Roger Adan
About
Since 2002 I am a full professor in molecular pharmacology at the department of neuroscience and pharmacology of the University Medical Center Utrecht and my research is embedded in the Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience (http://www.rudolfmagnus.nl/). We aim at unraveling the genetic and neural pathways underlying eating disorders and obesity. Feeding behavior is a complex behavior that serves to control energy balance of an organism. Homeostatic control over energy balance is challenged by higher brain centers that drive feeding of palatable foods or inhibit feeding in order to loose weight. These disruptions may contribute to development of eating disorders and obesity. Several animal models are used in which anorectic behavior (including hyperactivity) is mimicked or in which animals become obese following exposure to palatable choice diets. Using viral vector technology, genes are either overexpressed or knocked down (RNAi) in these animals, in order to unravel the role of genes in feeding behavior and energy balance. Results from animal experiments are translated into clinical relevance by using a human genetics approach. DNA from eating disorders patients and epidemiological cohorts is available with extensive phenotypic information. This allows to determine genotype-phenotype relationships in humans. Since 2010 I also hold a research position at Rintveld Eating disorders which ensures the translational character of the eating disorder research line.
Publications
- Mechanisms underlying current and future anti-obesity drugs
- Neutral antagonism at the cannabinoid 1 receptor: a safer treatment for obesity
- A genome-wide association study of anorexia nervosa
- Feelings about food: the ventral tegmental area in food reward and emotional eating
- Pharmacological manipulations in animal models of anorexia and binge eating in relation to humans
- Overview of genetic research in anorexia nervosa: The past, the present and the future
- What you see is what you eat: an ALE meta-analysis of the neural correlates of food viewing in children and adolescents
- Overview of genetic research in anorexia nervosa: The past, the present and the future
- Eating disorders: the big issue
- Anorexia Nervosa: when appetite does not come natural
- Developmental differences in the brain response to unhealthy food cues: an fMRI study of children and adults
- Neural correlates of healthy and unhealthy food viewing and food choice in children and adults
- The mesolimbic system and eating addcition: what sugar does and does not do
- Genome-wide association study reveals first locus for anorexia nervosa and metabolic correlations
- Dieting and binge eating in a large European cohort of adolescents: the I. Family study
- Associations between neural correlates of visusal stimulus processing and set-shifting in ill and recovered women with anorexia nervosa
- Role of ghrelin in the pathophysiology of eating disorders
- Does activation of midbrain dopamine neurons promote or reduce feeding?
- Genetic predisposition to obesity affects behavioural traits including food reward and anxiety-like behaviour in rats.
- A novel approach to map induced activation of neuronal networks using chemogenetics and functional neuroimaging in rats: a proof-of-concept study on the mesocorticolimbic system
- Exploration of large, rare copy number variants associated with psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders in individuals with anorexia nervosa
- The association of emotion-driven impulsiveness, cognitive inflexibility and decision-making with weight status in European adolescents
- The determinants of food choice
- Considering healthiness promotes healthier choices but modulates medial prefrontal cortex differently in children compared with adults
- Vagal Blocking for Obesity Control: a Possible Mechanism-Of-Action
- Does activation of midbrain dopamine neurons promote or reduce feeding?
- Evidence for three genetic loci involved in both anorexia nervosa risk and variation of body mass index
Click here to view my articles on pubmed.