Damien
Brevers

I am a senior postdoc working in the fields psychology and neuroscience at the Compulsive and Addictive behaviors Lab (ACB-Lab; Institute for Health and Behaviour). My research focuses on how rewarding activities and habits are involved in the development and maintenance of psychopathological states (for example addiction), peak performance (for example elite sport), as well as optimal habits, such as pro-environmental behaviour.

My main project - BETHAB - focuses on sports betting (FNR CORE Junior Track). This project capitalises on neuroimaging techniques in order to identify key affective and cognitive control processes that are triggered when individuals are exposed to cues that signal the availability of a reward, such as an opportunity to gamble. My work especially aims to foster the progress towards efficient treatment and prevention of gambling disorder.

Ultimately, my research aims to determine how self-control processes unfold when exposed to repeated and continuous access to hedonic content - 'get', 'like', 'bet', 'match', 'rsvp', 'going', 'interested'. This dynamic also encompasses the implementation of healthy and advantageous habits in young adults, including pro environmental behaviors (e.g., zero waste habits).

 

Research interests
Self-control
fMRI
Gambling
Sport
Clinical Psychology
Decision-making
Self-regulation
Motivation

Latest content Damien Brevers took part in

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences
Which strategies do we create to control our own social media use?
Social media and social networks are omnipresent in our daily lives. We all have been stuck scrolling down on Youtube, reading friend’s comments on Facebook, checking likes on Instagram or kilometers on Strava. But are we able to control ourselves? And when we do, which strategies do we use?
Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences
Understanding reward-seeking behaviours in an age of excess
Ready-to-consume rewards are omnipresent in today’s environments. A new project being carried out by the Institute of Health and Behaviour focuses on gambling, studying the impact of ready-to-consume rewards on the development of addictive disorders