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The Master started in 1989 as a postdoctoral training based in a series of annual intensive, one-week residential courses. Following a process of continuous development towards a distinct emphasis on scientific research training, the residential courses evolved towards a two-year part-time Master degree in Affective Neuroscience (MsAFN).

Affective neuroscience is the study of the brain mechanisms underlying emotional behavior. Virtually all psychiatric disorders are characterized or at least accompanied by some degree of emotional disturbance. Emotions such as anxiety, fear, panic, lowered or elated mood, aggression, frustration or attraction do not only characterize psychiatric disorders but are also prominent in normal daily life. Interpersonal and social behavior is equally imprinted by emotional experience and expression. Finally, the learning process of how emotions develop and change is fundamental to psychological therapy. Affective neuroscience increasingly contributes to the insight in the underlying biological mechanisms of psychological therapy and can thus drive the improvement of current therapies and development of new ones.

Current developments in the field illustrate the need for interdisciplinary and translational approaches; the combination of clinical and fundamental research is essential to evaluate new therapies and to come to a deeper understanding of emotions.

 

The MsAFN offers a common ground where all these disciplines meet, in the study of (pathological) emotions in all its empirical scientific aspects.