Annelies Vant Westeinde
Postdoctoral researcher
About me
I have a bachelor degree in psychobiology and a master degree in neurobiology from the University of Amsterdam. After moving to Sweden I worked as a research assistant in a project on autism and ADHD at Karolinska Institute Center for Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND) for a few years, and then continued to do a PhD at the pediatric endocrinology unit in a project on brain health in adrenal insufficiency. My PhD focused specifically on brain structure and function in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and autoimmune Addison's disease. Brain health in these rare diseases is not well understood, and a lot of work remains to be done to help understand the impact of adrenal insufficiency on the brain and hopefully improve quality of life for these patients.
Currently I am a postdoctoral researcher continuing to study cognition and brain health in endocrine disorders as well as inborn errors of metabolism. My main interest is in understanding the interaction between hormones, the brain, cognition and behaviour.
Research description
Our group is currently working on projects that focus on brain development in inborn errors of metabolism and understanding the long-term consequences of adrenal insufficiency on the brain, as well as the consequences of prenatal dexamethasone treatment in the context of at-risk for CAH pregnancies.
Publications:
van’t Westeinde, A., Karlsson, L., Messina, V., Wallensteen, L., Brösamle, M., Dal Maso, G., Lazzerini, A., Kristensen, J., Kwast, D., Tschaidse, L., Auer, M., Nowotny, H., Persani, L., Reisch, N. and Svetlana Lajic. (2023). An update on the long-term outcomes of prenatal dexamethasone treatment in congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Endocrine Connections, 12:4, e220400. DOI: 10.1530/EC-22-0400
van’t Westeinde, A., Zimmermann, M., Messina, V., Karlsson, L., Padilla, N. and Lajic, S. (2022). Brain activity during visuospatial working memory in congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Cortex. 159, 1- 15. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.10.012
van’t Westeinde, A., Padilla, N., Siqueiros Sanchez, M., Fletcher-Sandersjöö, S., Kämpe, O., Bensing, S. and Lajic, S. (2022). Brain structure in autoimmune Addison’s disease. Cerebral Cortex, 1-12. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac389
Messina, V., van’t Westeinde, A., Padilla, N. and Lajic. S. (2022). First trimester dexamethasone treatment is not associated with alteration in resting-state connectivity at adolescent or adult age. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 107, 2769–2776. DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgac426
van’t Westeinde, A., Ström, S., Hirvikoski, T., Dahlqvist, P., Wahlberg, J., Gezelius, A., Kämpe, O., Bensing, S. and Lajic, S. (2022). Young adult Swedish patients with autoimmune Addison´s disease report difficulties with executive functions in daily life despite overall good cognitive performance. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 140, 105714. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105714
Messina, V., van’t Westeinde, A., Padilla, N. and Lajic, S. (2022). Changes in resting-state functional connectivity in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. NeuroImage Clinical, 35, 103081. DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103081
van’t Westeinde, A. and Patel, K.D. (2022). Heartfulness meditation: a yogic and neuroscientific perspective. Frontiers in Psychology: Hypothesis and Theory, 13, 806131. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.806131
van’t Westeinde, A., Zimmermann, M., Messina, V., Karlsson, L., Padilla, N. and Lajic, S. (2020). First trimester DEX treatment is not associated with altered brain activity during working memory performance in adults. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 105(11), e4074-e4082. DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa611
van’t Westeinde, A., Karlsson, L., Nordenström, A., Padilla, N. and Lajic, S. (2020). First-trimester prenatal dexamethasone treatment is associated with alterations in brain structure at adult age. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 105(8). DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa340
Cauvet, E.,* van’t Westeinde, A.,* Toro, R., Kuja-Halkola, R., Neufeld, J., Mevel, K. and Bölte, S. (2020). The social brain in female autism: a structural imaging study of twins. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 15(4), 423-436. DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa064
van’t Westeinde, A., Karlsson, L., Thomsen Sandberg, M., Nordenström, A., Padilla, N. and Lajic, S. (2020). Altered gray matter structure and white matter microstructure in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: relevance for working memory performance. Cerebral Cortex, 30(5):2777-2788. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz274
Neufeld, J., Hagström, A., van’t Westeinde, A., Lundin, K., Cauvet, E., Willfors, C., Isaksson, J., Lichtenstein, P. and Bölte, S. (2020). Global and local visual processing in autism – a co-twin-control study. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 61(4):470-479. DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13120
van’t Westeinde, A.,* Cauvet, E.,* Toro, R., Kuja-Halkola, R., Neufeld, J., Mevel, K. and Bölte, S. (2019). Sex differences in brain structure: a twin study on restricted and repetitive behaviours in twin pairs with and without autism. Molecular Autism, 11, 1. DOI: 10.1186/s13229-019-0309-x
Cauvet, E.,* van’t Westeinde, A.,* Toro, R., Kuja-Halkola, R., Neufeld, J., Mevel, K. and Bölte, S. (2019). Sex differences along the Autism Continuum: A twin study of brain structure. Cerebral Cortex, 29 (3), 1342-1350. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy303
Isaksson, J., van’t Westeinde, A., Cauvet, E., Neufeld, J., Lundin, K. Willfors, C. and Bölte, S. (2019). Social Cognition in Autism and other Neurodevelopmental Disorders - A co-twin control study. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1-11. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-04001-4
Myers, L., van’t Westeinde, A., Kuja-Halkola, R., Tammimies, K., & Bölte, S. (2018). 2D: 4D ratio in neurodevelopmental disorders: a twin study. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 48, 3244-3252. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3588-8
Teaching portfolio
Teaching assistant, DIS Study abroad in Scandinavia (September 2018 - July 2019)
Teaching assistant, University of Amsterdam (November 2011 - January 2012 & September 2013 - July 2014)