School for Mental Health and Neuroscience

The School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs) strives to advance our understanding of brain-behaviour relationships by using an approach integrating various disciplines in neuro- and behavioural science, medicine, and the life sciences. MHeNs performs high-impact neuroscience research and educates master's students and PhD researchers. MHeNs performs translational research, meaning practical collaboration between researchers in the lab and in the hospital .

Fast facts

three research lines
coordinator of large European research networks
focused on the development of new therapies
from fundamental neuroscience to applied neuropsychiatric strategies
led by Prof. Nanne de Vries, a.i.

MHeNs website

Research

To perform research at every level, from the cellular to human, MHeNs is organised into three research lines:

Cognitive Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neuroscience – generates new insights into the neurocognitive and neurobehavioural mechanisms in order to improve treatment and care for people with cognitive disorders and other neurological disorders
Mental Health – focusses on the mechanisms through which interactions between individuals and their environments contribute to the development of mental disorder and the impact of mental health services on morbidity
Neuroscience – uncovers the underlying mechanisms of neurodegenerative and regenerative processes to improve health and to provide solutions to cure neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders like Alzheimer's disease, Depression, Movement Disorders and Pain

Education

MHeNs is involved in the curricula of several international master's and research master's programmes of both the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences and the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience. Internships for students are offered on a broad range of topics within the field of mental health and basic neuroscience. They are also offered independently of the master programme.

26 MHENS v1-HD.mp4

Frans Verhey

“Alzheimer was traditionally seen as one uniform concept, but its heterogeneity is now increasingly recognized. In addition, Alzheimer is closely related to various aging mechanisms. This opens new targets for treatment that were ignored so far.”

Read a Dutch interview with Frans Verhey

Jim van Os

“The new definition of health is focused on adjustment and self-management rather than symptom reduction. This means that research has to contribute to how individuals cope and adjust to expressions of mental vulnerability, and develop resilience over the course of their lives.”

Read the whole interview

Bart Rutten

“In order to optimize treatment and make prevention possible, we need to unravel the neurobiological mechanisms that determine responses to severe challenges. In such a way that more susceptible people can be supported better in activating the appropriate neurobiological switches.”

Read the whole interview

Rubicon grants for two UM researchers
Friday, April 21, 2017

Sandra Schipper and Mark van den Hurk, who both took their PhD in December 2016, received a Rubicon grant from research financing institution NWO. This grant gives young, highly promising researchers the opportunity to gain international research experience

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Explorer of the brain
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
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