Lara Wierenga
Assistant professor
- Name
- L.M. Wierenga Ph.D.
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 3787
- l.m.wierenga@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0001-9362-563x
Lara Wierenga studies the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the development of the brain structure in children and adolescents. With her work she tries to understand why development disorders such as ADHD or autism spectrum disorders are more prevalent in boys than in girls. She is also the author of Atlas of our Brain, a popular science book in which she uses infographics to make neuroscience accessible to a wide audience.
More information about Lara Wierenga
News
-
Music to our ears: How playing an instrument affects the adolescent brain -
Psychology Connected on gender differences: 'More research done on extraterrestrial life than the female body' -
Video: Why more women have ADHD than you think -
Four projects awarded science communication grants -
Lockdown impacted brain development in young people -
Rethinking sex in neuroscience of mental health -
When you know how your brain works, you better understand who you are -
Lina van Drunen wins best poster prize at the international Flux Society Congress -
YAL Outreach Grants to tackle disinformation -
It is a myth that boys lag behind in brain development -
Green light for Leiden supercomputer -
A different take on differences between men’s and women’s brains
Leiden Psychology Blog
Lara Wierenga studies the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the development of the brain structure in children and adolescents. With her work she tries to understand why development disorders such as ADHD or autism spectrum disorders are more prevalent in boys than in girls. She is also the author of Atlas of our Brain, a popular science book in which she uses infographics to make neuroscience accessible to a wide audience.
Research on brain development
Lara received her PhD in 2016 at Brain Center Rudolph Magnus in Utrecht, where she focused on structural brain changes in typically and atypically developing children and adolescents. She continued this research at the University of California in San Diego, where she worked as a post-doc researcher to address developmental changes in brain connectivity. Her current research focuses on modeling brain development with longitudinal study designs in order to get a better understanding of genetic and environmental effects on brain development.
Grants
- 2023: Flux Young Investigator Award
- 2022: Leids Universitair Fonds Scientific Project 'Rethink sex in neuroscience of mental health' €35.000
- 2022: Young Academy Leiden outreach grant, co-applicant, podcast €1000
- 2021: Main applicant Lorentz workshop 'Rethink sex in neuroscience of mental health', budget €3.125 and €25.000 indirect expenses coverd by Leiden Univeristy and NWO-divisions
- 2020: co-applicant, SSH grant Connecting Data in Child Development (CD2), main applicant prof. dr. Chantal Kemner €640.000
- 2018: Collaboration Hendrik Muller prize prof. E.A. Crone, provided for the book: Een visuele ontdekkingstocht door het ontwikkelende brein. €5000,-
- 2016: KNAW ter Meulen Beurs for postdoctoral fellow at UCSD, San Diego €23.200,-
- 2014: Funding for strategic network development, Internationalization committee UMC Utrecht for visiting scholar at UCSD, San Diego €1.500,-
Awards
- 2017: Travel grant, Flux society conference meeting, Portland €826,-
- 2012: Rudolf Magnus poster award €100,-
Supervised PhD candidates
- MSc Lina van Drunen
- Dr. Mara van der Meulen
Relevant links
Leiden Psychology Blog
LinkedIn profile
Twitter profile
Research Gate profile
Website
Github
www.larawierenga.com
Assistant professor
- Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen
- Instituut Psychologie
- Ontwikkelings- & Onderwijspsychologie
- Wierenga L.M., Ruigrok A., Aksnes E.R., Barth C., Beck D., Burke S., Crestol A., Drunen L. van, Ferrara M., Galea L.A.M., Goddings A., Hausmann M., Homanen I.E., Klinge I., Lange A. de, Ouwerkerk L., Miesen A. van der, Proppert R.K.K., Rieble C.L., Tamnes C.K. & Bos M.G.N. (2024), Recommendations for a better understanding of sex and gender in the neuroscience of mental health, Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science 4(2): 1-9 (100283).
- van Drunen L., Toenders Y.J., Wierenga L.M. & Crone E. A. (2023), Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on structural brain development in early adolescence, Scientific Reports 13: 5600.
- Zanolie C.K.K., Ma I., Bos M.G.N., Schreuders E., Vandenbroucke A.R.E., van Hoorn J., van Duijvenvoorde A.C.K., Wierenga L.M., Crone E.A.M. & Güroglu B. (2022), Understanding the dynamics of the developing adolescent brain through team science, Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience 16: .
- Becht A.I., Wierenga L.M., Mills K.L., Meuwese R., Duijvenvoorde A van, Blakemore S.J., Güroğlu B. & Crone E.A. (2021), Beyond the average brain: Individual differences in social brain development are associated with friendship quality, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 16: 292-301.
- Drunen L. van, Dobbelaar S., Cruijsen L.W.P. van der, Meulen M. van der, Achterberg M., Wierenga L.M. & Crone E.A.M (2021), The nature of the self: neural analyses and heritability estimates of self-evaluations in middle childhood, Human Brain Mapping 42(17): 5609-5625.
- Silk T.J., Herting M.M., Wierenga L.M. & Vijayakumar N. (Eds.) (2021), Editorial: Understanding the link between the developing brain and behavior in adolescents. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience: FRONTIERS MEDIA SA.
- Mills K.L., Siegmund K.D., Tamnes C.K., Ferschmann L., Wierenga L.M., Bos M.G.N., Luna B., Li C. & Herting M.M. (2021), Inter-individual variability in structural brain development from late childhood to young adulthood, NeuroImage 242: 118450.
- Frangou S., Wierenga L.M. & Dima D. (2021), Cortical thickness across the lifespan: data from 17,075 healthy individuals aged 3–90 years, Human Brain Mapping 43(1): 431-451.
- Dima D., Modabbernia A., Papachristou E., Doucet G.E., Agartz I., Aghajani M., Akudjedu T.N., Albajes‐Eizagirre A., Alnæs D., Alpert K.I., Andersson M., Andreasen N.C., Andreassen O.A., Asherson P., Banaschewski T., Bargallo N., Baumeister S., Baur‐Streubel R., Bertolino A., Bonvino A., Boomsma D.I., Borgwardt S., Bourque J., Brandeis D., Breier A., Brodaty H., Brouwer R.M., Buitelaar J.K., Busatto G.F., Buckner R.L., Calhoun V., Canales‐Rodríguez E.J., Cannon D.M., Caseras X., Castellanos F.X., Cervenka S., Chaim‐Avancini T.M., Ching C.R.K., Chubar V., Clark V.P., Conrod P., Conzelmann A., Crespo‐Facorro B., Crivello F., Crone E.A.M., Dannlowski U., Dale Anders M., Davey C., Geus E.J.C., Haan L., Zubicaray G.I., Braber A., Dickie E.W., Di Giorgio A., Doan N.T., Dørum E.S., Ehrlich S., Erk S., Espeseth T., Fatouros‐Bergman H., Fisher S.E., Fouche J.P., Franke B., Frodl T., Fuentes‐Claramonte P., Glahn D.C., Gotlib I.H., Grabe H.J., Grimm O., Groenewold N.A., Grotegerd D., Gruber O., Gruner P., Gur R.E., Gur R.C., Hahn T., Harrison B.J., Hartman C.A., Hatton S.N., Heinz A., Heslenfeld D.J., Hibar D.P., Hickie I.B., Ho B.C., Hoekstra P.J., Hohmann S., Holmes A.J., Hoogman M., Hosten N., Howells F.M., Hulshoff Pol H.E., Huyser C., Jahanshad N., James A., Jernigan T.L., Jiang J., Jönsson E.G., Joska J.A., Kahn R., Kalnin A., Kanai R., Klein M., Klyushnik T.P., Koenders L., Koops S., Krämer B., Kuntsi J., Lagopoulos J., Lázaro L., Lebedeva I., Lee W.H., Lesch K.P., Lochner C., Machielsen M.W.J., Maingault S., Martin N.G., Martínez‐Zalacaín I., Mataix‐Cols D., Mazoyer B., McDonald C., McDonald B.C., McIntosh A.M., McMahon K.L., McPhilemy G., Meinert S., Menchón J.M., Medland S.E., Meyer‐Lindenberg A., Naaijen J., Najt P., Nakao T., Nordvik J.E., Nyberg L., Oosterlaan J., Ortiz‐Garcia de la Foz V., Paloyelis Y., Pauli P., Pergola G., Pomarol‐Clotet E., Portella M.J., Potkin S.G., Radua J., Reif A., Rinker D.A., Roffman J.L., Rosa P.G.P., Sacchet M.D., Sachdev P.S., Salvador R., Sánchez‐Juan P., Sarró S., Satterthwaite T.D., Saykin A.J., Serpa M.H., Schmaal L., Schnell K., Schumann G., Sim K., Smoller J.W., Sommer I., Soriano‐Mas C., Stein D.J., Strike L.T., Swagerman S.C., Tamnes C.K., Temmingh H.S., Thomopoulos S.I., Tomyshev A.S., Tordesillas‐Gutiérrez D., Trollor J.N., Turner J.A., Uhlmann A., Heuvel O.A., Meer D., Wee N.J.A., Haren N.E.M., Ent D., Erp T.G.M., Veer I.M., Veltman D.J., Voineskos A., Völzke H., Walter H., Walton E., Wang L., Wang Y., Wassink T.H., Weber B., Wen W., West J.D., Westlye L.T., Whalley H., Wierenga L.M., Williams S.C.R., Wittfeld K., Wolf D.H., Worker A., Wright M.J., Yang K., Yoncheva Y., Zanetti M.V., Ziegler G.C., Thompson P.M. & Frangou S. (2021), Subcortical volumes across the lifespan: data from 18,605 healthy individuals aged 3–90 years, Human Brain Mapping 43(1): 452-469.
- Huijser D.C., Achterberg M., Wierenga L.M., Van 't Veer A.E., Klapwijk E.T., Van Erkel R. & Hettne K. (2020), MRI data sharing guide. Zenodo: Zenodo.
- Becht A.I., Klapwijk E.T., Wierenga L.M., Cruijsen R. van der, Spaans J., Aar L. van der, Peters S., Branje S., Meeus W. & Crone E.A. (2020), Longitudinal associations between structural prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens development and daily identity formation processes across adolescence, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 46: 100880.
- Crone E.A.,M. Achterberg M., Dobbelaar S., Euser S., Bulk B.G. van den, Meulen M. van der, Drunen L. van, Wierenga L.M., Bakermans-Kranenburg M.J. & IJzendoorn M.H. van (2020), Neural and behavioral signatures of social evaluation and adaptation in childhood and adolescence: the Leiden consortium on individual development (L-CID), Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 45: 100805.
- Meulen M. van der, Wierenga L.M., Achterberg M., Drenth N, IJzendoorn M.H. van & Crone E.A.M. (2020), Genetic and environmental influences on structure of the social brain in childhood, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 44: 100782.
- Wierenga L.M., Doucet G.E., Dima D., Agartz I., Aghajani M., Akudjedu T.N., Albajes-Eizagirre A., Alnaes D., Alpert K.I., Andreassen O.A., Anticevic A., Asherson P., Banaschewski T., Bargallo N., Baumeister S., Baur-Streubel R., Bertolino A., Bonvino A., Boomsma D.I., Borgwardt S., Bourque J., Braber A. den, Brandeis D., Breier A., Brodaty H., Brouwer R.M., Buitelaar J.K., Busatto G.F., Calhoun V.D., Canales-Rodriguez E.J., Cannon D.M., Caseras X., Castellanos F.X., Chaim-Avancini T.M., Ching C.R.K., Clark V.P., Conrod P.J., Conzelmann A., Crivello F., Davey C.G., Dickie E.W., Ehrlich S., Ent D. van't, Fisher S.E., Fouche J.P., Franke B., Fuentes-Claramonte P., Geus E.J.C. de, Giorgio A. Di, Glahn D.C., Gotlib I.H., Grabe H.J., Gruber O., Gruner P., Gur R.E., Gur R.C., Gurholt T.P., Haan L. de, Haatveit B., Harrison B., Hartman C.A., Hatton S.N., Heslenfeld D.J., Heuvel O.A. van den, Hickie I.B., Hoekstra P.J., Hohmann S., Holmes A.J., Hoogman M., Hosten N., Howells F.M., Pol H.E.H., Huyser C., Jahanshad N., James A.C., Jiang J.Y., Jonsson E.G., Joska J.A., Kalnin A.J., Klein M., Koenders L., Kolskar K.K., Kramer B., Kuntsi J., Lagopoulos J., Lazaro L., Lebedeva I.S., Lee P.H., Lochner C., Machielsen M.W.J., Maingault S., Martin N.G., Martinez-Zalacain I., Mataix-Cols D., Mazoyer B., McDonald B.C., McDonald C., McIntosh A.M., McMahon K.L., McPhilemy G., Meer D. van der, Menchon J.M., Naaijen J., Nyberg L., Oosterlaan J., Paloyelis Y., Pauli P., Pergola G., Pomarol-Clotet E., Portella M.J., Radua J., Reif A., Richard G., Roffman J.L., Rosa P.G.P., Sacchet M.D., Sachdev P.S., Salvador R., Sarro S., Satterthwaite T.D., Saykin A.J., Serpa M.H., Sim K., Simmons A., Smoller J.W., Sommer I.E., Soriano-Mas C., Stein D.J., Strike L.T., Szeszko P.R., Temmingh H.S., Thomopoulos S.I., Tomyshev A.S., Trollor J.N., Uhlmann A., Veer I.M., Veltman D.J., Voineskos A., Volzke H., Walter H., Wang L., Wang Y., Weber B., Wen W., West J.D., Westlye L.T., Whalley H.C., Williams S.C.R., Wittfeld K., Wolf D.H., Wright M.J., Yoncheva Y.N., Zanetti M.V., Ziegler G.C., Zubicaray G.I. de, Thompson P.M., Crone E.A., Frangou S. & Tamnes C.K. (2020), Greater male than female variability in regional brain structure across the lifespan, Human Brain Mapping : .
- Klapwijk E.T., Van de Kamp F., Van der Meulen M., Peters S. & Wierenga L.M. (2019), Qoala-T: A supervised-learning tool for quality control of FreeSurfer segmented MRI data, NeuroImage 189: 116-129.
- Carmona S., Martinez-Garcia M., Paternina-Die M., Barba-Muller E., Wierenga L.M., Aleman-Gomez Y., Pretus C., Marcos-Vidal L., Beumala L., Cortizo R., Pozzobon C., Picado M., Lucco F., Garcia-Garcia D., Soliva J.C., Tobena A., Peper J.S., Crone E.A., Ballesteros A., Vilarroya O., Desco M. & Hoekzema E. (2019), Pregnancy and adolescence entail similar neuroanatomical adaptations: A comparative analysis of cerebral morphometric changes, Human Brain Mapping 40(7): 2143-2152.
- Duijvenvoorde A.C.K. van, Westhoff B., Vos F. de, Wierenga L.M. & Crone E.A. (2019), A three-wave longitudinal study of subcortical-cortical resting-state connectivity in adolescence: Testing age- and puberty-related changes, Human Brain Mapping 40(13): 3769-3783.
- Wierenga L.M., Bos M.G.N., Rossenberg F. van & Crone E.A. (2019), Sex effects on development of brain structure and executive functions: Greater variance than mean effects, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 31(5): 730-753.
- Wierenga L.M., Van den Heuvel M.P., Oranje B., Giedd J.N., Durston S., Peper J.S., Brown T.T. & Crone E.A. (2018), A multisample study of longitudinal changes in brain network architecture in 4-13-year-old children, Human Brain Mapping 39(1): 157-170.
- Wierenga L.M., Sexton J.A., Laake P., Giedd J.N. & Tamnes C.K. (2018), A key characteristic of sex differences in the developing brain: Greater variability in brain structure of boys than girls, Cerebral Cortex 28(8): 2741-2751.
- Bos M.G.N., Wierenga L.M., Blankenstein N.E., Schreuders E., Tamnes C.K. & Crone E.A. (2018), Longitudinal structural brain development and externalizing behavior in adolescence, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 59(10): 1061-1072.
- Wierenga L.M., Bos M.G.N., Schreuders E., Kamp F. van der, Peper J.S., Tamnes C.K. & Crone E.A. (2018), Unraveling age, puberty and testosterone effects on subcortical brain development across adolescence, Psychoneuroendocrinology 91: 105-114.
- Mensen V.T., Wierenga L.M., Dijk S. van, Rijks Y., Oranje B., Mandl R.C.W. & Durston S. (2017), Development of cortical thickness and surface area in autism spectrum disorder, NeuroImage: Clinical 13: 215-222.
- Ambrosino S., Zeeuw P. de, Wierenga L.M., Dijk S. van & Durston S. (2017), What can cortical development in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder teach us about the early developmental mechanisms involved?, Cerebral Cortex 27(9): 4624-4634.
- De Wit S., Wierenga L.M., Oranje B., Ziermans T.B., Schothorst P.F., Van Engeland H., Kahn R.S. & Durston S. (2016), Brain development in adolescents at ultra-high risk for psychosis: Longitudinal changes related to resilience, NeuroImage: Clinical 12: 542-549.
- Wierenga L.M., Van den Heuvel M.P., Van Dijk S., Rijks Y., De Reus M.A. & Durston S. (2016), The development of brain network architecture, Human Brain Mapping 37(2): 717-729.
- Wierenga L., Langen M., Ambrosino S., Van Dijk S., Oranje B. & Durston S. (2014), Typical development of basal ganglia, hippocampus, amygdala and cerebellum from age 7 to 24, NeuroImage 96: 67-72.
- Wierenga L.M., Langen M., Oranje B. & Durston S. (2014), Unique developmental trajectories of cortical thickness and surface area, NeuroImage 87: 120-126.