Karin Roelofs studies the completely different ways in which people respond to extreme stress. A shocking event can have a lasting disruptive effect on one person, whereas another could show remarkable mental resilience. In her research, the Radboud University professor unravels the neurological processes that are at the root of people’s responses. This has led to a completely new way of understanding how people make decisions under stress, how they regulate emotions and how they recover from stressful experiences. She receives the NWO Spinoza Prize for her groundbreaking achievements in scientific research.
Studio Oostrum
Karin Roelofs (1972) works at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging in Nijmegen and at the Behavioural Science Institute, as a professor of experimental neuropathology and affective neuroscience. She is one of the pioneers in this relatively new field that combines psychology, brain research and physiology. Where past researchers often looked at vulnerability and mental disorders, Professor Roelofs instead shifts the focus to mental resilience and the ability to cope with stress. This makes her an influential researcher within the field of neuroscience.
One of her best-known studies is about the freeze response: how people and animals find themselves unable to move when they face an acute threat. For a long time, researchers saw this as a passive form of fear. Professor Roelofs showed that freezing is actually an active stress response that serves a specific function. It helps people to very rapidly process information and prepare for a decision: fight, flight or wait. This is how Professor Roelofs connected animal research and human behaviour.
Predicting mental problems
Professor Roelofs has also developed methods to objectively measure these stress responses in people using brain scans, body sensors and behavioural observations. Her studies reveal that freezing can predict how people deal with long-term stress. Her longitudinal studies with children have received a great deal of attention as well. They showed that – contrary to what might be expected – it is not the occurance of a strong freeze response, but rather its lack, that is related to mental problems such as anxiety and depression later in life. This new insight makes it easier to detect mental problems at an early stage.
The knowledge that Professor Roelofs has gathered is used in a large-scale study among Dutch police officers. She and her team study officers from the beginning of their careers to find out how they cope with stressful events. This has already resulted in an innovative training course at the Dutch Policy Academy. Using virtual reality tools with built-in bio feedback, police officers learn how to deal with threatening situations. Applying her fundamental research has given it direct practical value.
International acclaim
In her research, Professor Roelofs combines disciplines such as neuroscience, psychology and endocrinology with clinical practice and technology. This has helped to shape a new research field while also demonstrating how fundamental science can contribute to society’s mental resilience.
Professor Roelofs’ contribution to science is recognised both in the Netherlands and internationally. She is a popular speaker at academic conferences, and she collaborates with researchers from all over Europe and the United States. She fulfills important roles at European research organisations and on advisory councils, including the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC).
‘The groundbreaking work by Karin Roelofs has shifted the perspective of experimental psychopathology. Her focus on mental resilience under stress instead of vulnerability is a key breakthrough and contributes to new interventions that help people dealing with stress or recovering from disturbing events,’ the Spinoza selection committee comments.
Source:
https://www.nwo.nl/en/professor-karin-roelofs
