Professor Stephane De Brito BSc, MPhil, PhD

Professor Stephane De Brito

School of Psychology
Professor of Developmental Psychopathology and Neuroscience

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 2641
Email
s.a.debrito@bham.ac.uk
Address
School of Psychology
黑料吃瓜网
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor De Brito is a psychologist and director of the . Research in the SCAN lab focuses on understanding the mechanistic interplay between the social, cognitive, affective, and neurocognitive factors implicated in the development and persistence of antisocial and aggressive behaviour. A second strand of research examines those aspects among youths who have experienced early adversity.

SCAN Lab:

Qualifications

BSc. (Hons) Psychology, University of Geneva (1999-2003)

M.Phil. Criminology, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge (2003-2004)

Ph.D. Forensic Mental Health Science, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London (2005-2009)

Postgraduate supervision

Dr De Brito鈥檚 research uses behavioural, neurocognitive and structural/functional magnetic resonance brain imaging techniques to better understand the characteristics of different subgroups of children and adults displaying severe antisocial behaviour and psychopathic traits. A second strand of his research interests is to better understand patterns of resilience and vulnerability in children and adults who have experienced early adversity. The goals are to clarify why some individuals who have experienced early adversity show resilience while others do not, whether individuals who have experienced early adversity process emotions differently, and whether structural and functional neural markers of resilience can be identified.

Dr De Brito considers PhD applications on a rolling basis. Students interested in working on topics related to his research and with a strong academic track record should email him in the first instance.

Publications

Highlight publications

Gao, Y, Staginnus, M & ENIGMA-Antisocial Behavior Working Group 2024, '', The Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 11, no. 8, pp. 620-632.

De Brito, SA, Forth, AE, Baskin-Sommers, AR, Brazil, IA, Kimonis, ER, Pardini, D, Frick, PJ, Blair, RJR & Viding, E 2021, '', Nature Reviews Disease Primers, vol. 7, no. 1, 49, pp. 49.

Diaconu, B, Kohls, G, Rogers, JC, Pauli, R, Cornwell, H, Bernhard, A, Martinelli, A, Ackermann, K, Fann, N, Fernandez-Rivas, A, Gonzalez-Torres, MA, Gonzalez de Artaza-Lavesa, M, Hervas, A, Stadler, C, Konrad, K, Freitag, CM, Fairchild, G, Rotshtein, P & De Brito, SA 2023, '', European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Todorov, J, Devine, RT & De Brito, S 2023, '', Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, vol. 146, 105049.

Fairchild, G, Hawes, D, Frick, P, Copeland, W, Odgers, C, Franke, B, Freitag, C & De Brito, S 2019, '', Nature Reviews Disease Primers, vol. 5, no. 1, 43 .

Recent publications

Article

Elster, EM, Pauli, R, Fairchild, G, McDonald, M, Baumann, S, Sidlauskaite, J, De Brito, S, Freitag, CM, Konrad, K, Roessner, V, Brazil, IA, Lockwood, PL & Kohls, G 2025, '', Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.

De Brito, SA, Rogers, JC, Pauli, R, Kohls, G, Raschle, NM, Martinelli, A, Smaragdi, A, Gonzalez-Madruga, K, Cornwell, H, Stadler, C, Konrad, K, Freitag, CM & Fairchild, G 2025, '', Biological Psychiatry.

Pauli, R, Brazil, I, Kohls, G, Hauser, TU, Gistelinck, L, Dikeos, D, Dochnal, R, Fairchild, G, Fern谩ndez-Rivas, A, Herpertz-Dahlmann, B, Hervas, A, Konrad, K, Popma, A, Stadler, C, Freitag, CM, De Brito, SA & Lockwood, PL 2025, '', Biological Psychiatry.

Kohls, G, Elster, EM, Tino, P, Fairchild, G, Stadler, C, Popma, A, Freitag, CM, De Brito, S, Konrad, K & Pauli, R 2025, '', BMC Psychiatry, vol. 25, no. 1, 105.

Eaton, S, Cornwell, H, Rogers, J, De Brito, S, Toschi, N, Stadler, C, Raschle, N, Konrad, K, Kohls, G, Smaragdi, A, Gonzalez-Madruga, K, Oosterling, M, Martinelli, A, Bernhard, A, Freitag, CM, Hamilton-Giachritsis, C & Fairchild, G 2025, '', European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Townend, S, Staginnus, M, Rogers, J, Smaragdi, A, Martinelli, A, Bernhard, A, Raschle, NM, Kohls, G, Konrad, K, Stadler, C, Freitag, CM, Walton, E, De Brito, SA & Fairchild, G 2025, '', Development and Psychopathology.

Koerner, S, Staginnus, M, Cornwell, H, Smaragdi, A, Gonz谩lez-Madruga, K, Pauli, R, Rogers, JC, Gao, Y, Chester, S, Townend, S, Bernhard, A, Martinelli, A, Kohls, G, Raschle, NM, Konrad, K, Stadler, C, Freitag, CM, De Brito, SA & Fairchild, G 2024, '', Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, vol. 52, no. 7, pp. 1135-1146.

Cornwell, H, Toschi, N, Hamilton-Giachritsis, C, Staginnus, M, Smaragdi, A, Gonzalez-Madruga, K, Mackes, N, Rogers, J, Martinelli, A, Kohls, G, Raschle, NM, Konrad, K, Stadler, C, Freitag, CM, De Brito, SA & Fairchild, G 2024, '', Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, vol. 19, no. 1, nsae006.

Elster, E, Pauli, R, Baumann, S, De Brito, S, Fairchild, G, Freitag, CM, Konrad, K, Roessner, V, Brazil, IA, Lockwood, P & Kohls, G 2024, '', Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 454-463.

Raschle, NM, Borb谩s, R, Dimanova, P, Unternaehrer, E, Kohls, G, De Brito, S, Fairchild, G, Freitag, C, Konrad, K & Stadler, C 2024, '', Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 80-93.

Todorov, JJ, Kohls, G, Pauli, R, Rogers, J, Bernhard, A, Ackermann, K, Raschle, NM, Dugre, JR, Fernandez鈥怰ivas, A, Gonzalez鈥怲orres, MA, Hervas, A, Smaragdi, A, Gonzalez, K, Vetr贸, 脕, Dikeos, D, Popma, A, Stadler, C, Konrad, K, Freitag, CM, Fairchild, G, Devine, RT & De Brito, SA 2024, '', JCPP Advances.

Pauli, R, Brazil, IA, Kohls, G, Klein-Fl眉gge, MC, Rogers, JC, Dikeos, D, Dochnal, R, Fairchild, G, Fern谩ndez-Rivas, A, Herpertz-Dahlmann, B, Hervas, A, Konrad, K, Popma, A, Stadler, C, Freitag, CM, De Brito, SA & Lockwood, PL 2023, '', Nature Communications, vol. 14, no. 1, 5689.

Editorial

MacLeod, A, Manitsa, I & De Brito, S 2024, '', JCPP Advances.

Review article

Viding, E, McCrory, E, Baskin-Sommers, A, De Brito, S & Frick, P 2024, '', Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 159-171.

Dugr茅, JR & De Brito, S 2024, '', Aggression and Violent Behavior, vol. 79, 102003.

Expertise

Violence and severe antisocial behaviour in children (e.g., conduct disorder, callous-unemotional traits/psychopathic tendencies) and adults (e.g., antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy) using cognitive neuroscience methods (e.g., brain imaging and neurocognitive assessments).

Impact of childhood maltreatment on brain structure and functioning; individual and environmental factors contributing to resilience.