Tasks of the Institute
Teaching
The institute offers lectures, seminars, practical courses, and colloquia for students in the pre-clinical phase of medical education. It also provides supervision and academic support for doctoral candidates and postgraduates.
Research
The institute pursues two complementary research focus areas:
(1) Cognitive and clinical neuroscience / psychobiology, and
(2) Molecular chronobiology and circadian biology.
These interconnected areas allow for a multilevel investigation of behavior, from molecular processes to psychological mechanisms and clinical applications.
Research is conducted in the fields of neuropsychobiology, behavioral medicine, pain research, prevention, and rehabilitation. Core research areas include learning and memory processes, information processing in the brain, and emotion regulation, particularly in the context of pain, addiction, psychotraumatology, and psychological development across the lifespan.
In addition, the role of sleep in health and disease is investigated. Using primarily experimental approaches, the effects of various sleep manipulations on immunological, inflammatory, and endocrine processes, as well as on learning, memory, and other cognitive functions, are examined. Complementary research focuses on the biological basis of circadian rhythms and their role in the regulation of physiological and cognitive processes. Particular emphasis is placed on molecular timekeeping mechanisms and post-translational modifications, as well as their influence on brain function, stress processing, emotion, metabolism, and adaptation to internal and external environmental conditions.
A central focus of the institute is to integrate its complementary research approaches to advance the mechanistic understanding and scientific evidence of (mental) health and disease, and to translate these findings into the development and empirical evaluation of innovative behavioral medicine–based prevention, rehabilitation, and therapeutic interventions for individuals with mental, somatic, and neurological disorders.
Director of the Institute: Prof. Dr. Frauke Nees
