Caroline Broeder is a PhD candidate at Amsterdam UMC in the departments of Psychiatry and Anatomy & Neurosciences, working in the lab of Prof. Christiaan Vinkers. With a background in Cognitive Neuroscience, her research explores the human stress response—including cortisol dynamics, functional brain connectivity, the impact of childhood trauma, and its role in psychiatric disorders. Caroline is involved in several ongoing projects, including an (f)MRI study on stress system dynamics in depression and childhood trauma, a Delphi study on best practices for stress research in psychiatric and neurological disorders, and a novel study using ambulatory microdialysis to investigate 72-hour cortisol signaling in depression, PTSD, and healthy individuals.

“Does 1-week add-on treatment with the GR-antagonist mifepristone improve stress system dynamics in adults with depression following childhood trauma?”

Childhood trauma significantly impacts the risk and course of stress-related disorders, including depression. With this randomized clinical trial I investigate the effects of 1-week add-on treatment with the GR-antagonist mifepristone on stress system dynamics in adults with depression following childhood trauma. Stress system dynamics will be assessed using resting-state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase, subjective stress and mood during the acute (0-40 minutes) and recovery phase (60-100 minutes) of psychosocial stress before and 6 weeks after treatment. If effective, this would be the first hypothesis-driven drug treatment for depression following childhood trauma.

PhD student,
Amsterdam UMC