Deutsch Intern
    Research Training Group RTG 1253/2 (Emotions)

    Projects

    Psychology: Biological and Clinical Psychology (Prof. Dr. Paul Pauli (speaker))

    Project: Processing of conditioned stimuli with emotional relevance

    Possible dissertation projects:

    • Emotion regulation deficits in psychopathology
    • Event timing and safety learning

    Representative publications:

    • Batty, M. J., Cave, K. R., & Pauli, P. (2005). Abstract stimuli associated with threat through conditioning cannot be detected preattentively. Emotion, 5, 418-430.
      Download pdf
    • Greimel, E., Macht, M., Krumhuber, E., Ellgring, H. (2006). Facial and affective reactions to tastes and their modulation by sadness and joy. Physiology & Behavior, 89, 261-269.
    • Kenntner-Mabiala, R., & Pauli, P. (2005). Affective modulation of brain-potentials to painful and non-painful stimuli. Psychophysiology, 42, 559-567.
      Download pdf
    • Mühlberger, A., Wiedemann, G., Herrmann, M. J., & Pauli, P. (2006). Phylo- and ontogenetic fears and the expectation of danger: differences between spider and flight phobics in cognitive and physiological responses to disorder specific stimuli. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115, 580-589.
      Download pdf
    • Wieser, M. J., Mühlberger, A., Alpers, G. W., Macht, M., Ellgring, H., & Pauli, P. (2006). Emotion processing in Parkinson´s Disease: dissociation between early neuronal processing and explicit ratings. Clinical Neurophysiology, 117,94-102.
      Download pdf

    To top

    Psychiatry: Molecular and Clinical Psychobiology (Prof. Dr. Klaus-Peter Lesch (vice speaker) and Dr. Angelika Schmitt)

    Project: Emotionality in serotonin system-deficient mice

    Possible dissertation projects: see Anatomy

    Representative publications:

    • Holmes, A., Yang, R. J., Lesch, K. P., Crawley, J. N., Murphy, D. L. (2003). Mice lacking the serotonin transporter exhibit 5-HT1A receptor-mediated abnormalities in tests for anxiety-like behavior. Neuropsychopharmacology, 28, 2077-2088.
    • Kim, D. K., Tolliver, T. J., Huang, S. J., Martin, B. J., Andrews, A. M., Wichems, C., Holmes, A., Lesch, K. P., Murphy, D. L. (2005). Altered serotonin synthesis, turnover and dynamic regulation in multiple brain regions of mice lacking the serotonin transporter. Neuropharmacology, 49, 798-810.
    • Alexandre, C., Popa, D., Fabre, V., Bouali, S., Venault, P., Lesch, K. P., Hamon, M., Adrien, J. (2006). Early-life blockade of 5-HT1A receptors normalizes sleep and depression-like behavior in adult knock-out mice lacking the serotonin transporter. Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 5554-5564.

    To top

    Anatomy (Prof. Dr. Esther Asan)

    Project: Interrelations between monoaminergic and peptidergic systems in the amygdaloid complex

    Possible dissertation project:

    • Monoaminergic innervation and receptor expression of identified neurons in limbic regions of genetically modified rodent models for emotional dysregulation: development and plasticity

    Representative publications:

    • Asan, E., Yilmazer-Hanke, D. M., Eliava, M., Hantsch, M., Lesch, K.-P., & Schmitt, A. (2005). The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-system and monoaminergic afferents in the central amygdala: investigations in different mouse strains and comparison with the rat. Neuroscience, 131, 953-967.
    • Eliava, M., Yilmazer-Hanke, D., & Asan, E. (2003). Interrelations between monoaminergic afferents and corticotropin-releasing factor-immunoreactive neurons in the rat central amygdaloid nucleus: ultrastructural evidence for dopaminergic control of amygdaloid stress systems. Histochemistry and Cell Biology, 120, 183-197.
    • Asan, E. (1998). The catecholaminergic innervation of the rat amygdala. Advances in Anatomy, Embryology, and Cell Biology, 142, 1-121.

    To top

    Psychiatry: Laboratory for Psychophysiology and Functional Imaging (Prof. Dr. J. Deckert and Dr. Martin Herrmann)

    Project: Brain correlates of emotional processing: link between neurotransmitter systems and psychiatric diseases

    Possible dissertation projects:

    • Olfactory evoked potentials in anxiety disorders and social behavior
    • Modulation of emotional processing by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation

    Representative publications:

    • Fallgatter, A. J., Herrmann, M. J., Roemmler, J., Ehlis, A.-C., Wagener, A., Heidrich, A., Ortega, G., Zeng, Y., Lesch, K. P. (2004). Allelic variation of serotonin transporter function modulates the brain electrical response for error processing. Neuropsychopharmacology, 29, 1506-1511.
    • Fallgatter, A. J., Herrmann, M. J., Hohoff, C., Ehlis, A.-C., Jarczok, T. A., Freitag, C. M., Deckert, J. DTNBP1 (in press). (Dysbindin) gene variants modulate prefrontal brain function in healthy individuals. Neuropsychopharmacology.
    • Herrmann, M. J., Huter, T., Muller, F., Muhlberger, A., Pauli, P., Reif, A., Renner, T., Canli, T., Fallgatter, A. J., & Lesch, K. P. (2007a). Additive effects of serotonin transporter and tryptophan hydroxylase-2 gene variation on emotional processing. Cereb Cortex, 17(5), 1160-1163.
    • Herrmann, M. J., Würflein, H., Schreppel, T., Koehler, S., Mühlberger, A., Reif, A., Canli, T., Romanos, M., Jacob, C. P., Lesch, K.-P. and Fallgatter, A. J. (in press). Catechol-O methyltransferase val158met genotype affects neural correlates of aversive stimuli processing. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neurociences.
    • Dresler, T., Ehlis, A.-C., Plichta, M.M., Richter, M.M., Jabs, B., Lesch, K.-P., Fallgatter, A.J. (in print). Panic disorder and a possible treatment approach by means of high-frequency rTMS: A case report.  World Journal of Biological Psychiatry.

    To top

    Psychology: Psychological Intervention (Prof. Dr. Andrea Kübler)

    Project: Regulation of behaviour in psychological disorders and chronic disease

    Possible dissertation projects:

    • Regulation of emotions and behavioural inhibition in relation to eating behaviour
    • Processing of emotional stimuli and coping in patients with neurodegenerative disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)

    Representative publications:

    • Kübler A, Furdea A, Halder S, Hammer EM, Nijboer F, & Kotchoubey B (2009). A brain-computer interface controlled auditory event-related potential (p300) spelling system for locked-in patients. Ann N Y Acad Sci. ;1157:90-100.
    • Kübler, A., Dixon, V., & Garavan, H. (2006). Automaticity and re-establishment of executive control ? an fMRI study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18, 1331-1342.
    • Kübler, A & Kotchoubey, B (2007). Brain-computer interfaces in the continuum of consciousness. Current Opinion in Neurology, 20, 643-649.
    • Lulé D, Zickler C, Häcker S, Bruno MA, Demertzi A, Pellas F, Laureys S, Kübler A (2009). Life can be worth living in locked-in syndrome. 
      Progress in Brain Research 177:339-51.
    • Matuz T, Birbaumer N, Hautzinger M, Kübler A. (2010). Coping with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: an integrative view. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry Aug;81(8):893-8.

    To top

    Philosophy (Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Lembeck and Prof. Dr. Karl Mertens)

    Project: Epistemological, anthropological, and ethical dimensions of the research on emotions

    Possible dissertation projects:

    • The meta-discourse in the theory of science concerning interdisciplinary research.
    • The normative dimension of scientific practice.
    • Philosophy of emotion from a phenomenological and/or analytical point of view.

    The chosen subject and its interdisciplinary relevance should be related to the further academic education of the doctoral candidate. A philosophical thesis on one of the mentioned fields of research is of interest especially for physicians, psychologists, psychotherapists, or biologists.
    The examination of the claim of classical phenomenological positions to provide the foundations for the reflection on the methods of the sciences and the interpretation of the results of scientific work might be fruitful in this context.
    Candidates who are mainly orientated to the field of philosophy could approach the subject through a re-lecture of classical philosophical theories of emotion.

    Representative publications:

    • Mertens, K. (in print). Grund/Begründung, in: v. A.G. Wildfeuer, P. Kolmer (Hrsg.), Neues Handbuch philosophischer Grundbegriffe. Freiburg/München: Alber.
    • Mertens, K. (2006). Verstrickt in den Kompatibilismus. Bemerkungen zur gegenwärtigen Freiheitsdebatte, in: C. Langbehn (Hrsg.), Recht, Gerechtigkeit und Freiheit. Aufsätze zur politischen Philosophie der Gegenwart. Paderborn: Mentis, 201-217.
    • Mertens, K. (in print). Nach und vor der psychologischen Forschung. Überlegungen zu einer phänomenologischen Wissenschaftstheorie", in: Carl-Friedrich
      Gethmann: Lebenswelt und Wissenschaft (XXI. Deutscher Kongress für Philosophie).
    • Lembeck, K.-H. (2005). Einführung in die phänomenologische Philosophie. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftl. Buchgesellschaft (2. Aufl.).
    • Lembeck, K.-H. (2002). Philosophie und Psychologie: Distanz und Nähe, in: Zur Sprache gebracht. Festschrift für Peter Novak, Ulm. 131-147.
    • Lembeck, K.-H., Jonas, J. (Hrsg.) (2006). Mensch, Leben, Technik. Neuere Studien zur phänomenologischen Anthropologie, Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann.

    To top

    Psychiatry: Functional Genomics (Prof. Dr. Dr. Katharina Domschke, M.A.)

    Project: (Epi)genetic correlates of emotional processing in anxiety and depression

    Possible dissertation projects:

    • Neural correlates of emotion processing (fMRI)
    • Emotion-potentiated startle reflex

    Representative publications:

    •  1. Domschke K, Braun M, Ohrmann P, Suslow T, Kugel H, Bauer J, Hohoff C, Kersting A, Engelien A, Arolt V, Heindel WL, Deckert J, Association of the functional -1019C/G 5-HT1A polymorphism with prefrontal and amygdala activation measured with 3T fMRI in panic disorder, Int J Neuropsychopharmacol, 2006; 9:349-355
    • 2. Domschke K, Dannlowski U, Ohrmann P, Lawford B, Bauer J, Kugel H, Heindel W, Young R, Morris P, Arolt V, Deckert J, Suslow T, Baune BT, Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) gene: Impact on antidepressant treatment response and emotion processing in Major Depression, Eur Neuropsychopharmacol, 2008; 18:751-759  
    • 3. Domschke K, Dannlowski U, Imaging genetics of anxiety disorders, NeuroImage, 2010; 53:822-831  
    • 4. Domschke K, Reif A, Weber H, Richter J, Hohoff C, Ohrmann P, Pedersen A, Bauer J, Suslow T, Kugel H, Heindel W, Baumann C, Klauke B, Jacob C, Maier W, Fritze J, Bandelow B, Krakowitzky P, Rothermundt M, Erhardt A, Binder E, Holsboer F, Gerlach A, Kircher T, Lang T, Alpers G, Ströhle A, Fehm L, Gloster A, Wittchen HU, Arolt V, Pauli P, Hamm A, Deckert J, Neuropeptide S receptor (NPSR) gene – converging evidence for a role in panic disorder, Mol Psychiatry, 2011; 16:938-948  
    • 5. Domschke K, Gajewska A, Winter B, Herrmann MJ, Warrings B, Mühlberger A, Wosnitza K, Glotzbach E, Conzelmann A, Dlugos A, Fobker M, Jacob C, Arolt V, Reif A, Pauli P, Zwanzger P, Deckert J, ADORA2A gene variation, caffeine and emotional processing – a multi-level interaction on startle reflex, Neuropsychopharmacology, 2012; 37:759-769

      To top

      Neurology: Pain (Prof. Dr. Claudia Sommer)

      Project: Processing of painful stimuli in patients with migraine and with chronic widespread pain

      Possible dissertation project:

      • Emotions in chronic pain and correlation to the serotonin and cytokine system (human study)

      Representative publications:

      • Price, D. D. (2000). Psychological and neural mechanisms of the affective dimension of pain. Science, 288, 1769-1772.
      • Üçeyler, N., Valenza, R., Stock, M., Schedel, R., Sprotte, G., Sommer, C. (2006). Reduced levels of antiinflammatory cytokines in patients with chronic widespread pain. Arthritis Rheum., 54, 2656-2664.
      • Sommer C, Weishaupt A, Brinkhoff J, Biko L, Wessig C, Gold R, Toyka KV. (2005). Paraneoplastic stiff-person syndrome: Passive transfer to the rat with IgG antibodies to amphiphysin. Lancet, 365:1406-1411.

      To top

      Psychology: Social Psychology, Psychology of Emotion and Motivation (Prof. Dr. Fritz Strack)

      Project: Reflective and Impulsive Determinants of the Categorization of Emotional Stimuli

      Possible dissertations project:

      • no project offered at that time

      Representative publications:

      • Eyal, T., Liberman, N., Trope, Y., Walther. E. (2004). The pros and cons of temporally near and distant action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 781-795.
      • Liberman, N., Trope, Y., Stephan, E. (in press). Psychological distance. In A. W. Kruglanski, E. T. Higgins (eds.). Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles. New York: Guilford Press.
      • Trope, Y., Liberman, N. (2003). Temporal construal. Psychological Review, 110, 401-421.

      To top

      Neurology: (Prof. Dr. Jens Volkmann)

      Project:

      Possible dissertation project:


      Representative publications:

      To top

      Physiology (Prof. Dr. Erhard Wischmeyer and Dr. Maruschka Weber)

      Project: Modulation of inhibitory potassium currents in the central nervous system

      Possible dissertation project:

      • Molecular mechanisms of somatosensation

      Representative publications:

      • Rajan, S., Wischmeyer, E., Liu, G., Preisig-Müller, R., Daut, J., Karschin, A., Derst, C. (2000). TASK-3, a novel tandem-pore domain acid-sensitive K+ channel: an extracellular histidine as pH sensor. J. Biol. Chem., 275, 16650-16657.
      • Delling, M., Wischmeyer, E., Dityatev, A., Veh, R., Karschin, A., Schachner, M. (2002). The neural cell adhesion molecule NCAM regulates cell surface delivery of G-protein activated inwardly rectifying potassium channels via lipid rafts, J. Neurosci, 22, 7154-7164.
      • Döring, F., Scholz, H., Kühnlein, R., Karschin, A., Wischmeyer, E. (in press). Novel Drosophila two-pore domain K+ channels: rescue of channel function by heteromeric assembly. Europ. J. Neurosci.

      To top