Psychopharmacology Maastricht
The psychopharmacology department at Maastricht University focuses on the cognitive, behavioral, and biological effects of various substances, ranging from pharmaceutical to recreational drugs.
Learn More
Congratulations to the NEW Dr. Elisabeth Prevete!
On successfully defending her PhD thesis ‘Mental Effects and Potential Therapeutic Use of Kratom/Mitragynine!’ This project was a joint venture between Maastricht University and Sapienza University of Rome. This is Elisabeth’s SECOND doctorate, she now holds an MD and a PhD! Congrats once again Elisbath on a great accomplishment!
Watch the defense here!
Congratulations to the NEW Dr. Eline C. H. M. Haijen!
After successfully defending her PhD thesis entitled: “Exploring the Adult ADHD Treatment Landscape: From Current Practices to Psychedelic Microdosing and Novel Screening Approaches.” In her thesis, she looks at novel approaches of treating ADHD with LSD microdosing.
Watch the defense here!Congratulations to Lilian Kloft-Heller for being awarded the Collaborative Innovative Projects grant
From The Science Committee of the Faculty of Law for her research titled "Effects of Intoxication on Legal Decision-Making in Suspects: Developing Experimental Tools Using Virtual Reality"
Across two studies, Lilian will assess how intoxicated suspects make decisions on their rights and strategies throughout the custodial process. One study will be a field study in which self-intoxicated participants (alcohol) will take part. This study will be conducted in a bar or at a festival. The second study is a lab experiment to examine effects of acute cannabis intoxication on suspect decision-making.
Meet our Department!
The scientists in our lab come from many countries and backgrounds, all with highly unique research abilities. Come meet the people that make up the Psychopharmacology Department.
Learn MoreParticipate in our studies!
We're always conducting research in our department and we're frequently looking for participants to be a part of science! If you're interested, look at the studies that we are currently conducting.
View All Studies
Our Scientists
Janine Kox, MSc
Psychedelics, Cognitive biases, Stress Resilience
My research focuses on the effects of stress, sleep deprivation, on cognitive biases, by using the transdiagnostic rDOC approach, and see whether psychedelics such as LSD, Psilocybin and even non-hallucinogenic psychedelics can reverse these effects.
Sarah Roche, MSc
Sustainability, Environment, Psilocybin
My PhD research focuses on psychedelic drugs as a tool to investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying changes in sustainable behavior.
Hongyu Zhao, MSc
My name is Hongyu, and I am a researcher from China. After completing my undergraduate degree in anesthesiology and obtaining a master's degree in psychiatry from a prestigious medical university in China.
Dr. Natasha Mason
Psychedelics, Neuroadaptations, Plasticity
My research is driven by my desire to find effective treatments for psychiatric disorders, particularly anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Henry Whitfeld, MSc
Psychotherapy, Ideography, Psilocybin
After being a psychological therapist with 20years experience in trauma work and mindfulness-informed approaches, I am now a researcher investigating how psychedelic experiences and psychotherapeutic protocols interact.
Dr. Eef Theunissen
Synthetic Cannabinoids, Drugs and Driving, Cognition
I began my Ph.D. journey in 2001 at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Maastricht. My research focused on investigating the sedating and stimulating effects of antihistamines, with a particular emphasis on their...
Dr. Lilian Kloft
Cognition, Drugs, False Memory
I am a postdoctoral researcher in the fields of psychopharmacology and forensic psychology with an international education from various high-class universities.
Dr. Eline Haijen
Psychedelics, ADHD, Microdosing
I am a post doctoral researcher in the Psychopharmacology in Maastricht research group at the Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology at Maastricht University. I am from a little village close to Maastricht.
Zain Gangaram, MSc
My research is multifaceted and is based on an RDoC model for Reactive Aggression (RA).
Psychedelic Research
Visual hallucinations originating in the retinofugal pathway under clinical and psychedelic conditions
Psychedelics, vision, retinofugal, tripping, hallucinations, visual
→
Mood and cognition after administration of low LSD doses in healthy volunteers: A placebo controlled dose-effect finding study
→
Ayahuasca enhances creative divergent thinking while decreasing conventional convergent thinking
creativity, divergent thinking, convergent thinking, Ayahuasca
→
Cannabis Research
Medicinal Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (dronabinol) impairs on-the-road driving performance of occasional and heavy cannabis users but is not detected in Standard Field Sobriety Tests
→
Rivastigmine but not vardenafil reverses cannabis-induced impairment of verbal memory in healthy humans
→
Get in Touch
We are always up for communicating with people that have interesting ideas or questions. If you want to contact our department, please reach out using this form below.