Neuroscience & Mental Health Research Institute

Dr Marianne BM van den Bree

Based at the Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences

Research Keywords

Genetic variation, Copy number variants (CNVs), psychiatric disorder, substance misuse, comorbidity, longitudinal studies, epidemiology.

Research Interests and Facilities

A number of rare chromosomal re-arrangements (Copy number variants, or CNVs) have been associated with high risk of development of psychiatric disorder. However, the outcome of these CNVs is highly variable; carriers of the same CNV can be severely affected or have no apparent problems at all. Why this is remains unclear. We are conducting detailed cognitive, behavioural, psychiatric and genetic assessments over time of individuals with high-risk CNVs, including children and adolescents with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2DS) to better understand these issues.

In addition, my group also studies the risk factors involved in the development of substance misuse in adolescents. Research is based on large, longitudinal population-based data sets, as well as high-risk samples (e.g., young homeless people). We have, for example, studied the links over time between substance misuse and psychiatric symptomatology (including childhood depression), family relationship quality, pubertal timing, and peer group influences.

Available PhD Projects

1. Study of the cognitive, behavioural, psychiatric and genetic aspects of CNVs associated with increased risk of psychotic disorder.
2. Study of risk factors influencing the developmental pathway of substance misuse in adolescence.

Publications

1. Saraceno L, Heron J, Munafo M, Craddock N and van den Bree. The relationship between childhood depressive symptoms and problem alcohol use in early adolescence: findings from a large longitudinal population-based study. Addiction 2012;107: 567-77.
2. Fowler T, Shelton K, Lifford K, Rice F, McBride A, Nikolav I, Neale MC, Harold G, Thapar A, and van den Bree M.  Genetic and environmental influences on the relationship between peer alcohol use and own alcohol use in adolescents.  Addiction 2007;102:894-903.
3. Fowler T, Lifford K, Shelton K, Rice F, Thapar A, Neale MC, McBride A, and van den Bree MB. Exploring the relationship between genetic and environmental influences on initiation and progression of substance use. Addiction 2007 Mar;102(3):413-22.
4. van den Bree MB and Pickworth WB. Risk factors predicting changes in marijuana involvement in teenagers. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2005 Mar;62(3):311-9.
5. Niarchou M, Zammit S, Walters J, Lewis G, Owen M, van den Bree M. Defective processing speed predicts non-clinical psychotic experiences in children; longitudinal analyses in a large birth cohort. Submitted.