Assistant professor Section Psychopathology of developmental disorders
Department of Psychiatry
email
R.L.vanOjen@umcutrecht.nltel +31-88 75 57120
Research areasHostility, impulsiveness and aggression, psychopathy, genetic polymorphisms. Research is focussed on morbidity related to hostility, impulsiveness and aggression, with special attention for genomics and treatment of hostility, impulsiveness and aggression related disease.
Projects1. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in psychopathy: A pilotstudy on the effect of TMS for the psychotherapeutic treatment of hostility, impulsivity and aggression in psychopaths in preventive detention (Detention at the Governments Pleasure - TBS).
In collaboration with the Justice Department (detention clinics 'De Singel' Amsterdam and 'W.F. Meijers Institute' Utrecht) and the Helmholz Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience (Utrecht University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Dr. J. v. Honk) a trial involving frontopolar transcranial magnetic stimulation as an augmentation of sociotherapeutical treatment as usual. Includes elaborate screening for (putative) hostility, impulsivity and agression related parameters such as common polymorphisms in genes involved in mono-aminergic neurotransmission.
2. Hostility, impulsivity and aggression: clinical relevance, genomics and targeted treatment.
A study among patients hospitalised in clinic A2 of the UMCU on prevalence and incidence of hostility, impulsivity and aggression on this ward for acute psychiatric treatment and the contribution to various psychotic disorders, etiological questions such as possible associations with common polymorphisms in candidate genes coding for aspects of cerebral mono-aminergic (i.e. serotonergic) neurotransmission, and clinical questions such as response to treatment with a serotonin 1 a/b agonist compound (zolmitriptan) within the high-risk patient group.
3. Hostility and Coronary Heart Disease: The role of aggressive hostility in the course of cardiovascular ischemia and the prophylactic use of the anti-aggressive agent buspirone.
In collaboration with the Heart-Lung Institute Utrecht an intervention trial among cardiac patients with high hostility ratings using buspirone to reduce the risk of recurrence of cardiovascular complaints in this high risk patient group. Includes genetic screening.
Collaboration within UU
- Helmholtz Institute (J. Van Honk)
New collaboration within UU
- Heart-Lung Institute Utrecht, UMCU (P.A. Doevendans)
New national collaboration
- Justice Department (T. Huijgen)
New international collaboration
- Würzburg University, Germany (K.P. Lesch)