Mental illness is one of the most frequent illnesses of children and young people. This is also reflected in the number of patients treated at University Hospital Aachen's Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy. The number of patients here has increased by over 70 % in the past few years. This is why the hospital is extending its premises. In an interview, JARA-BRAIN scientist and head of department, Prof. Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann, outlines the new facilities available at the child and adolescent psychiatry department.
A gift voucher for the cinema, praise from your parents, or nothing at all: rewards are regarded as desirable to a different extent. In a study by University Hospital Aachen's Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, JARA-BRAIN scientists recently investigated which incentives had an effect on healthy test subjects, as well as on patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. The findings will help to tailor treatment as closely as possible to the needs of certain groups of patients.
On September 30, 2014, Prof. Wolfgang Marquardt, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich, and Prof. Ernst Schmachtenberg, Rector of RWTH Aachen University, signed a framework agreement to enable the foundation of two new JARA institutes.
Children with reading difficulties benefit from targeted training programmes. As a result, their brain activity increases in the area of the brain known as the visual word form area. This was shown by a study with primary school pupils conducted by JARA-BRAIN scientist Prof. Dr. Stefan Heim and his team. The findings were recently published in the journal Brain Structure & Function.
Autists may be able to recite bus timetables and movie showtimes. However, they find it difficult to recognize feelings such as happiness or sadness in other people. JARA-BRAIN junior professor Prof. Dr. Thomas Nickl-Jockschat and a team of researchers recently discovered that an anomaly in the visual centre is partly responsible for this deficit.
