Margriet Sitskoorn: "You can change behavior because you can change the brain"
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Isn’t it fascinating that someone who was raised in a chicken coop behaves like a chicken but, having been rescued, learns human behavior again after exposure to a loving, interacting human environment? Margriet Sitskoorn thinks it is. "All human behavior is mediated by the brain. You can change behavior because you can change the brain. To a certain extent, that is, because the genetic make-up also plays a role, of course. Something like fear or anti-social behavior arises under the influence of environmental variables, so you can do something about it. My work focuses on rehabilitation of cognitive skills in patients with brain damage but I increasingly concentrate on enhancement and development of functions in the healthy population as well. I had never thought I would write a self-help book, but I did nevertheless (IK kwadraat). People can develop themselves and others through training and knowledge."
Insatiable thirst
Margriet says her thirst for knowledge on the brain is insatiable. And that she wants to share that knowledge with as many people as possible. "For me, it is an important mission to build bridges and reach the public at large. That’s why I appear on Dutch television in programs like De Nationale IQ Test. It has an audience of 1.7 million viewers, so I can tell all those people interesting facts about the brain."
Virtual reality
Off camera Margriet works on her academic projects with commitment. She collaborates with several partners and this research is granted by different organisations. " In order to improve the live of and cognitive functioning in patients we develop cognitive rehabilitation programs. These programs can involve gamelike computer programs or apps but also physical exercise or virtual environments. What we need to do now is to make these evidence-based programs available for large groups.."
"For me, it is an important mission to build bridges and reach the public at large"
The Philip Eijlander Diversity Program