Group Leader
PD Dr. Dr. Cornelia McCormick
University Medical School Bonn
Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry
Venusberg-Campus 1
53127 Bonn, Germany
German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
Venusberg-Campus 1
53127 Bonn, Germany
Tel.: +49 228 287 16377
Email:
1. EDUCATION
2023 Specialist Examination in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
2021 Habilitation for Experimental Psychiatry, University of Bonn
2014 PhD in Clinical Neurosciences, University of Toronto, Canada
2010 Medical Doctorate, University of Hamburg
2006 Psychology Degree, University of Hamburg
2. CURRENT POSITIONS
2023 Psychiatrist, Dept. Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospital Bonn
2019 Group Leader “Memory and Imagination”, University Hospital Bonn
2018 Study Physician of Clinical Trials for Neurodegenerative Diseases, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany
3. PREVIOUS POSITIONS
2018 – 2023 Psychiatrist in Training, Dept. Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospital Bonn
2014 – 2018 PostDoc, Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, UK
4. RESEARCH AWARDS AND GRANTS
2023 Neuro-aCSis Programm (German Research Foundation)
2023 Fellowship of the Hertie Network of Excellence in Clinical Neurosciences
2022 German Research Foundation Research Grant
2019 BONFOR Fellowship to establish a junior research group
2011 German Research Foundation Fellowship
Research focus
If we close our eyes, most of us can vividly imagine events from our past or envision never-experienced scenarios set in the future. This type of mental imagery is supported by a key set of brain regions, including the hippocampus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex and visual-perceptual cortices. My research focusses on each region’s precise contribution and about their dynamic interactions. Uncovering the neuronal basis of mental imagery offers crucial insights into experiential cognitive functions such as autobiographical memory, future thinking, and navigation, but is also important, for decision-making, emotion regulation and mind-wandering.
My research draws on multimodal neuroscientific techniques. First, I use neuroimaging tools, such as structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Second, I work with people who complain about their memory (i.e., due to temporal lobe epilepsy, limbic encephalitis, or various forms of neurodegenerative dementia) and imagination (i.e., aphantasia and blindness).
If you are interested in our research, either to participate in our studies or as a new team member, please contact us.
Ongoing studies
If you are interested in the following studies, we will be happy to provide you with more detailed information. Please do not hesitate to contact us.
Autobiographical Memory in Dementia
Autobiographical memory is often altered in neurodegenerative dementias. But which networks and brain regions play a role here and do the activation patterns vary in different forms of dementia?
In this study, we meausre brain activity during autobiographical memory retrieval of participants with neurodegenerative dementia, i.e., with pathological alterations in the hippocampus, the posterior neocortex and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. A better understanding of the neuronal processes is the basis for an early diagnosis of memory disorders of different forms of dementia. This study can contribute to this.
Autobiographical memory in blind people
Often we memorize past events using visual imagery. But how do people who are blind from birth or became blind later in life imagine past events? Which brain regions play a role in this and are there differences in activation patterns compared to sighted individuals?
With this study, we aim to investigate the neuronal correlates of autobiographical memory in individuals who are blind from birth and those who have become blind later in life. People who are blind from birth have never had the opportunity to acquire visual memories, and thus are presumably unable to experience visual images. To date, the mental landscape of this rare patient group has not been studied in depth.
The results will shed light on the relationship between autobiographical memory and visual imagination.
Neural Networks of Visual Imagination
Our ability to create vivid and detailed mental images of objects, scenes, or even entire stories is a fascinating result of complex neural networks in our brain. Key players in this process include the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), the hippocampus, and the visual cortex. We believe that the vmPFC plays a crucial role in initiating and coordinating these mental images in conjunction with the hippocampus. To explore this exciting phenomenon, we employ high-resolution functional imaging techniques in a 7T MRI study, where our participants are prompted to vividly imagine objects, scenes, or events. This innovative approach promises not only insights into the underlying neural activity but also the complex interplay (connectivity) among these brain regions.
Visual Imagery in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
We collect our personal past experiences in our memory. We hypothesize, that this is not only related to memory, but also to visual imagination. Which brain regions are recruited when we remember past experiences and how does these processes differ from individuals with neurological diseases?
The aim of this study is to investigate brain activity during autobiographical memory recall of participants with pathological changes of the hippocampus. This might show how pathologically altered hippocampi may alter functional neural networks underlying autobiographical memory. On the other hand, important insights into compensatory mechanisms of intact brain structures might be yielded.
The role of the subfields of the hippocampus in scene construction
The study on the role of hippocampal subfields in scene construction is a 7-tesla-fMRI study, that started in April 2023.
Most of us can picture mental images in our mind's eye. These images form the basis of many cognitive tasks, including autobiographical memory, spatial navgation, and thinking about fictional and future scenarious. The aim of our study is to compare vivid and detail-rich mental imagery with abstract semantic tasks. For this purpose, 20 healthy participants were asked to study moving images, static images and abstract definitions for various word cues and reproduce them during a 7T fMRI scan. We are currently using multivariate analysis methods (MVPA) to gain insights into the neuronal patterns of significantly activated brain areas.
If you would like to support our research as a test subject, team member or with a financial donation, please feel free to contact us.
Nadja Abdel Kafi, M. Sc.
PhD Student
I started my PhD studies within the research group in May 2024. During my Master's degree in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, I was particularly fascinated by memory research. Within the working group, I am involved in research into autobiographical memory in blind individuals. At the same time, I am working on the topic of aphantasia and the question in how far visual imagination influences autobiographical memory.
Sorit Achmed Ali, cand. Med.
MD student
My name ist Sorit Achmed Ali and I have been a medical doctoral student in the group since April 2023. Currently, I am investigating where scenes and moving images are generated in the hippocampus and which areas of the brain are involved in the processing of abstract semantic tasks. Since the beginning of my medical studies, I am interested in Neurology and Psychiatrie. Particularly learning and thought processes as well as memory formation have inspired me a lot.
Maren Bilzer, B.Sc.
Masterstudentin
I am studying psychology in the Master's program at the University of Bonn and started an internship in the working group in January 2024. I am involved in studies investigating imagination in temporal lobe epilepsy, allowing me to combine my interest in research questions on imagination and memory with clinical psychology.
Marion Crump, Occupational Health Specialist
MD candidate
I work as a medical doctor at the University Hospital Bonn. In our research group, I am mainly involved in the study of autobiographical memory in blind individuals. I am particularly interested in the ability of non-sighted people to imagine new constructed scenes.
Malte Dommes, cand. Med.
MD student
I am working as a medical doctoral student in the McCormick research group since the beginning of 2025. My focus is on the investigation of autobiographical memory in patients with neurodegenerative dementias. To this end, I use 7T-fMRI data and behavioural tests to analyse functional differences in brain networks of autobiographical memory in patients with different forms of dementia and how these differences have an effect on the symptomatic presentation. The brain and how it works have fascinated me throughout my studies. With my doctoral thesis, I would like to deepen my knowledge in this field and lay the foundation for my entry into the field of research. After my studies, I plan to do a specialist residency in neurology or neuroradiology.
Sarah Dumitrescu, B.Sc.
Psychologie Wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft
I am pursuing a Master's degree in Psychology at the University of Trier. Since the beginning of my studies, I have been fascinated by Neuropsychology, particularly the intersection between clinical practice and research. For three years, I worked as a student assistant in Epileptology, primarily conducting neuropsychological tests with epilepsy patients. Since August 2023, I have been working as a research assistant within the group. My main tasks involve recruiting participants for various research projects and conducting MRI scans.
Anja Essmann, cand. Med.
MD student
After completing my training in the nursing field, I started studying human medicine at the University Bonn in September 2020. My medical internship in a neurological practice last year, strengthened my interest in neurology. Therefore, I am very happy to be part of this working group as a medical doctoral student. My project is about autobiographical memory in blind individuals. It aims to answer the research question of how individuals can remember past events and associated details without visual input. My task is to analyse data and to compare it with those of sighted participants and individuals with aphantasia.
Hannah Fischer, cand. Med.
MD student
I am currently doing research for my doctoral thesis on the topic “7 Tesla functional MRI investigation of hippocampal subfield activity during autobiographical memory in Alzheimer's Dementia”. I am conducting autobiographical interviews with participants and help with the MRI examinations. My professional interests are psychiatry and neurology.
Ella Gutenberg, cand. Med.
MD student
My name is Ella Gutenberg. I am a medical student at the university of Bonn and joined the research group in September 2024. As part of my research, I focus on the analysis of resting-state-fMRI data from congenitally blind and late blind individuals. My focus lies on the examination of network connectivity between the hippocampus and other important networks. My goal is to understand how these interactions contribute to the construction and organization of autobiographical memory. With my work I hope to gain new insights into the neuroplastic adaptations of the brain in blindness. I am very interested in brain mechanisms, especially those that underlie our cognitive functions. I am fascinated by how neural networks enable complex functions such as memory, perceptions, and learning.
Christine Kindler, Dr. med. Dipl. Biol.
Specialist in Neurology
I am a specialist in Neurology with extensive experience in clinical and scientific research into neurodegenerative diseases. Since September 2024, I am a member of the research group “memory and imagination” at the University Hospital Bonn. My research focuses on the application of Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) to 3- and 7-Tesla-fMRI as well as PET-CT to develop a detailed neural model of autobiographical memory. The goal of my work is to characterise specific network changes in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia, and posterior cortical atrophy. Furthermore, I study the influence of biomarkers on these networks. A central aim of my research is to determine the clinical relevance of these changes to improve the prognosis, the Staging, and the treatment options for neurodegenerative diseases.
Pitshaporn Leelaarporn (Lilly), PhD
PostDoc
My academic path began with me switching from fundamental research labs, mostly using cell lines and rodent models, to clinical research, using EEG in a medical engineering lab. I made yet another switch to fMRI. My projects revolve around examining the ability to recall autobiographical memories in various sample groups including healthy individuals, aphantasia, dementia, and epilepsy patients with memory deficits. Acquiring data using the high resolution 7 Tesla MRI scanner, I can look at the human brain, specifically the hippocampus where it evidently functions as the central hub of our memory and scene processing system. Observing how our brain responds to various tasks piques my interest.
Marie Malinowski, cand. Med.
MD student
My name is Marie Malinowski and I am studying medicine at the University of Bonn. I joined the research group as a doctoral student in December 2023. I am researching autobiographical memory and mental imagery in blind people. My doctoral thesis examines the question in how far congenital and acquired blindness affects the neural networks of our cognition of “scene construction”. Scene construction is the ability to imagine novel and vivid scenarios in a detailed way. Since particularly congenitally blind people have no access to visual information, it is intriguing to find out, which neuronal networks become activated when these mental images are generated. My tasks: I am involved in the organisation and evaluation of the project. I recruit participants, organize their stay and take care of the MRI measurements and interviews. In addition to collecting data, I am also responsible for analyzing and evaluating the fMRI data. My interests: As I am particularly interested in the fields of neurology and ophthalmology, I am grateful to be able to combine both disciplines as part of my doctoral thesis. I am particularly enthusiastic about working with blind participants and the opportunity to contribute to research into this rare and valuable participant group.
Julia Taube, PhD
PostDoc
I am a dedicated researcher with a strong background in neuropsychology and epilepsy research, currently working as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Old Age Psychiatry and Cognitive Disorders at University Hospital Bonn. I am fortunate to be mentored by PD Dr. Dr. C. McCormick, where I focus on exploring the intricate interplay between memory and imagination. My expertise also extends to project management, highlighted by my co-leadership role in the Neuropsychology Taskforce of the European Reference Network EpiCARE from 2016 to 2024, where I led efforts in neuropsychological assessment for rare and complex epilepsies. My academic journey began with a strong foundation in psychology, culminating in my Ph.D. in Medical Psychology from the University of Bonn. My diverse research interests include changes in visual imagery and autobiographical memory throughout the course of illness and treatment, examined through fMRI studies and qualitative interviews. Various neurological conditions such as epilepsy and dementia take center stage in this research.
Ela Tuerkyilmaz, B.Sc..
Master Student
I study psychology and started my internship in the research group in December 2024. I am particularly interested in neuropsychology and neuroscience in practice and research. Within the working group, I am involved in the investigation of “Scene Construction”.
Alumni
Sven Lange, cand. M.Sc.
Teresa Lutz, M.Sc.
Prishita Sharma, B.Sc.
We have following news to announce...:
We will start with the organization of our second Science Meeting soon!
Lilly has successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled: "Hippocampal-dependent episodic memory and its relation to visual-perceptual processing"!
We have completed the data collection of our AMBLIND study.
Malte Dommes received a stipend from the HIRNLIGA . Congratulations!
1. Leelaarporn, P., Dalton, M. A., Stirnberg, R., Stoecker, T., Spottke, A., Schneider, A., & McCormick, C. (Preprint). Hippocampal subfields and their neocortical interactions during autobiographical memory using submillimeter whole-brain fMRI at 7 Tesla. bioRxiv.
2. Monzel, M., Leelaarporn. P., Lutz, T., Schultz, J., Brunheim, S., Reuter, M., McCormick, C. (Preprint). Hippocampal-occipital connectivity reflects autobiographical memory deficits in aphantasia. bioRxiv.
3. McCormick, C., Maguire, E.A. (2021) The distinct and overlapping brain networks supporting semantic and spatial scene processing. Neuropsychologia. 158: 107912
4. McCormick, C., Dalton, M.A., Zeidman, P., Maguire, E.A. (2021) Characterising the hippocampal response to perception, construction, and complexity. Cortex. 137:1-17.
5. McCormick, C., Barry, D.N., Jafarian, A., Barnes, G.R., Maguire, E.A. (2020) vmPFC drives hippocampal processing during autobiographical memory recall regardless of remoteness. Cerebral Cortex. 30(11), 5972-5987.
6. Spanò, G., Pizzamiglio, G., McCormick, C., Clark, I.A., De Felice, S., Miller, T.D., Edgin, J.O., Rosenthal, C.R., Maguire, E.A. (2020) Dreaming with hippocampal damage. Elife.9:e56211.
7. Spanò, G., Weber, F.D, Pizzamiglio, G., McCormick, C., Miller, T.D., Rosenthal, C.R., Edgin, J.O., Maguire, E.A. (2020) Sleeping with hippocampal damage. Current Biology. 30:523-529.
8. Fließbach, K., McCormick, C., Kaulen, B., Schneider, A. (2019) Anti-tau therapies – what can be expected? Nervenarzt. 90:891-897.
9. De Luca, F., McCormick, C., Ciaramelli, E., Maguire, E.A. (2019) Scene processing following damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Neuroreport 30:828-833
10. Dalton M.A., McCormick, C., De Luca, F., Clark, I.A., Maguire, E.A. (2019) Functional connectivity along the anterior-posterior axis of hippocampal subfields in the ageing human brain. Hippocampus. 11:1049-1062.
11. Ciaramelli, E., De Luca, F., Monk, A., McCormick, C., Maguire E.A. (2019) What "wins" in VMPFC: scenes, situations, or schema? Neuroscience & Biobehavioural Reviews. 100:208-2010
12. Dalton, M.A., McCormick, C., Maguire, E.A. (2019) Differences in functional connectivity along the anterior-posterior axis of human hippocampal. NeuroImage. 192:38-51
13. De Luca, F., McCormick, C., Mullally, S.L., Intraub, H., Maguire, E.A., Ciaramelli, E. (2018) Boundary extension is attenuated in patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage. Cortex. 108:1-12
14. Dalton, M.A., Zeidman, P., McCormick C., Maguire, E.A. (2018) Mental imagery of scenes, objects and space: deconstructing the neural correlates of scene construction. Journal of Neuroscience. 38 (38):8146-8159
15. McCormick, C., Rosenthal, C.R., Miller, T.D., Maguire, E.A. (2018) Mind-wandering in people with hippocampal damage. Journal of Neuroscience. 38(11):2745-2754
16. McCormick, C., Ciaramelli, E., De Luca, F., Maguire, E.A. (2018) Common and differential cognitive changes following ventromedial prefrontal cortex and hippocampal damage: a review of human lesion studies. Neuroscience, Forefront Review. (Invited review). 374:295-318
17. McCormick, C., Moscovitch, M., Valiante, T., Cohn, M., McAndrews, M.P. (2018) Different neural routes to autobiographical memory recall in healthy people and individuals with left medial temporal lobe epilepsy. Neuropsychologia. 110:26-36
18. McCormick, C., Rosenthal, C.R., Miller, T.D., Maguire, E.A. (2017) Deciding what is possible and impossible following hippocampal damage in humans, Hippocampus, 27(3), 303-314
19. McCormick, C., Rosenthal, C.R., Miller, T.D., Maguire, E.A. (2016) Hippocampal damage increases deontological responses during moral decision making, Journal of Neuroscience, 36, 12157-12167
20. McAndrews, M.P., Girard, T.A., Wilkins, L.K., McCormick, C. (2016) Semantic congruence affects hippocampal response to repetition of visual associations, Neuropsychologia, 90, 235-242
21. Adnan, A., Barnett, A., Moayedi, M., McCormick, C., Cohn, M., McAndrews, M.P. (2016) Distinct hippocampal functional networks revealed by tractography-based parcellation, Brain Structure and Function, 221(6), 2999-3012
22. McCormick, C., St-Laurent, M., Ty, A., Valiante, T., McAndrews, M.P. (2015) Functional and effective hippocampal-neocortical connectivity during construction and elaboration of autobiographical memory retrieval, Cerebral Cortex, 25:1297-305
23. McCormick, C., Protzner, A.B., Barnett, A.J., Cohn, M., Valiante, T.A., McAndrews, M.P. (2014) Linking DMN connectivity to episodic memory capacity: what we can learn from patients with medial temporal lobe damage? Neuroimage: Clinical, 5:188-96
24. St-Laurent, M., McCormick, C., Cohn, M., Mišić, B., Giannoylis, I., McAndrews, M.P. (2014) Using multivariate data reduction to predict post-surgery memory decline in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, Epilepsy & Behavior, 31:220-7
25. Quraan, M., McCormick, C., Cohn, M., Valiante, T.A., McAndrews, M.P. (2013) Altered resting state brain dynamics in temporal lobe epilepsy: a survey of spectral power, functional connectivity and graph theory metrics, Plos One, 8(7): e68609
26. McCormick, C., Quraan, M., Cohn, M., Valiante, T.A., McAndrews, M.P. (2013) Default mode network connectivity indicates episodic memory capacity in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, Epilepsia, 54(5): 809-18
27. O’Neil, E.B., Protzner, A.B., McCormick, C., McLean, D.A., Poppenk, J., Cate, A.D., Koehler, S. (2012) Distinct Patterns of Functional and Effective Connectivity between Perirhinal Cortex and Other Cortical Regions in Recognition Memory and Perceptual Discrimination, Cerebral Cortex, 22(1): 74-85
28. Protzner, A.B., Valiante, T.A., Kovacevic, N., McCormick, C., McAndrews, M.P. (2010) Hippocampal Signal Complexity in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: A Noisy Brain is a Healthy Brain, Archives italiennes de biologie, 148(3):289-97
29. McCormick, C., Moscovitch, M., Protzner, A.B., Huber, C.G., McAndrews, M.P. (2010) Hippocampal-neocortical networks differ during encoding and retrieval of relational memory: Functional and effective connectivity, Neuropsychologia, 48(11): 3272-3281
30. Bengner, T., Fortmeier, C. et al. (2006), Sex differences in face recognition memory in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, generalized epilepsy and healthy controls. Epilepsy & Behavior, 9 (4): 593-600 [Under my maiden name Fortmeier]
