I graduated in 2005 from Maastricht University in the Netherlands with a Bachelor in Biological Psychology and a Masters in Neuropsychology. As part of my MSc, I worked at the University of Texas Health Science Centre in Houston, USA, investigating reversal learning in MDMA users using fMRI. In that same year, I started my PhD in Neuroscience and Psychiatry at the University of Manchester. In April 2010, I successfully defended my dissertation on ‘Components of empathy and impulsivity: functional neuroanatomy and implications for psychopathy’. In 2009 and 2010, I worked as a Research Assistant for the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. As part of the Section of Forensic Mental Health, my research focused on the neural correlates of emotion regulation and moral judgement. Since 2011, I have been working as a Research Fellow at the School of Psychology of the University of Birmingham. My research focuses on adolescent development and youth mental health using various neuroimaging techniques.
Neuroimaging, mental health and personality disorders, impulsivity, social cognition, adolescent development, delay discounting.
With my research, I hope to increase our understanding of normal behaviour as well as the traits, behaviours and underlying neural mechanisms of individuals diagnosed with mental health or personality disorders.
Wood, SJ, Reniers, RLEP, & Heinze, K. (2013). Neuroimaging findings in the at-risk mental state: A review of recent literature. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 58(1), 13-18.
Lin, A, Reniers, RLEP, Wood, SJ. (2013). Clinical staging in severe mental disorders: Evidence from neurocognition and neuroimaging. British Journal of Psychiatry, S11-S17.
Reniers, RLEP, Corcoran, R, Drake, R, Shryane, NM, & Völlm, BA (2011). The QCAE: A Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy. Journal of Personality Assessment, 93(1), 84-95.
Völlm, B, Richardson, P, McKie, S, Reniers, R, Elliott, R, Anderson, IM, Williams, S, Dolan, M, & Deakin, B. (2010). Neural correlates and serotonergic modulation of behavioural inhibition and reward in healthy and antisocial individuals. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 44, 123-131.
Patterson, H, Reniers, R, & Völlm, B. (2009). Personality types and mental health experiences of those who volunteer for helplines. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 37(4), 459-471.