The CONTEXT project (CONTEXTualized emotion bioregulation training for professionals and youth at risk) aims to develop innovative, personalized interventions that help individuals recognize early signals of stress in their own bodies. It is funded by a large consortium grant (NWA-ORC), will run from 2026-2034 and involves many universities and stakeholders across the Netherlands. We will work towards a dual loop intervention, whereby people are first trained using a closed loop VR-Based Biofeedback training. Next using smartwatches, we will link this training to emotion regulation feedback in real life. Participants will learn to respond more effectively in tense situations, ultimately preventing conflicts from escalating.
The CONTEXT project will study two groups that increasingly find themselves on opposite sides of societal tensions: police and young people with a history of aggression. We expect to uncover not only differences but also important similarities in the neurobiological mechanisms that govern emotion regulation and can sometimes lead to escalation. Crucially, we are looking beyond individual biology to consider how different contexts shape behavior. This NWA grant gives us a unique opportunity to leverage cutting-edge cognitive neuroscience research to optimize biofeedback-based emotion regulation methods. The project translates insights from more than 10 years of fundamental neurocognitive research at the Donders Institute into an effective intervention. Together with police officers, we’ll optimize, implement and evaluate our dual closed-loop intervention. Then we will apply it to youth at risk. Finally, we will study interactions between police and youth.
Selected publications
Michela A, van Peer J, Oostenveld R, Dorrestijn W, Smit A, Granic I, Roelofs K*, Klumpers F* (2026) Preparing the Heart for Duty: Virtual Reality Biofeedback in an Arousing Action Game Improves in-action Voluntary Heart Rate Variability Control in Experienced Police. IEEE_Transactions_of_Affective_Computing, in press
Brammer JC, van Peer JM, Michela A, van Rooij MMJW, Oostenveld R, Klumpers F, Dorrestijn W, Granic I, Roelofs K. Breathing Biofeedback for Police Officers in a Stressful Virtual Environment: Challenges and Opportunities. Front Psychol. 2021 Mar 12;12:586553. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.586553. PMID: 33776830; PMCID: PMC7994769.
Michela, A., van Rooij, MJW., Klumpers, F., van Peer, JM., Roelofs, K., Granic, I. (2019). Reducing the Noise of Reality, Psychological Inquiry, 30, 8, 203-210.