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Publications
Here you'll find short descriptions of some of my work with links to publications (if available). Expect more to come soon!
A neural fingerprint of adaptive mentalization
A neural fingerprint of adaptive mentalization
Life is full of social interactions that require taking into account what others are thinking. To investigate the underlying neuro-cognitive processes of this remarkable ability - that sets humans apart from other species - previous research has typically focused on passive-observational tasks and pre-defined social-inferential strategies. However, real-life mentalization is usually embedded in reciprocal social interactions, and a key challenge of social inference is adapting to others' idiosyncratic thought processes. Here, we combined a simple strategic game - Rock-Paper-Scissors - with a novel computational model to investigate this adaptive mentalization process. We found that people are quite adept at adapting to others' idyosyncratic strategies, and that a distributed network within areas of the social brain tracks the associated mentalization-belief updates. Leveraging a machine learning algorithm, it is even possible to infer from neural activity - in participants not used for training - how much people adjust their beliefs about others' strategies, a finding with broad theoretical and practical implications.
Dissertation awarded with an annual award for excellent scholarly work by the University of Zurich 🎉
Hyperconnectivity of an introspective socio-affective brain network in people with depression
Hyperconnectivity of an introspective socio-affective brain network in people with depression
Our lives are pervaded and in many ways shaped by social interactions. From youngest age onwards, interactions with significant others define to a large degree who we are - or will become to be - as a person. However, depressed individuals often report poorer relationships and exhibit interpersonal and socio-cognitive problems. In order to better understand these differences, in this study we examined brain activity while people reflected upon past formative relationship experiences. As reported in earlier studies using different tasks, we found an increased connectivity between brain areas that are part of a network that is associated with introspection and socio-affective processing.
“Chemobrain” – state of research and implications for clinical neuropsychology
“Chemobrain” – state of research and implications for clinical neuropsychology
Chemobrain - sometimes also called chemofog - refers to cognitive deficits associated with chemotherapy of non central nervous system cancer, which may persist for years in some cases. Contrary to what the term suggests, such deficits are not just caused by chemotherapy, but are the consequence of various biological and psychological factors. In this review article, we discuss the state of research on putative mechanisms of action as well as alternative pathophysiological explanations, diagnostic implications and therapeutic options. [Article in german]
Neural changes during psychodynamic psychotherapy in people with depression
Neural changes during psychodynamic psychotherapy in people with depression
Psychotherapeutic treatments such as psychodynamic psychotherapy are proven to be effective in treating major depressive disorder. Not all patients respond equally to the treatment, though. In order to deepen our understanding of the therapeutic processes of change, and eventually refine treatment selection, several studies have started looking into what happens within the brain during therapy. This study builds on that branch of research, combining it with a novel paradigm grounded in psychodynamic theory.
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