Research information:

My postdoctoral research is focused on the neural mechanisms that underlie the development of human cognition. I am interested in the development of working memory and nonverbal reasoning and how this is related to other executive functions and learning.

I obtained a BSc in Psychology and a research oriented MSc in Developmental Psychology at Leiden University in the Netherlands. During my research master, I gained experience in longitudinal fMRI analysis while working on a study focused on the development of performance monitoring.

In 2010 I started my PhD in Developmental Psychology in Eveline Crone’s Brain and Development Laboratory at Leiden University. My PhD research focused on the neural correlates of the development of intentional inhibition. This project was part of a European Collaborative Research Project focused on intentional inhibition of human action with collaborating partners form the UK (Prof. Patrick Haggard), Belgium (Prof. Marcel Brass), and Germany (Prof. Alexander Munchau).

Refereed journal articles:

Schel, M.A., Scheres, A., & Crone, E.A. (in press.). New perspectives on self-control development: Highlighting the role of intentional inhibition. Neuropsychologia.

Schel, M.A., Ridderinkhof, K.R., & Crone, E.A. (2014). Choosing not to act: Neural bases of the development of intentional inhibition. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 10, 93-103.

Schel, M.A., Kühn, S., Brass, M., Haggard, P., Ridderinkhof, K.R., & Crone, E.A. (2014). Neural correlates of intentional and stimulus-driven inhibition: A comparison. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8 27.

Schel, M.A. & Crone, E.A. (2013). Development of response inhibition in the context of relevant versus irrelevant emotions. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 383.

Schel, M.A., Windhorst, D.A. van der Molen, M.W., & Crone, E.A. (2013). Developmental change in intentional action and inhibition: A heart rate analysis. Psychophysiology, 50, 812-819.

Kleibeuker, S.W., Koolschijn, P.C.M.P., Jolles, D.D., Schel, M.A., de Dreu, C.K.W., & Crone, E.A. (2013). Prefrontal cortex involvement in creative problem solving in middle adolescence and adulthood. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 5, 197, 206.

Koolschijn, P.C., Schel, M.A., De Rooij, M., Rombouts, S.A.R.B., & Crone, E.A. (2011). A 3-year longitudinal fMRI study on performance-monitoring and test-retest reliability from childhood to early adulthood. Journal of Neuroscience, 31, 4204-4212.