Dr F. Klumpers (Floris)

Floris Klumpers is associate professor at the Behavioural Science Institute and the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging. His research focuses on understanding and modifying unwanted consequences of anxiety and stress by uncovering psychophysiological and neural mechanisms and translating these into interventions that reduce maladaptive anxiety and strengthen resilience.

Using a multimethod approach, he combines experimental fear and stress paradigms with functional neuroimaging (fMRI), behavioural assessments of approach–avoidance tendencies, and measures of autonomic and somatic responses (including startle reflex, heart rate (variability), and skin conductance). His work also incorporates biofeedback, in which real-time physiological signals are integrated into virtual reality environments to study and train emotion regulation.

His current research program includes the following projects:

1. Costly avoidance behaviour: investigating individual differences in maladaptive avoidance in healthy individuals and patients (PhD: Anneloes Hulsman; NWO Research Talent grant).

2. DUST (Decision under Stress Training): immersive virtual reality training with integrated biofeedback to train emotion regulation in action and under high arousal (PhDs: Johan Posthuma & Teun-Pieter de Snoo; funded by the Dutch Police).

3. Resilience in high-risk professions: a longitudinal study on psychobiological predictors of stress resilience in police officers (PhDs: Mahur Hashemi & Wei Zhang; NWO VICI project with Prof. Karin Roelofs).

4. CONTEXT project: as chair, he leads a national consortium developing personalised interventions combining biofeedback and VR training to regulate stress and aggression (NWO NWA-ORC grant).

• Perception, Action and Decision-making

• Affective Neuroscience