Dennis (D) Hernaus

Dr. Dennis Hernaus is an Assistant Professor at the School for Mental Health 

and Neuroscience (MHENS; Div. 2 Mental Health). In his work, Dennis employs 

a multi-layered approach that includes neuroimaging, psychopharmacology, and

computational modeling, to investigate: 

1) The role of the dopamine and noradrenaline system in learning and decision making

2) How (acute) stress prompts changes in instrumental learning and value-based 

decision making

3) The origins of learning and decision-making deficits in people that suffer from mental illness, 

with a special emphasis on motivational deficits

Prior to his appointment at Maastricht University, Dennis worked as a postdoc in the lab of Dr. 

James Waltz (U. Maryland) and was trained in fMRI and psychopharmacology of the dopamine 

system at King’s College London, under the supervision of Dr. Mitul Mehta. 

Relevant publications

Hernaus D, Gold JM, Waltz JA, Frank MJ (2018): Impaired Expected Value Computations 

Coupled With Overreliance on Stimulus-Response Learning in Schizophrenia. Biological 

psychiatry Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging. 3:916-926.

Shine JM, van den Brink RL, Hernaus D, Nieuwenhuis S, Poldrack RA (2018): 

Catecholaminergic manipulation alters dynamic network topology across cognitive states. 

Netw Neurosci. 2:381-396.

Hernaus D, van Amelsvoort T (2018): Glutamate-dopamine matters in psychosis. The lancet 

Psychiatry. 5:773-774.

Hernaus D, Quaedflieg C, Offermann JS, Casales Santa MM, van Amelsvoort T (2018): 

Neuroendocrine stress responses predict catecholamine-dependent working memory-related 

dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience. 13:114-123.

Hernaus D, Casales Santa MM, Offermann JS, Van Amelsvoort T (2017): Noradrenaline 

transporter blockade increases fronto-parietal functional connectivity relevant for working 

memory. European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of 

Neuropsychopharmacology. 27:399-410.