Martien Kas
Position: Assistant Professor
E-mail: m.j.h.kas@umcutrecht.nl
Phone: (+31) (0)88 75 68179
Phone secretariat: (+31) (0)88 75 68810
RESEARCH
Aims:
The research of the group focuses on determinants of behavior, especially of behavioral strategies that are relevant across species (e.g., feeding behavior, social interaction, avoidance and approach behavior) and that are affected in various psychiatric disorders. By means of interspecies genetic analysis of neurobehavioral traits (of mice and men) we aim to identify genotype-phenotype relationships relevant to the development and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, eating disorders, and schizophrenia.
Experimental strategy:
The identification of molecular genetic mechanisms of neurobehavioral traits is established by performing fine-grained analysis of behavior using both well-established mouse testing paradigms, as well as novel automated behavioral phenotyping methods. Behavioral dynamics in developing genetic mouse models for human candidate genes of psychiatric disorders are studied across different developmental stages and in relation to brain development. Ultimately, genotype-phenotype relationships are translated to relevant human patient populations.
RECENT KEY PUBLICATIONS:
1: Kas MJ, Kahn RS, Collier DA, Waddington JL, Ekelund J, Porteous DJ, Schughart K, Hovatta I. (2011) Translational neuroscience of schizophrenia: seeking a meeting of minds between mouse and man. Science Translational Medicine, 3(102):102mr3.
2: Laarakker MC, Reinders NR, Bruining H, Ophoff RA, Kas MJ. (2012) Sex-dependent novelty response in neurexin-1α mutant mice. PLoS One, 7(2):e31503.
3: de Mooij - van Malsen JG, van Lith HA, Oppelaar H, Hendriks J, de Wit M, Kostrzewa E, Breen G, Collier DA, Olivier B and Kas MJ. (2009) Interspecies trait genetics reveals association of Adcy8 with mouse avoidance behavior and a human mood disorder, Biological Psychiatry, 66(12):1123-30.
4: Kas MJ, Fernandes C, Schalkwyk LC, Collier DA (2007) Genetics of behavioural domains across the neuropsychiatric spectrum; of mice and men. Molecular Psychiatry. 12, 324-330.
5: Kas MJ, Tiesjema B, van Dijk G, Garner KM, Barsh GS, ter Brake O, Verhaagen J, Adan RA (2004) Induction of brain-region-specific forms of obesity by agouti. J Neurosci. 24, 10176-10181.
6: Kas MJ, Van Ree JM (2004) Dissecting complex behaviours in the post-genomic era. Trends Neurosci. 27, 366-369.
