Elzinga, Prof. B.M. (Bernet)

Position:
  • Full professor
Expertise:
  • Stress-related psychopathology, PTSD, depression; Psychological, cognitive and neurobiological consequences of acute & chronic stress.


Telephone number: +31 (0)71 527 3745
E-Mail: elzinga@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Faculty / Department: Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen, Instituut Psychologie, Klinische, Gezondheids- Neuropsychologie
Office Address: Pieter de la Court gebouw
Wassenaarseweg 52
2333 AK Leiden
Room number 2A05A

Academic Career

  • Full professor ‘Stress-related Psychopathology’, Clinical Health and Neuropsychology, Leiden University (2011-present)
  • Associate professor (UHD), Clinical Health and Neuropsychology, Leiden University (2008-2010)
  • Assistant professor (UD), Clinical Health and Neuropsychology, Leiden University (2002-2007)
  • PhD. Cum Laude. Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Department of Psychiatry, Free University (VU).
    Title of thesis: Searching for amnesia. Cognitive and neurobiological studies on trauma-related memory (2002)
  • Researcher at ‘Yale Trauma Research Program’, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. Neurobiological research on the effects of early trauma in PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder on the HPA-axis and neural functioning (2002)
  • MA. cum laude, Philosophy, University of Amsterdam (2002)
  • Postdoctoral training for Cognitive Behavior Therapist (BIG registration Psychotherapist 2004, GZ-psychologist 2004)
  • MA. cum laude, Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychology, University of Amsterdam (1996).

Academic Awards

  • NWO - VIDI laureate 2008 (Grant for outstanding young researchers who are among the top 10-20% of their peer group). Title: Genetic vulnerability factors mediating the effects of childhood abuse on brain structures and functions.
  • Fellow of the ‘Young Academy’ (DJA) of The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected in 2006).
  • NWO – VENI laureate 2003 (Grant for outstanding young researchers who are among the top 10-20% of their peer group). Title: ‘The role of prefrontal inhibition on persistent trauma-related fear in PTSD’.
  • NWO Research Grant Open Competition, with Prof. Dr. W.T.A.M. Everaerd, Prof. Dr. Ph. Spinhoven, & Dr. B.M. Elzinga. Title: The accessibility of emotional memories.

Main Research Interests

  • My main research interest concerns the impact of (specific types of) childhood abuse on brain structures and functions related to affect and memory in psychiatric patients with depression and anxiety disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PhD project Anne-Laura van Harmelen), en patients with Borderline personality disorder (Annegret Krause). Moreover, related to the neurobiological changes we also investigate the long term effects of childhood abuse (and acute stressors) on the HPA-axis and BDNF (PhD project of Marc Molendijk).
  • Given the individual differences in response to childhood abuse, a second major research interest is concerned with the question how the impact of childhood abuse is moderated by genetic factors, with a focus on the MR and GR genes and BDNF gene (PhD project of Marc Molendijk).
  • A third line of interest is focused on the effects of acute stress (induced by psychosocial stress) on memory functioning (working memory, emotional memories, -more specifically memory retrieval and reconsolidation) and the inhibition of emotional distraction during working memory. In this context, the role of the HPA-axis and adrenergic activation is investigated, focusing both on stress-induced increases in cortisol and noradrenaline and using pharmacological manipulations (administrating hydrocortisone and propranolol). Besides these laboratory studies, imaging studies are conducted to investigate the impact of acute stress on brain functioning (PhD projects of Marieke Tollenaar and Nicole Oei).

Reviewing

  • Editorial Board: Philosophical Psychology; European Journal of Psychotraumatology
  • Guest editor Acta Psychologica, title special issue ‘ Learning, memory and psychopathology’.
  • Reviewer for: Biological Psychiatry; American Journal of Psychiatry, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Behavioral Neurosciences, Brain and Cognition, Stress, F rontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Memory, Cognition and Emotion, Psychiatry Research, Acta Psychologica.
  • Reviewer of grant applications NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research), VENI, open competition.

Teaching

I am involved in the bachelor course Stress, with my lectures focusing on the Neurobiology of PTSD and the role of stress in depression, and I coordinate the master course Clinical Interviewing and Assessment and supervise master students during their thesis and internships.

Dissertations (PhD projects)

  • Anne-Laura van Harmelen (ongoing).The impact of stressful life events on brain structures and functions related to memory performance. Prom./coprom: Prof. dr. Ph. Spinhoven, Prof. dr. B. Penninx, Dr. B.M. Elzinga.        
  • Marc Molendijk (ongoing). The role of BDNF in anxiety and depression. Prom./coprom: Prof. dr. Ph. Spinhoven, Prof. dr. B. Penninx, Dr. B.M. Elzinga.
  • Steven van der Werff (ongoing). Resilience and vulnerabilty to stress. Prom./coprom: Prof. dr. Frans Zitman, Prof. dr.B.M. Elzinga, Dr. Nic van der Wee
  • Laura de Block (ongoing). Genetic, biological, and environmental factors in child maltreatment: An intergenerational perspective. Prom./coprom: Prof. dr. Marian Bakermans-Kranenburg, Prof. dr. B.M. Elzinga, Dr. Lenneke Alink
  • Annegret Krause (ongoing). Emotional distraction and working memory in Borderline Personality Disorder. Prom./coprom: Prof. dr. Ph. Spinhoven, Dr. C.S. Schmahl and Prof. Dr. M. Bohus (Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany), Dr. B.M. Elzinga.       
  • Nicole Y.L. Oei (2010). Memory function after stress: the effects of acute stress and cortisol on memory and the inhibition of emotional distraction. Prom./coprom: Prof. dr. Ph. Spinhoven, Dr. B.M. Elzinga.       
  • Marieke S. Tollenaar (2009). Fading memories. The impact of stress hormones on the retrieval of emotional memories. Prom./coprom: Prof. dr. Ph. Spinhoven, Prof. dr. W.T.A.M. Everaerd, Dr. B.M. Elzinga.

Publications

For a complete list of journal and book publications click on the tab Published work at the top of this page.

Recent Papers (2010):

  • Elzinga, B.M., Roelofs, K., van Peer, J., Berretty, E., de Jong, P., Spinhoven. Ph. The role of childhood abuse in HPA-axis reactivity in Social Anxiety Disorder: A pilot study (2010). Biological Psychology 83, 1–6.
  • Oei, N.Y.L., Tollenaar, M.S., Spinhoven, P., Elzinga, B.M. (2010). Betablocker reduces emotional distracter interference in working memory. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 93, 388-95.
  • van Harmelen, A.L., de Jong, P.J., Glashouwer, K.A., van Dyck, R., Spinhoven, Ph., Penninx, B.W.J.H. & B.M. Elzinga (2010). Childhood abuse and negative automatic self-associations. Behaviour Research and Therapy; 48, 486-94.

Selected Lectures

  • Keynote congres Vlaamse Vereniging voor gedragstherapie, Gent, België (december 2010). ‘De lange-termijn gevolgen van mishandeling en verwaarlozing in de kinderjaren’.
  • Invited lecture at workshop ‘Reconsolidation Blockade as a new treatment for PTSD’ organised by Prof. dr. A. Brunet, 27nd Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress (ISTSS), Montreal, Canada (November 2010).
  • Invited lecture Publieksdag Hersenstichting Hersenen en stress, Utrecht (Oktober 2010).‘Lange termijn gevolgen van vroege stress’.
  • Invited lecture Marius Tausk symposium ‘Stress and PTSD: Battlefield of reason and emotion’, Leiden (Augustus 2010). ‘ The role of early life stress in anxiety and depression’.
  • Lecture at the 7th World Congress on STRESS, Leiden (September 2010). ‘The impact of childhood abuse and recent stress on serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and the moderating role of the BDNF Val66Met genotype’.
  • Invited lecture at the symposium ‘Dissociation-neurobiological mechanisms and therapeutic implications’, at the 1st International Congress on BPD, Berlin, Germany (July 2010).
  • Host /organisor/speaker of the ‘Werkgroep Trauma & Neurobiologie’, Leiden (June 2010).
  • Co-chair and speaker at the symposium ‘Amygdala regulation in the context of acute stress and pathological states’ at Biological Psychiatry's 65th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (May 2010).
  • Chair/organisor symposium Nederlandse Vereniging van Psychiatrie (NVvP), Voorjaarscongres (April 2010), Maastricht. ‘De lange termijn effecten van emotionele kindermishandeling op het brein’.
  • Invited Lecture Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience Institute of Neurology (November 2009). The impact of stress hormones on emotional memories.
  • Invited lecture Nederlandstalige vereniging voor Psychotrauma (NtvP) (November 2009) Het verwaarloosde brein.
  • Invited Lecture FC Donders Institute Nijmegen (September 2009): Late effects of early life stress.
  • Organisatie Lustrum symposium 50 jaar SWR (July 2009): Sociale wetenschappen: stille kracht, sterke macht.
  • Invited workshop 1e Landelijke congres Angststoornissen PsyQ (June 2009). De rol van cortisol bij sociale fobie: implicaties van fundamenteel onderzoek voor de dagelijkse behandelpraktijk.
  • Invited Lecture 9th World Congress of Biological Psychiatry, Paris, France (June 2009). Neurobiological correlates of dissociation and influence on information processing in stress-related disorders.
  • 3 day Expert meeting Glucocorticoid interactions with the endocannabinoid system in influencing learning and memory: a translational approach. organized by Dr. G. Schelling & B. Roozendaal (June 2009). Invited lecture.
  • Chair Psycho-section organising committee Dutch ENP meeting, Doorwerth, Netherlands (June 2009).
  • Chair symposium Dutch EndoNeuroPsycho-meeting, Doorwerth, Netherlands (June 2009). Long term neurobiological effects of childhood abuse: a transdiagnostic approach.
  • Invited lecture postdoctoral school Experimental Psychopathology (EPP) (May 2009). The long term neurobiological consequences of childhood emotional abuse.
  • Invited lecture Honours Program LUMC, Leiden (April 2009). The role of stress and trauma in the emergence of psychiatric disorders.
  • Invited lecture UMCG, Psychiatry Dept., Groningen (February 2009) Emotional abuse/neglect: an underestimated transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology.
  • Organising committee EndoNeuroPsycho-meeting, Doorwerth, The Netherlands (June 2008)
  • Invited lecture Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC) (May 2008). Working memory performance under stress.
  • Organisation ‘Onzekerheidssymposium’ KNAW-DJA, (April 2008). Chair ACT workshop ‘How well do we tolerate uncertainty’ (m.m.v. JoAnne Dahl) and presenter workshop ‘Psychological uncertainty’.
  • Invited lecture Wellcome Masterclass in Clinical Neuroscience - 5th –Matfen Hall, Northumberland, UK (March 2008). Corticosteroid effects on cognition.
  • Invited lecture, Symposium in honour of Prof. dr. Florian Holsboer, LUMC (Februari 2008). The role of adverse life events on the regulation of the HPA-axis.
  • Invited lecture International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) (November 2007). The role of early adverse events on cortisol responses to psychosocial stress.
  • Invited Lecture Leuven University (Belgium). (April 2007). Exploring the effects of stress hormones on emotional memory. From basic research to clinical implications,
  • Invited lecture Voorjaarscongres Psychiatrie, Maastricht (April 2007). HPA-axis reactivity to psychological stressors in PTSD.      
  •  Chair and speaker at International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), 22nd Annual Meeting, Hollywood, CA, USA (November 2006). The role of dissociation in trauma related altered cognitive functions.
  • Invited lecture Postgraduate School Experimental Psychopathology (EPP) 10 jarig jubileum Symposium, Den Bosch (October 2006). The effects of stress on prefrontal inhibition of fear: a transdiagnostic model.
  • Chair and speaker at the 37th Annual International Society for Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE) Conference, Leiden, Netherlands (Auggust 2006). Symposium ‘Stress hormone interactions in memory and PTSD’.
  • Chair and speaker 5th Dutch EndoNeuroPsycho-meeting 2006, Doorwerth, Netherlands (May 2006). Symposium Cortisol, stress, and memory functioning among healthy and traumatized individuals.
  • Invited Lecture Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim (March 2006). The neural correlates of enhanced memory performance in dissociative patients.
  • Chair and speaker symposium 4th Dutch EndoNeuroPsycho-meeting 2005, Doorwerth, Netherlands (March 2005). The effects of stress hormones on memory functioning.

Other activities

  • Advisor Landelijke Expertisecentrum Bijzondere Zedenzaken
    (LEBZ, 2009-present) 
  • Research supervisor postdoctoral education Clinical Psychologist, NIP
    (2007-present)
  • Member of the research committee Landelijk Centrum Vroegkinderlijke Chronische Traumatisering (LCVT)

Web editor Psychology
Last Modified: 15-06-2011