Onderzoek

Interessegebieden van dr. Verburgh

- toekomstige ontwikkelingen in de geneeskunde en de biotechnologie
- preventieve geneeskunde en algemene gezondheid
- biogerontologie (veroudering, metabolisme, vrije radicalen, ...)
- neurobiologische wortels van moraliteit en religie (zie meer info hier)
- neurobiologie en (neuro)psychiatrie

Research

Project 1

tDCS (transcranial Direct Current Stimulation) of the brain for studying neural networks involved in morality and religion with the use of EEG and LORETTA transformation.

Location: University Hospital Antwerp (BRAI2N departement), Antwerp, Belgium

We propose a hypothetical unifying model of religion based on evolutionary socio-biological research and neuroimaging studies. In this model, self-consciousness is emphasized as an important generator of spirituality and morality. Changes in self-consciousness can bring about spiritual experiences (out-of-body experiences, autoscopy, dissociation, awareness of a presence), and self-other discrimination is involved in theory of mind (a moral faculty) and hyperactive agency detection (enabling belief in intentional entities). Additionally, the model emphasises cognition in religiosity (confirmation bias, minimally counterintuitive worlds, temporal lobe epilepsy and teleological thinking). Neuroimaging studies of religious and spiritual experiences show neural networks involved in self-consciousness, theory of mind, moral feelings and socio-cognitive processes.

Sources

Haidt, J. (2007). The new synthesis in moral psychology. Science, 316, 998-1002.
Harris, S. et al (2009). The neural correlates of religious and nonreligious belief. PLoS.One., 4,
Arzy, S. et al (2006). Induction of an illusory shadow person. Nature, 443, 287.
Kapogiannis, D., et al (2009). Cognitive and neural foundations of religious belief. Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.U.S.A, 106, 4876-4881.
Gallese, V. (2007). Before and below 'theory of mind': embodied simulation and the neural correlates of social cognition. Philos.Trans.R.Soc.Lond B Biol.Sci., 362, 659-669.
Newberg, A., et al (2001). The measurement of regional cerebral blood flow during the complex cognitive task of meditation: a preliminary SPECT study. Psychiatry Res., 106, 113-122.

Project 2

Causes of aging (biogerontology), with an accent on brain aging (dementia, mild cognitive impairment, forgetfulness, ...).

Location: Antwerp University and Ghent University, Belgium

Neural tissue is the most vulnerable of all tissues to the aging process. There are several reasons for this. Neural cells are ten times more metabolically active compared to other cells. In the brain there are also many exitotoxic amino acids like glutamate that can damage or destroy neurons. Several neurotransmitters like dopamine are also autooxidizable, meaning that they can react with oxygen and create superoxide (a potent free radical). The brain also contains relatively large amounts of iron, that can create dangerously reactive hydrogen peroxide via the Fenton reaction. Neuronal membranes are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (like DHA) that can easily undergo lipid peroxidation. The brain contains very few amounts of catalase, an important antioxidant enzyme that converses hydrogenperoxide into water.

The vulnerability of neural tissue to the aging process explains why many diseases of aging involve neural tissue (like Alzheimers disease, Parkinson, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the lipofuscinoses, certain lysosomal storage diseases) and makes neural tissue, in vivo and in vitro, an ideal research object to unravel the many different and complex pathways involved in the aging process.

Sources

Halliwell, B., (20078) Oxidative stress and neurodegeneration: where are we now? Journal of neurochemistry, 97, 1634-1658
Kenyon, C. (2010). The Genetics of ageing. Nature 464, 504-512
Lansbury, P. et al (2006). A century-old debate on protein aggregation and neurodegeneration enters the clinic. Nature 443, 774-779

Onderzoeksproject

Plaats: Universiteit Antwerpen en Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen.

Onderzoek: tDCS (transcranial Direct Current Stimulation) van de hersenen om de neurale netwerken te onderzoeken betrokken bij moraliteit, religie, spiritualiteit en zelfbewustzijn.

Onderzoeksproject

Plaats: Universiteit Antwerpen & Universiteit Gent.

Onderzoek: oorzaken van veroudering (biogerontologie), met nadruk op veroudering van de hersenen (dementie, mild cognitive impairment, concentratiestoornissen, vergeetachtigheid, ...).