BRAINSCAPES

The aim of BRAINSCAPES is to map in detail the biological mechanisms underlying multiple brain disorders ('brainscaping').

Recent genetic discovery studies have provided unprecedented insight into the genes involved in brain disorders. The next step is to use this knowledge for gaining mechanistic disease insight. In BRAINSCAPES we will develop novel analytic and experimental tools to study the functional consequences of risk genes on the function of specific cells, their circuits and functional output. We aim to provide insight into the molecular and cellular basis of complex brain disorders that can be used to design novel treatments.

News

How does your DNA make your brain unique? April 2, 2026 - Brains are not only shaped by our experience, but also by our genes. A new study led by neuroscientists Bernardo Maciel and Martijn van den Heuvel found that at least one-third of our brain connections are heritable. Read More
Grants for BRAINSCAPES young researchers Wightman, Beerens and Kupke to advance memory-focused research on AD and PTSD December 1, 2025 - Recently three postdoctoral researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and part of the BRAINSCAPES consortium, have received important funding. Alzheimer Nederland awarded €121,650 to Dr. Douglas Wightman (Complex Traits Genetics lab) to investigate genetic and environmental prediction of Alzheimer’s disease, while NWO awarded XS grants (€ 50,000) to both Dr. Sanne Beerens and Dr. Janina… Read More
Reward and Stress is orchestrated by small ensembles of neurons in the midbrain April 9, 2025 - How do small groups of neurons decide whether we approach a reward or avoid a threat? In a study published April 2nd 2025 in Nature Communications, Frank Meye’s lab at UMC Utrecht shows that distinct neuronal clusters (i.e. neuronal ensembles) in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are essential for encoding positive and negative experiences. Read More
Immune-developmental processes contribute to schizophrenia risk: insights from a genetic overlap study with height March 13, 2025 - In a study published in Biological Psychiatry, Cato Romero, Christiaan de Leeuw, Marijn Schipper, Bernardo Maciel, Martijn van den Heuvel, Rachel Brouwer, and Sophie van der Sluis from WP1 teamed up with colleagues Guus Smit and Frank Koopmans from WP3 to investigate why individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia tend to have shorter stature on average—a link… Read More
New AI tool helps to identify disease-related genes, boosting drug discovery February 13, 2025 - BRAINSCAPES scientists have developed a powerful new tool to pinpoint genes most likely causally linked to diseases, potentially accelerating drug development and advancing our understanding of disease biology.  Read More
Amsterdam UMC fellowship awarded to Dr. Danai Riga. October 31, 2024 - Recently BRAINSCAPES member Dr. Danai Riga was awarded the Amsterdam UMC fellowship. The fellowship (750K euro) will support here in establishing her independent research line and expand her research group. As of the first of November, Dr. Riga starts her new position as team leader within the Functional Genomics (FGA) group of the CNCR. With… Read More
A chromatin-accessibility map of the human embryonic brain May 29, 2024 - Through a tightly organized cascade of patterning, specification and differentiation events, the human brain develops into a highly complex system capable of unique cognitive abilities beyond those of other mammals. Although gene expression across the developing brain has been described at single-cell resolution, similar atlases of chromatin accessibility have been primarily focused on the regulatory… Read More
About the strength of consortia (part 1) January 25, 2024 - On 12 December 2023 the Annual Amsterdam Neuroscience meeting took place at the RAI Amsterdam. In the afternoon a special session was dedicated to “Consortia at work”. Different “duos” involved in large consortia explained the strength and added value of these collaborative initiatives. In this first part we highlight the talk by Prof. dr. Huib… Read More
Single-cell reference mapping to construct and extend cell-type hierarchies October 6, 2023 - Single-cell RNA-sequencing is increasingly used to map the cellular heterogeneity of complex tissues. For example, more than 300 studies profiled a total of over 44 million cells across different brain regions, ages, and species. Since different research groups usually specialize in different cell-type compartments, these datasets usually differ in terminology and annotation depth. Our understanding… Read More
In the spotlight: interview with VICI recipient Dr. Ingo Willuhn May 22, 2023 - Recently, BRAINSCAPES PI Dr. Ingo Willuhn and his team were awarded an NWO VICI grant for their research into the function of serotonin and dopamine across brain regions. While there are already quite extensive insights into the individual action of these two neuromodulators, there is little understanding of the combined effects of these two systems… Read More