Prof. dr. J.M. Spikman

She studied Neuro- and Biopsychology at the RUG with minors in Methodology and Statistics, and in Experimental Psychology. She gained her doctorate in 2001 cum laude with a PhD thesis on frontal  brain damage and impaired executive functioning after traumatic brain injury. Since 1995 she fulfills clinical tasks in the UMCG, providing neuropsychological assessment of patients with neurological disorders. During several years she also worked in a rehabilitation center, providing neuropsychological assessment and treatment to patients with brain damage. Her chair is in “Medical neuropsychology, in particular neuropsychological rehabilitation”.

Her expertise includes impairments in 'prefrontal'  regulated functions (attention, executive functions and social cognition) in relation to daily life adaptive behavior and indices of brain damage in patients with neurological disorders. Her research focuses on finding determinants and developing advanced neuropsychological assessment and treatment methods. In addition to research in patients with acute neurological disorders and dementia she is closely involved in research in patients with movement disorders such as Dystonia, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease.