University of Tartu
Project leader
Phone:+372 7376657
Fax:+372 7375900
Project staff
Phone:+372 7375 911
Fax:+372 737 6152
Phone:+372 7 374 196
Fax:+372 7 374 192
Phone:+372 505 2062
Fax:+372 7 374 192
Phone:+372 5381 3218
Fax:-
Phone:+372 56984421
Fax:+372 737 6152
Phone:+372 7376660
Fax:+372 7375900
Institute presentation
The University of Tartu group conducts interdisciplinary translational research aimed at identifying neurochemical underpinnings of affect-related behavioural traits, and aims at developing original approaches to modelling animal and human behaviour and psychiatric disorders. In Aggressotype it will contribute to the analysis of gene-environment interaction studies and multilevel data integration by addressing the causality of genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors, including early-life stressors, in aggressive and anti-social behaviour, making use of longitudinal population-representative cohorts.
The group is responsible for conducting the Estonia Children Personality Behaviour and Health Study. ECPBHS is a prospective longitudinal birth cohort study that has a very high representation of local population and very low attrition rate, and that has since its beginning 15 years ago included proxy reports on aggressive behaviour and ADHD-like symptomatology. Furthermore, the ECPBHS database has very recently been amended with detailed information and biosamples from the parents of the original target subjects that makes it feasible to disentangle the genetic and environmental aspects of familial aggregation that contribute to development of aggressive behaviour. In addition to ECPBHS, we are conducting the Estonian Psychobiological Study of Traffic Behaviour, a unique investigation of impulsive traits and realistic anti-social behaviour, with a biobank and validation by cross-linking the database with police registry and traffic insurance registry.
Besides having received numerous national grants for basic and applied research, this research group has previously participated in the FP6 integrated project NEWMOOD, and is funded by the Hope for Depression Research Foundation (U.S.A.). It is operating in modern facilities of the brand new biomedical and natural science campus of the University of Tartu.
