Personal profile
Short presentation
Office hours: Thuesdays 12:00-13:00
Postgraduate courses
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry (seminar)
- Clinical Neuropsychology
Supervision
- Supervision of Master’s theses within cognitive neuropsychiatry
- Supervision of PhD students within cognitive neuropsychiatry
Primary research areas
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
- Investigation of the cognitive and neuroimaging biomarkers for depression and bipolar disorder
- Development and clinical testing of new interventions for cognitive impairment in neuropsychiatric disorders
- Delineation of the neurocognitive and brain-based mechanisms of the effects of new and established biological and psychological treatments for depression and bipolar disorder
NEAD Centre
I am the head of the Neurocognition and Emotion in Affective Disorders (NEAD) Centre at the Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, and the Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen. The NEAD Centre aims to improve the understanding, prevention and treatment of cognitive impairment and affective disorders (depression and bipolar disorder). To achieve this overarching ambition, we conduct multidisciplinary research into cognitive impairment and affective disorders that aims to: (1) identify neurocognitive and brain-based biomarkers for depression and bipolar disorder (mania and depression), (2) develop neurocognitive screening tools and methods to reduce the risk of affective disorders, (3) develop new biological and psychological treatments targeting cognitive impairment, and (4) delineate neurocognitive and neuronal mechanisms for existing and new experimental treatments. The NEAD Centre has strong national and international collaborations with the Neurobiological Research Unit, Rigshospitalet, and research groups at Harvard University, University of Oxford and the Max Planck Institute.
Education/Academic qualification
Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry, DPhil, University of Oxford
1 Jan 2005 → 8 Jul 2008
Award Date: 8 Jul 2008
Psychology, Master of Science, University of Copenhagen gold medal for dissertation: “Neuropsychological Research on Depression - Towards a Synergy between Cognitive and Neurobiological Theories and Methods”, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University
1 Sept 2004 → 15 Apr 2006
Award Date: 15 Apr 2006
Master of Science (Distinction), Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
1 Sept 2003 → 1 Sept 2004
Award Date: 6 Nov 2004
External positions
Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Mental Health Services - Capital Region of Denmark
1 Apr 2008 → …
Keywords
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
- Mood disorders
- Cognitive function
- Interventions
- Randomised controlled trials
- Prevention
- Neuroimaging
- Biomarkers
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Research output
-
Amygdala reactivity to threat, negative facial perception, and risk of future psychiatric hospitalizations: a longitudinal study in major depressive and bipolar disorders
Miskowiak, K. W., Ozenne, B., Kjærstad, H. L., Fisher, P. M., Beaman, E. E., Dam, V. H., Ysbæk-Nielsen, A. T., Knudsen, G. M., Kessing, L. V., Macoveanu, J., Frøkjær, V. G. & Sankar, A., 2026, In: Neuropsychopharmacology. 51, p. 604-611Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
-
Associations Between Cognitive Functions and Subsequent Mood Disorder Prognosis in Low-Risk, High-Risk and Affected Monozygotic Twins: A Seven-Year Follow-Up Study
Miskowiak, K., Kjærstad, H. L., Lystlund, S., Sankar, A., Kessing, L. & Vinberg, M., 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Characterizing high cognitive performance in persons with mood disorders and their unaffected relatives: associations with emotional cognition, functioning, and clinical outcomes
Kjaerstad, H. L., Nordseth, B. O. B., Vinberg, M., Kessing, L. V. & Miskowiak, K. W., 10 Mar 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: International Journal of Bipolar Disorders.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Childhood Maltreatment and Cognitive Functioning in Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Fares-Otero, N. E., Pérez-Ramos, A., Lopez-Escribano, R., Martin-Parra, S., Alameda, L., Halligan, S. L., Miskowiak, K. W. & Vieta, E., May 2026, In: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 24 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Citations (Scopus)4 Downloads (Pure) -
Childhood maltreatment and impaired emotion regulation and processing in remitted affective disorders: Evidence from a large-scale investigation
Zarp, J., Kjærstad, H. L., Iversen, A. E., Bjertrup, A. J., Rasmussen, K. H. E., Fares-Otero, N. E., De Prisco, M., Vieta, E., Vinberg, M., Kessing, L. V. & Miskowiak, K. W., 2026, In: Journal of Affective Disorders. 393, Pt B, 13 p., 120405.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
-
Cognitive assessment in the context of hyperbaric oxygen: a scoping review
Torp, M., Strøm, C., Arenkiel, B., Miskowiak, K., Norup, A., Efrati, S. & Hyldegaard, O., 2026, In: Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology. 48, 3, p. 304-314 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Downloads (Pure) -
Cognitive Complaints in Bipolar Disorder: Relation to Estimated Illness-Related Objective Cognitive Decline, Functioning, and Quality of Life
Schandorff, J. M., Zarp, J., Bjertrup, A. J., Kjærstad, H. L., Jespersen, A. E., Damgaard, V., Vinberg, M., Knorr, U., Kessing, L. V. & Miskowiak, K. W., 2026, In: Bipolar Disorders. 28, 2, 11 p., e70095.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
-
Cognitive impairments in a clinical sample of recently diagnosed outpatients with bipolar disorder: The role of lifestyle, comorbidities, and psychotropic medications
Schandorff, J. M., Eggers, M. B., Zarp, J., Nordseth, B. O. B., Hansen, L., Kessing, L. V. & Miskowiak, K. W., 2026, In: Journal of Affective Disorders. 399, 11 p., 121038.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure)