Research

About the Research Group

The working group "Experimental Psychiatry" focuses on resilience, stress, and aggression. Our research group examines neurobiological and psychological mechanisms that shape adaptive and maladaptive responses to challenging environments. Current projects, including LORA and TRR379, investigate neural and behavioral processes of stress and aggression using multimodal methods such as EEG, fMRI, and non-invasive brain stimulation (tDCS).

Key Topics

• factors contributing to mental resilience
• Stress and aggressions

Current Projects and Studies

DFG - LORA RISK - Neurobiological Mechanisms of Resilience and Identification of At-Risk Groups

Building on the LORA and LORA-COVID data, LORA-RISK investigates how mental health develops following stressful life events and which individuals are at increased risk for mental illness. Using biomarkers and longitudinal analyses, the study aims to identify at-risk groups at an early stage and thereby lay the groundwork for preventive measures.

Duration: since 2023

More information about the study is available here.

 

TRR379 - Identification of Mediators of Threat-Induced Aggression and Experimental Manipulation via tDCS (C07)

C07 examines the interaction between the cognitive system (CS) and frustrating non-reward as part of the negative valence system (NVS). It investigates the electrophysiological correlates of frustrating feedback in patients prone to aggression. Following induced stress, an EEG task battery with frustrating feedback is used to extract the error-related negativity (ERN) and contingent negative variation, thereby monitoring the electrophysiological signals of the relevant learning and frustration processes. Half of the participants will receive tDCS over the prefrontal cortex to enhance cognitive control, while being exposed to a stress context that induces frustration.

More information about the study is available here.
 

Group Members

Group Leader:

Prof. Dr. Michael M. Plichta

Administrative Office:

Dora Adjei

Group Members:

Charlotte Schenk (PhD student)
Nadine Steinbach (PhD student)
Mikhail Zaytsev (research assistant)
Julia Kirsten Hormuth (medical doctoral student)
Ashley Timberlake (research assistant)
Theresa Schreiber (student assistant)
Lena Bauer (student assistant)
Melissa Elmas (medical doctoral student)
Jana Burlage (student assistant)
Yannick Cezanne (student assistant)
Maya Willfurth (medical doctoral student)
Maximilian Rehschütz (medical doctoral student)
Lara Wagner (medical doctoral student)
Lisa Barysch
Lenz Wiegand
Charlotte Hofstätter (student assistant)

Funding

• DFG - LORA RISK
• TRR379

Publications

Full list: ResearchGate. Selected Publications:

• Riske ND, Schenk C, Ahrens KF, Kollmann B, Weichert D, Steinbach N, Burlage JF, Freudenberg F, Lieb K, Kalisch R, Tüscher O, Schmidt-Kassow M, Reif A, Plichta MM. Stress and resilience: cortisol hypo-response to acute stress in non-resilient individuals. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2026 Jul 3. doi: 10.1007/s00702-026-03218-9.
• Ahrens KF, Schenk C, Kollmann B, Puhlmann LMC, Neumann RJ, Schäfer SK, Reis D, Basten U, Weichert D, Fiebach CJ, Lutz B, Wessa M, Repple J, Lieb K, Tüscher O, Reif A, Kalisch R, Plichta MM. Resilience to major life events: Advancing trajectory modeling and resilience factor identification by controlling for background stressor exposure. Am Psychol. 2024 Nov;79(8):1076-1091. doi: 10.1037/amp0001315.
• Menne F, Lindsay H, Tröger J, Paulmann S, König A, Steinbach N, Reif A, Plichta MM, Schmidt-Kassow M. Voice as objective biomarker of stress: association of speech features and cortisol. Acta Neuropsychiatr. 2025 Sep 3;37:e84. doi: 10.1017/neu.2025.10037.
• Petri-Romão P, Mediavilla R, Restrepo-Henao A, Puhlmann LM, Zerban M, Ahrens KF, Barbui C, Basten U, Bayón C, Chmitorz A, Felez-Nobrega M, Kollmann B, Lieb K, McDaid D, McGreevy KR, Melchior M, Muñoz-Sanjosé A, Neumann RJ, Park AL, Plichta MM, Purgato M, Reif A, Schenk C, Schick A, Sebastian A, Sijbrandij M, Smith P, Tüscher O, Wessa M, Witteveen AB, Yuen KS, Haro JM, Ayuso-Mateos JL, Kalisch R. Positive appraisal style predicts long-term stress resilience and mediates the effect of a pro-resilience intervention. Nat Commun. 2025 Nov 21;16(1):10269. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-65147-7.
• Hülsemann MJ, Kaurin A, Kollmann B, Chmitorz A, Ahrens KF, Schenk C, Plichta MM, Lutz B, Basten U, Fiebach CJ, Kalisch R, Lieb K, Reif A, Tüscher O, Hermes H, Schunk D, Wessa M. Self-oriented affective empathy is associated with increased negative affect. Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 30;15(1):27767. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-09860-9.