Karolina Figa | Trainee
While pursuing her BSc in Molecular Life Sciences at Radboud University, Karolina Figa undertook an internship at the Donders Institute delving into the topic of previous knowledge networks in the rat brain. This experience, amongst others, has kickstarted her interest and academic career in neuroscience. Post-graduation, she commenced a master’s program in Medical Neuroscience. In her initial internship, Karolina investigated the relationship between emotional schemas, negative bias, depression, and childhood adversity utilizing fMRI and negative schema induction. Subsequently, her second internship continued the exploration of childhood adversity and the link to depression, anxiety, and neurotransmitter receptor maps employing a novel technique called connectopic gradients. During the internship, she co-authored a paper titled “Childhood adversity predicts striatal connectivity gradient changes after acute stress” which is currently undergoing the submission process. At the moment, Karolina is doing her third master’s internship within Roshan Cools’ group under Natalie Nielsen’s guidance. The project focuses on investigating working memory in relation to ruminative thoughts and the possibility of disrupting them. Karolina’s primary focus involves utilizing PsychoPy to develop a novel task, intended for later use in fMRI scanners or online platforms.