Since 2009, he has worked at the University of Basel where he currently serves as director of the division of cognitive neuroscience.
[7] This fear-reducing effect of cortisol was also observed when combined with psychotherapy: In a study exposing people with fear of heights to a virtual simulation of heights, de Quervain found a 60% drop in fear if people were given cortisol beforehand as compared to a 40% drop after placebo.
Glucocorticoids, however, have not been found to reduce general fear or anxiety in otherwise healthy people.
When combined with behavioral therapy, cortisol shows great promise in treating PTSD.
[10][11] Memory plays an important role in addiction as it stores the powerful incentives associated with drug taking that produce a strong feeling of craving.
[14] In 2007, de Quervain has shown that a deletion variant of the alpha2b-adrenoceptor is related to enhanced emotional memory in Europeans and Africans.
[15] Furthermore, using genome mapping, de Quervain has found that the receptor HRH1 can be targeted with drugs to hamper memory.