Neural networks have a wide range of applications. In Leiden, psychologists use them to build robot brains, whereas archaeologists use them to hunt for prehistoric graves.

This project involves research into the oeuvre of the Sundanese sculptor Iko, who has worked for the Catholic mission in Java and has carved sculptures for a chapel and church in Ganjuran. The images were designed by the Catholic layman Jos Schmutzer and are characterized by a fusion in style and symbolism…

When we are in a conversation, how do we know exactly when to respond, and how do we manage to respond so swiftly, yet without interrupting our interlocutors? Can speech melody – in particular utterance final “boundary tones” – help us determine who will speak next, or are these cues too late in the…

The programme group Educational Sciences is one of the six programme groups within the Institute of Child and Education Studies at Leiden University.

We teach several courses in the domain of Mind, Brain, and Education.

Developmental Psychologist Anna van Duijvenvoorde talks about her research on the development of brain and behaviour in adolescents. An important part of this research is social learning which is crucial in puberty. Several media sources devoted attention to her research. In 2020, she received the Heineken…

The Cognitive Psychology Unit contributes to the three-year BSc program and organizes two MSc specialisations.

We always have several ongoing studies running in our labs. Below you can find information about each one.

The first photo of a black hole and measuring anxiety in the brain... From 13 until 22 May we're serving a free slice of science with your pizza.

The main focus of our research programme is on adolescence, a key transitional period in human development. The programme puts emphasis on combined experimental behavioural and neural analysis of normative transitions and deviations in adolescent development.

Colonialism Inside Out: Everyday Experience and Plural Practice in Dutch Institutions in Sri Lanka (c. 1700-1800)

In the specialisation Clinical Neuropsychology, part of the Master in Psychology, you will focus on fostering clinical and scientific skills based on a solid theoretical background as well as practical training in neuropsychology and (clinical) neuropsychological research.

This project focuses on Dutch registration of land and people in rural Sri Lanka. How did the practice of “fixating” the fluid social relations and dynamic daily practices into categories affect family strategies of reproduction and survival?

The goal of this project is to keep a close watch on the developing nature of homicide in the Dutch Caribbean region.

On the 4th of June, Isabella Steenbergen successfully defended a doctoral thesis. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Isabella on this achievement!

The Brain and Education Lab is located in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of Leiden University.

The Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition is a network that stimulates interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge and expertise on topics related to brain and cognition and focuses on science valorisation and outreach. Its research members come from a broad and diverse spectrum of specialized academic…

Mission Director: Dr. Carina van den Hoven (The Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden University)

Because we cannot directly ask babies about what they know or what they are thinking about, we must find smart and baby-friendly ways to figure it out! Below you can read about the different methods that we typically use in our studies.

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Ömer Gürlesin defended his thesis on 28 November 2018

Homicide engenders broad moral concerns in society, and its aftermath can be understood as a barometer for criminal justice policy. Of all homicides committed, however, only some lead to arrest, to prosecution and ultimately to conviction in court.

The authors examine the handling of cybercrime cases by law enforcement officers, focusing on bottlenecks and potential improvements noted by experts in the field.

This dissertation aims to provide insight in ethnic prejudice in Chinese-Dutch children and the ethnic socialization context they are exposed to through three social-contextual factors, i.e., parents, children’s books, and the COVID pandemic.

Training a robot in a real-life environment is more or less impossible. Computer scientist and psychologist Roy de Kleijn switched to training in a simulated, virtual one instead. ‘You do have a reality gap, but the more precisely you train the robot, the better it is in practice.’ His inspiration:…

Fundamental research teaches us how our brain decides to eat one more sweet, instead of doing exercise. A public information campaign about healthy lifestyle has little impact on the decision, as Professor of General Psychology Bernard Hommel is aware. However, he does know what works. But the question…

Together with researchers from over the world, the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group endeavors to unravel the neurobiology of anxiety disorders and related constructs.

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has awarded the Heineken Young Scientist Award 2020 in the Social Sciences to developmental psychologist Anna van Duijvenvoorde for her research on the development of the brain and behaviour in adolescents.

Yearly, the LIBC organizes a public event to share scientific research in the field of brain & cognition

Earning some quick money by drug trafficking, committing an act of violence or almost collapsing under performance pressure. In the four-part NeurolabNL Young vodcast young people talk openly with neuroscientists about high-risk behaviour and performance pressure. How did they find their way back?

How do European Muslim men and women become involved in a violent jihadist struggle abroad?

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent neurodegenerative disorder and the primary cause of dementia. The neuropathological features of AD include the occurrence of senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, decreased synaptic density, and loss of neurons. An obstacle in the study and treatment…

This thesis focuses on enhancing predictions of central nervous system drug exposure using the LeiCNS-PK3.0, a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model.

The experiments described in this thesis employ local lentiviral knockdowns in brain areas of female zebra finches followed by behavioural assays consisting of preference and Go/Nogo tasks.

Detection of cerebral beta-amyloid (Abeta) by targeted contrast agents remains of great interest to aid the in vivo diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Bis-styrylbenzenes have been previously reported as potential Abeta imaging agents.

In this dissertation, the types of context Dutch speakers need to interpret the poly-interpretable word ergens ‘somewhere/anywhere’ are studied.

This research will investigate which aspects of On the sublime received attention in the intellectual milieu of the seventeenth century and how the sublime found its way in the political and artistic discourse of that time. Thus I aim to shed light on the role of art in politics and society in this…

On 20 September 2023 Mark van de Water successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

This project will transform OpenML, a platform for sharing and creating datasets and AI models transparently and collaboratively, into a next-generation open science infrastructure.

In a one-hour interview on Dutch radio programme Sleutelstad, Anne-Laura van Harmelen talks about her research into the role friendships in adolescents' well-being, the resilience paradox and the role of social, hormonal and genetic factors in stress-levels and resilience.

How do dissociative states affect the ability to suppress emotional distraction (in the context of a working memory task) in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder?

Until recently, the role of external information processing in intelligence has rarely been investigated quantitatively or experimentally. A group of researchers from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Leiden University, GGZ Rivierduinen, and University of Edinburgh measured in a new way how and when people…

Molecular Physiology is a research group at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry dedicated to the design, synthesis and application of chemical tools to study important biological and biomedical questions. The group is headed by Prof. Dr. Mario van der Stelt and includes the research lines of Assistant…