The inflammatory and immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 result in immune system changes, enhancing lung injury, but also CNS complications. Studies on post-mortem brain tissue from COVID-19 patients showed extensive inflammatory changes and transcriptional dysregulation of various cell types in the brain. Jinte's talk will highlight some of these human studies. To model this, they use SARS-CoV-2 infected macaques that have experienced clinical symptoms similar to humans with an asymptomatic or mild infection with SARS-CoV-2.

Jinte will talk on May 28th, 11:30 AM (CEST).

Human pluripotent stem cells are of great potential in the field of neuroimmunology, as they can be used to study host-virus interactions - for example, they may serve as models for SARS-CoV-2 infection (the virus that causes Covid-19). Oliver Harschnitz works with such human stem cell-based disease models. During his talk, he will explain how these models are currently being used in research and illustrate their relevance to studying the potential effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the human brain.

Oliver will give his talk on May 28th, 2:10 PM (CEST).

Why loneliness is a risk for (mental) health: the power of social relationships

Being embedded in social relationships is crucial to our health, well-being and prosperity in life, from the very beginning to the end of our lives. But what is a good relationship? What is needed to maintain good relationships? And conversely, when do people feel lonely and left out? Why is loneliness painful and unhealthy? Can the pain of social exclusion also be helpful? In her presentation, Catrin Finkenauer will begin to answer these questions.

Catrin's keynote lecture will take place May 27th, 3:15 PM (CEST).

Is the risk of acute ischemic stroke increased in patients with Covid-19? Annemijn Algra, who is currently training to become a neurologist, has thoroughly investigated the answer to this question. In the study, a total of 2147 Dutch patients hospitalised with Covid-19 were screened for acute ischemic stroke. During her keynote lecture, Annemijn will talk in detail about how she and her colleagues performed this large study and show us the results!

Annemijn's keynote lecture will be held on May 27th, 10 AM (CEST).