Ghent experimental psychiatry (GHEP) lab

The GHEP lab was funded in 2012 with the main objective to perform translational research within the domain of psychiatric illnesses. From the beginning the researchers aimed to integrate high quality research focusing on behavioral, psychological, and neurobiological topics. Therefore, they investigate both human and animal models related to brain functioning in the ‘healthy’ as well as in the ‘mentally’ affected brain.

Website GHEP lab

The GHEP lab is closely connected to the psychiatric ward of the Ghent University Hospital, specialized in treating mood and anxiety disorders. Hence, there is a strong background and interest in finding more efficacious treatment options using non-invasive brain stimulation techniques. Working together with the veterinary department we created translational animal models to examine the effects of neurostimulation on the dogs’ brain. This knowledge can be incorporated in the treatment of psychiatric patients, with the goal to enhance healthcare. 

The lab is specialized in non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), thetaburst stimulation (TBS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), but also invasive brain stimulation techniques such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The researchers have initiated and collaborated in numerous studies, aiming to find working mechanisms and biomarkers to understand, predict and enhance the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation.

To measure the effects of the non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, GHEP makes use of brain imaging techniques such as structural and functional (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and Electroencephalography (EEG). The researchers are also interested in psychophysiological variables such as skin conductance, respiration, heart rate variability and cortisol.

Members

• Ghent University, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Experimental clinical and health psychology, Psychopathology and affective neuroscience lab

• Ghent University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, department of Veterinary medical imaging and small animal orthopaedics

• Ghent University, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Electronics and Information Systems

• University of São Paulo (Brazil), Department of Psychiatry

• Radboud University Nijmegen (The Netherlands), the Behavioural Science Institute

• VUB Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, UZBrussel: departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Radiology

• Eindhoven University of Technology, department of electrical engineering, Eindhoven, the Netherlands 

• Deakin University, Faculty of Health, Victoria, Australia.

• Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China

Defended PhDs (last 5 years)

Investigating the role of risk and maintaining factors in eating disorders

Louise Puttevils (2023)

Electrophysiological markers of depression symptomatology and suicidality

Lars Benschop (2022)

Exploring underlying mechanisms in the relationship between regret, rumination and depression

Jens Allaert (2022)

A neuroscientific perspective on being criticized: individual differences in neurobiological sensitivity to criticism and the potential for modifying it through neuromodulation

Josefien Dedoncker (2020)

The potential of multimodal neuroimaging to personalize transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment protocols

Debby Klooster (2019)

Reward and motivational processes during performance monitoring: a psychophysiological approach. Ghent University

Davide Gheza (2019)

The human dog: a translational neurobiological brain model on the molecular effects of the non-invasive brain stimulation technique accelerated high frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS)

Robrecht Dockx (2019)