Radboud: Judith Homberg aims to find out which social environmental
factors determine whether someone with high SPS will turn to drug use. The Europe Research Area Network on Illicit Drugs (ERANID) has awarded her research project with a grant of 0.5 million euros. Approximately twenty percent of Dutch people
has sensory processing sensitivity. SPS can be beneficial: individuals
with high SPS enjoy being more flexible and creative than others. Yet
these people are also much more prone to being overstimulated.
Unfortunately, thereby some individuals with SPS turn to drug use to
deal with their overstimulation.
Judith Homberg and her colleagues are
determined to find out which social environmental factors determine
whether someone with high SPS will turn to drug use, and which factors
predict recovery from drugs. They will follow 1500 individuals with SPS
in a longitudinal cohort studies, and will perform an animal study to
delineate the underlying factors. Identifying the corresponding
biomarkers will provide a mechanistic account for both the 'causing' and
'curing' potential of social environmental factors in high SPS
individuals.