Clinical Psychology & Experimental Psychopathology

Better sleep on it: the effect of sleep deprivation on fear expression

To gain insight into the high comorbidity between insomnia and anxiety disorders, dr Yannick Hill together with other researchers of the Clinical Psychology & Experimental Psychopathology group investigated the effect of sleep deprivation on the expression of fear. They used a conditioning paradigm with a fear acquisition phase in the evening (comprising one stimulus that was paired with electric shock and another one that was not) and a test of fear expression in the subsequent morning (comprising the two stimuli of the acquisition phase and a morph between these two as a generalization stimulus). Between fear acquisition and test, participants were either kept awake for 12 hours or had one night of sleep at home. Sleep deprivation relative to sleep led to overall increased subjective threat values as indicated by shock expectancy ratings.

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The Role of Guilt in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traditionally seen as an anxiety disorder, has mainly focussed on the emotion of fear. Other negative emotions such as guilt, shame, anger and disgust have received little attention. In the Heymans Institute's lab we experimentally manipulated stress-related guilt to test the effect on the development of PTSD-like phenomena.

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Letting Go By Going Big

The emotion of awe involves response to perceptually vast stimuli and has traditionally been thought to be a central element of religious experience. Such experiences have been described as justifying existence, including the experience of unjust suffering. I will discuss research that examines the relation between awe and forgiveness of transgressors

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Mindwise Podcast

The Science of Detachment

about her research interests- revolving around the fascinating phenomenon of dissociation. Everyone has had dissociative moments many times in their lives, but for some people it might come with a serious price, such as people suffering from PTSD. The science behind this and other discussed topics is still very much a work in progress and has many implications for improving treatment efficacy, gaining new insights on how the human mind integrates information, etc.
-recorded on 26 February 2016 (new window)

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How do antidepressants work (when they do)?

Psychologists and neuroscientists may provide different answers to this question; perhaps their ideas can be integrated. Marije proposes an interpersonal model of antidepressant action.

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What I Believe Is True

Talk by prof.dr. P.J. (Peter) de Jong, 2014 Heymans Symposium 'Research Worth Spreading' of the Psychology department of the University of Groningen

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Why Doesn't Sex Gross You Out When You're Aroused

Talk by dr. C. (Charmaine) Borg at the 2014 Heymans Symposium 'Research Worth Spreading' of the Psychology department of the University of Groningen

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