Pharmaco-RsfMRI allows new drugs to be studied with this powerful new technology, and it has the potential to change the way that CNS drugs are developed. 

CHDR and LUMC were among the first to apply resting state fMRI 2012 as a potential pharmacodynamic biomarker for central nervous system effects of drugs. We contributed significantly to the optimization of analytical methods in the complicated field, and are very active in developing PK/PD-type analyses of drug-concentration-related changes of resting state brain network. We recently initiated the first study in patients (looking at the effects of an SSRI and a cholinergic drug in patients with different forms of dementia), and initiatives were started to expand the same methodologies to small laboratory animals. In addition, collaborations were set up with a major pharmaceutical industry and with Oxford University and VUmc in Amsterdam. Increasing evidence supports the applicability of resting state fMRI to study the effect of drugs on the central nervous system. An increasing publication output reflexts all this activity.