Jesper Andreasen T.

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About 25% of us get a mental disorder at some point in life. This makes mental disorders one of the largest world-wide contributors to disability-adjusted life years (DALYs, i.e. the sum of years lost due to early death and years lost due to disability), and a huge burden to society. Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of psychiatric symptoms is key to improved treatment strategies.

Research: translational psychopharmacology

We use a broad array of rodent behavioural models and tests to gain novel insights into the neurobiological substrates of psychiatric symptoms, and we continuously optimize test methods to maximize their rodent-to-human translational value. To this end, we mainly use pharmacological tools to understand the effects of conventional psychotropic medication and to explore potential novel pharmacotherapeutic approaches.

Our research focuses mainly on monoaminergic regulation of executive function and emotion regulation, phenomena that are dysregulated in ADHD, affective disorders and anxiety disorders. In our current research projects, we examine the therapeutic mechanisms of current and future ADHD medications as well as classic serotonergic psychedelics and MDMA.

Public outreach

Alongside research projects, I disseminate information to politicians, health authorities, clinicians and the general public (via mass media and public talks) about various topics pertaining to psychopharmacology and the neurobiology of mental health problems. This public outreach encompasses topics such as ADHD and the pros and cons of ADHD medication, the mental health consequences of tobacco or adolescent nicotine exposure, the brain and behavior changes in addiction, the pharmacology and psychobiology of psychedelic- and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and altered states of consciousness.