our research involves the use of observation techniques, (intracranial) pharmacology, and operant tasks.
Group members
- I am Heidi Lesscher, Associate Professor and PI of the Behavioural Neuroscience research group. I am fascinated by the individual variation in susceptibility to mental health problems, which often arise at a young age. My ambition is, together with my team, to better understand and prevent the development of behavioural problems, and thereby contribute to the well-being of humans and animals.
- My research focusses on the neurobiology of social play behavior, mainly in rats. I investigate the brain regions and neurotransmitter systems involved in the expression of and motivation for social play behavior and compare the similarities and differences to other types of rewards such as food and drugs of abuse. In addition, I assess play behaviour in both healthy individuals as in models of neurodevelopmental impairments. Recently, I also started to investigate ultrasonic vocalization emission during several behavioural paradigms, including during social play.
- In my project, I study the impact of play during the juvenile period of rats on the development of cognitive control and stress resilience later in life. I am particularly interested in the risks taken during play, and how these risky experiences shape decision-making in conflict situations and resilience against the unexpected. Furthermore, I delineate the role of the medial prefrontal cortex and its projections to the nucleus accumbens in these processes.
- As a PhD candidate, I investigate the age-related effects of alcohol and cannabis addiction, comparing adolescents with adults. Adolescents have more risk to develop an addiction. However, after experiencing negative consequences they seem to get control over their addictive behaviour. By fundamental investigation of addictive behaviour and the neurobiological development we hope to gain more understanding of this risk and resilience during this age.
New research projects
We recently started a study on play behavior in calves, commissioned by ZuivelNL. Play behavior in calves can be an indicator of their welfare and overall health. However, there is limited empirical data on the effects of space availability on play behavior in calves. Therefore, we aim to measure play behavior in calves that are kept in pairs or groups, are 1 to 3 months old and have between 4 and 20 m² space per calf.
After the summer of 2024, we will also start several new projects. With funding from Dynamics of Youth we will investigate the influence of risky play on cognitive development and white matter damage after sleep deprivation; this is a collaboration with the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital. We will also start a study on the effectivity of play therapy, in collaboration with the Dutch Association for Play Therapy (NVVS).
Interns
Charlotta Kamphuis I am a Health and Environment master's student currently engaged in a 9-month internship at the Behavioural Neuroscience group. Under the supervision of Dr. Heidi Lesscher, I am working on a research project centered around the play behavior of calves. The aim of the project is to examine and compare the play behavior of calves across various age groups, considering different pen sizes and the impact of individual versus paired housing from birth.
Philip Nijman I am a Bachelor's Student at College of Pharmaceutical Sciences and I am currently pursuing my Bachelor's research project under the supervision of Sofie van Koppen. My work focuses on investigating the age-related effects of cannabis in rats, and we are currently conducting a pilot study to test the vape chambers for this purpose. My academic interests lie in consciousness, consciousness-altering substances, and the mechanisms underlying mental diseases. In my spare time I enjoy engaging with music as well as developing new skills. Through this project, I aim to contribute to the understanding of how cannabis impacts brain development and behaviour.
Marije de Vries I’m a Veterinary student reaching the end of my Master’s degree focussed on companion animals. In the next 6 months I will be doing an internship supervised by Emel Souiki, which focusses on the effects of risky play on the development of cognitive control and stress resilience. Neurobiology has fascinated me since I was young, so by doing this internship I hope I can aid the development of knowledge in this field
Iris de Graaf I’m a Veterinary Medicine Masters student specializing in companion animals and I am currently writing my masters thesis on play behavior in dairy calves.
Rafke Fleerakkers I am in the final year of my master’s in veterinary medicine, specializing in companion animals. I have always found play behavior in animals, as well as in humans, very interesting. This is why I chose to do my internship in this field. For 15 weeks, I am part of the LEGO project, which aims to develop a tool to assess play in children. Under the guidance of Anne-Marie, I will primarily focus on the (variation in) movements that children exhibit during play. Through this project, I hope to gain a better understanding of how children play and what factors can influence play.
Brian Lain. I am a Neuroscience and Cognition master’s student pursuing my nine month internship at the behavioural neuroscience research group. My internship focuses on the impact of risky play on brain development, and its potential as a therapeutic strategy to mitigate impairments from early-life sleep deprivation. I hold a background in Global Public Health, with a focus on anthropology to examine health through a life course approach. During my internship, I will take a neuroscience perspective on building a better world through play
Agenda
Lab Fun
Escape room
We battled against each other in two escape rooms, and both groups escaped in time!