My name is Derk Wisman, a second-year Neuroscience & Cognition student from Utrecht University, and currently a research intern at the EPAN lab. Under supervision of Dr. James Livermore, I am working to investigate the influence of freezing on reversal learning under threat in a go/no-go shooter task. First behaviourally, before moving on to fMRI to link our findings to the actual neural processes.
I am interested in neurocognitive mechanisms in psychopathology, with a focus on the interplay between physiological stress and cognitive functioning. Before joining the EPAN lab, I obtained my bachelor’s degree in psychology with majors in clinical, cognitive-neurobiological, and neuropsychology, and minors in criminology and social neuroscience, at Utrecht University. Thereafter, at the same institute, I obtained my master’s degree in clinical psychology, during which I investigated the working memory hypothesis of EMDR’s efficacy, and also worked directly with patients with anxiety and mood disorders. Since last year, I have been working with Prof. dr. Stefan van der Stigchel and Dr. Nathan van der Stoep at Utrecht University to isolate a neurophysiological marker of the auditory working memory, first as an intern, and now as a research-assistant.
In my further career, I want to combine clinical work and neurocognitive research, in hopes of contributing to the improvement of diagnostics and treatment options in psychopathology.