There is a lot of misunderstanding about ADHD, also among young people. Recognizing and managing ADHD is important at this stage of life for their personal, social and cognitive development. Within the ADHDplaza project 10 VMBO-schools were visited for a lesson about ADHD and 10 PhD-students were trained in sciencecommunication. The effect measurements showed that knowledge about ADHD among the students had increased. The way students described ADHD was more diverse and positive after the lesson. The PhD-students felt strengthened in their sciencecommunication skills after participating in ADHDplaza. ADHDplaza will keep connecting the target group and ADHD-science in the future.

Our PIER investigations focus on how unconscious social emotion regulation mechanisms like skin-warming and oxytocin secretion underlie soothing parent?s soothing towards their child. Crucially, we propose a cost-effective, theoretically based warm touch intervention. We commence by studying naturally occurring and experimentally manipulated parents? skin temperature in response to infants? distress, examining its relation to emotional sensitivity in caregivers? soothing. Second, we study how our intervention improves comparable regulation skills for the child. Our approach provides important theoretical gains, while at the same time providing important behavioral interventions that allows us studying and improving social emotion regulation in children?s later life.

In the past decades, interest in the relationship between physical activity and academic achievement has grown. Very few studies have been performed in school-aged children, and focus on cross-sectional designs has resulted in evidence for positive associations, but not for causal relationships. An important mediating role in the relationship between physical activity and academic achievement has been suggested for executive functions. The first aim of the present study is to examine causal effects of physical activity on (a) a wide range of executive functions in primary school children (e.g. working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and planning), and (b) multiple domains of academic achievement (mathematics, spelling, reading). The second aim is to study causal relationships between executive functions and academic achievement. The third aim is to examine effects of two school-based physical activity interventions in primary school children on executive functions, and academic achievement. A literature search including a meta-analysis on existing literature and available databases will be conducted. Results from the first part of the study (directing to the first two aims) will provide insight in optimal frequency, duration and intensity of physical activity and will be used for developing and implementing a cluster RCT on 24 primary schools (directing to the third aim). Participating schools will be randomly assigned to an aerobic intervention, a complex coordinative exercise intervention or control condition. The RCT will demonstrate effects of different types of interventions (aerobic exercises versus coordinative exercises) on academic achievement and a possible mediating role of executive functioning. Functional and structural neuroimaging will provide insight in underlying mechanisms on effects of physical exercise on the brain of school-aged children. Importantly, our RCT provides insight into feasibility of implementation in the Dutch primary school setting.

While one third of the individuals with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a women, the number of women with an AUD is on the rise. Unfortunately, sex and gender differences have been structurally ignored in addiction research, impeding the development of sex- and gender tailored prevention strategies. This project aims to investigate sex and gender differences in the relationship between stress- and reward-related craving and prospective alcohol use in a population of hazardous drinkers. To achieve this, lab-based measurements examining stress- and alcohol cue reactivity will be combined with daily smartphone measurements of stress, craving and alcohol use.

Neurodivergent (ND) individuals, such as those with autism or ADHD, often experience social challenges. Current treatments focus on making their behavior appear more typical by masking their ND traits, but a recent report reveals this approach may harm their well-being. Masking, or hiding ND traits, is linked to stress, anxiety, poor mental health, and erosion of the sense of self. This proposal aims to study the impact of masking during social interactions on brain activity, stress, and social connectedness. Understanding these dynamics could lead to better treatment strategies and increased the quality of life of ND individuals.