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Research projects

At the research center Bergen Center for Brain Plasticity, a concentrated treatment format is both developed and used in the treatment of mental disorders. This provides a golden opportunity to research how genetics, epigenetics and the brain affect and are affected by our experiences and lifestyles. The Trond Mohn Foundation, the Kavli Foundation, Haukeland University Hospital and the University of Bergen have together established a new research center for mental health - Bergen Center for Brain Plasticity.

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Bergen 4-day treatment helps many patients with OCD to recover. 
But what actually happens in the brain after treatment? 
Bergen Center for Brain Plasticity is researching just this.

Brain imaging is performed the day before treatment begins, two weeks after and then after three months. The combination of concentrated treatment and brain imaging directly after treatment provides a unique opportunity to help us understand how treatment can change the brain.

The brain imaging project will be lead by Dr. Odile van den Heuvel, Dr. Olga Ousdal and post.doc. Anders Lillevik Thorsen

Do our genes affect how much we benefit from the treatment, and can treatment affect our epigenetics and how the genes are expressed? 
These questions will be adressed by studies based on our biobank.

Dr. Jan Haavik and Jim Crowley lead the work package for genetics, while Dr. Stephanie Le Hellard and Kerry Ressler lead the work package for epigenetics.

B4DT is a practical, evidence-based and concentrated exposure-based treatment. It is based on four decades of empirical research and theory on the most effective approach to OCD treatment.

The strength of B4DT is that the method combines the most effective elements within this type of treatment, to create one of the most in-depth, effective and robust treatment methods we have seen in recent years.

Based on the work with B4DT, Gerd Kvale and Bjarne Hansen were named by TIME Magazine, to be two of the 50 most influential people in the health care system in 2018.
 
Drs. Gerd Kvale and Bjarne Hansen will, together with Dr. Thröstur Björgvinsson, lead the psychological parts of the research project. Dr. Lars-Göran Öst is engaged as a partner.




Last updated 3/20/2023