Hilleke Hulshoff Pol

Hilleke Hulshoff Pol completed her MS degree in psychophysiology with Rien Verbaten in Utrecht (1987), her internship in neuropsychology and neuroimaging with Nelson Butters at the University of California in San Diego (1988), and subsequently her PhD degree in Utrecht (September 25, 1995) with Jan van Ree (neuropharmacology), Max Viergever (imaging), and Cees Tulleken (neurosurgery). Topic of her thesis was memory processes in the frontal cortex of the human brain. Between 1996 and 2006 she set up and headed the brain imaging research lab at the Department of Psychiatry in Utrecht. Since 2007 she is full professor of neuroscience in particular of psychiatric disorders at the Brain Center Rudolf Magnus.

Her research focuses on structural and functional brain plasticity throughout life in health and in psychiatric disease, and the influences of genes and environment on brain plasticity. For this purpose she studies individuals and their (twin) family members, using magnetic resonance imaging at (ultra) high field. She has received a VIDI award from the Netherlands Scientific Organization NWO, and a High Potential award from the Utrecht University. Her work was published in >220 publications, her current h-index is 64, and has been cited >15.800 times.

Research line

Brain plasticity

Most recent key publications

1:Teeuw J., Brouwer R.M., Guimarães, J.P.O.F.T., Brandner, P., Koenis M., Swagerman S., Verwoert, M., Boomsma D.I., Hulshoff Pol H.E. (2019) Genetic and environmental influences on functional connectivity within and between canonical cortical resting-state networks throughout adolescent development in boys and girls. Neuroimage. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116073

2:Brouwer RM Panizzon MS Glahn DC, Hibar DP, Hua X, Jahanshad N, Abramovic L, de Zubicaray GI Franz CE, Hansell NK, Hickie IB, Koenis MMG, Martin NG, Mather KA, McMahon KL, Schnack HG, Strike LT, Swagerman SC, Thalamuthu A, Wen W, Gilmore JH, Gogtay N, Kahn RS, Sachdev PS, Wright MJ, Boomsma DI, Kremen WS, Thompson PM, Hulshoff Pol HE. (2017). Genetic influences on longitudinal changes in global and subcortical brain volumes: results of the ENIGMA Plasticity Working Group. Hum Brain Mapp. 38(9):4444-4458

3:Bohlken MM, Brouwer RM, Mandl RC, Van den Heuvel MP, Hedman AM, De Hert M, Cahn W, Kahn RS, Hulshoff Pol HE. (2016). Structural Brain Connectivity as a Genetic Marker for Schizophrenia. JAMA Psychiatry. 73(1):11-9.

4:Svatkova A, Mandl RC, Scheewe TW, Cahn W, Kahn RS, Hulshoff Pol HE. (2015). Physical Exercise Keeps the Brain Connected: Biking Increases White Matter Integrity in Patients With Schizophrenia and Healthy Controls. Schizophr Bull.41(4):869-78.

5:Schnack HG, van Haren NE, Brouwer RM, Evans A, Durston S, Boomsma DI, Kahn RS, Hulshoff Pol HE. (2015). Changes in thickness and surface area of the human cortex and their relationship with intelligence. Cereb Cortex. 25(6):1608-17.

6:Marsman A, Mandl RC, Klomp DW, Bohlken MM, Boer VO, Andreychenko A, Cahn W, Kahn RS, Luijten PR, Hulshoff Pol HE. (2014). GABA and glutamate in schizophrenia: a 7 T ¹H-MRS study. Neuroimage Clin. 15;6:398-407.