Ruud van den Brink

Ruud van den Brink is a Research Fellow at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and the Institute of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology. His research focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes, particularly the role of neuromodulatory systems in shaping brain network dynamics and behavior.

Key research interests include the interplay between catecholamines (e.g., dopamine, norepinephrine) and large-scale cortical networks, the impact of arousal systems on decision-making and attention, and the application of neuroimaging techniques (EEG/fMRI) to study brain state dynamics. His work bridges systems neuroscience with clinical applications, such as tracking recovery in brain injury patients through EEG spectral analysis.

Recent studies highlight how neuromodulators like catecholamines dynamically reconfigure brain connectivity patterns, influencing temporal processing, sensorimotor integration, and behavioral variability. Notable contributions include demonstrating how pupil dynamics and brainstem activity predict cortical interactions during flexible decisions and how attentional demands alter cortical response variability over time.