Dr Nichola Thuvesholmen
Hodge Foundation Research Fellow, Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute
- brydgesn@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 208 8339
- 3.40, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ
Overview
My research group aims to elucidate the role that environmental factors play in the development of psychiatric disorders. Exposure to a variety of stressors during development increases the chances of developing neuropsychiatric disorders in adulthood.
Our research focusses mainly on stressors experienced in the childhood or pre-pubertal phase of life. Stressors during this developmental phase have been consistently shown to increase risk for a range of disorders in adulthood, including mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychosis.
Research in our group has revealed that pre-pubertal stress alters a variety of emotional and cognitive behaviours and gene expression later in life. Most striking are abnormal social behaviours and profound alterations in hippocampal function. Current research is focussing on the molecular mechanisms underlying these alterations, with the aim of developing novel therapeutic interventions