UKB |

The research group investigates the neural and psychophysiological basis of sensory and multisensory information processing in various mental disorders. The focus is on the processing of multimodal stimuli and their relationship to attention, executive control, and clinical symptoms.

Methodologically, multimodal imaging techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), functional and structural connectivity, and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), are combined with electrophysiological and psychophysiological paradigms. The goal is to clarify the extent to which sensory processing is related to symptom severity, cognitive functions, comorbidities, and developmental trajectories.

Another focus is on the development, standardization, and validation of experimental stimulus materials for clinical research on affective disorders and emotional dysregulation.

The research group aims to better understand transdiagnostic mechanisms of sensory and affective information processing and to derive robust experimental markers for psychopathology and neurobiology from these findings, which could potentially be utilized for diagnostic and intervention approaches.

Team

Dr. Marcel Schulze (Management)
Annika Reher (research associate, PhD Candidate)
Lara Strauß (research associate, PhD Candidate, Erlangen)
Monnar Quattom (master student Mind and Brain Programm, Humboldt-Universität Berlin)
Dr. Tatiana Goregliad Fjaellingsdal (research associate)
Lena Siepe (research assistant)

External Funding

“Multisensory Integration in Adult ADHD” – Collaborative Research Grants with the University of St Andrews (2025–2026)
“Validation of the Emotional Picture Set of Self-Injury (EPSI) for the Study of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Behavior in Borderline Personality Disorder” – Funding for Clinical Trials (2025–2028)
“Investigating the Limits of Multisensory Integration in Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)” – DFG Research Grant (2026–2029)
“Auditory Attention in Everyday Situations in Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)” – Else Kröner Fresenius Foundation (2026–2029)

Cooperations

Dr. Carlos López-Pinar, Department of Psychology, European University of Valencia
Dr. Hugo Morandini, Division of Psychiatry, UWA Medical School, Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia,
Dr. Thomas Otto, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews
PD Dr. Philipp Spitzer, Prof. Johannes Kornhuber, Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Prof. Daniel Senkowski, Computational Neuroimaging und AG Multisensorische Integration, Charité Berlin
Prof. Dave Coghill, Department of Paediatric, University of Melbourne
Prof. Kai Vogeley, AG Soziale Kognition, Universitätsklinikum Köln
Prof. Tim Silk, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne
Prof. Tony Stöcker, Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen Bonn

Awards

World Federation ADHD – Young Scientists’ Award 2021 (Projekt: Multisensory integration in adult ADHD)
World Federation ADHD – Young Scientists’ Award 2023 (Projekt: Quantitative Susceptibility mapping in children with ADHD)

Publications (Selection)

Schulze, M., Immel, D., Rosen, H., Aslan, B., Lux, S., & Philipsen, A. (2025). Examining the Triad of Sensory Processing, ADHD Symptoms, and Executive Functioning in Adults with ADHD: Evidence from a Multi-Measure Assessment. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 101002.
Ostinelli, E. G., Schulze, M., Zangani, C., Farhat, L. C., Tomlinson, A., Del Giovane, C., ... & Cortese, S. (2025). Comparative efficacy and acceptability of pharmacological, psychological, and neurostimulatory interventions for ADHD in adults: a systematic review and component network meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 12(1), 32-43.
Schulze, M., Coghill, D., Lux, S., Philipsen, A., & Silk, T. (2025). Assessing brain Iron and its relationship to cognition and comorbidity in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder with quantitative susceptibility mapping. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 10(6), 597-606.
Unterschemmann, S. L., Mueller, E. M., Lux, S., Philipsen, A., & Schulze, M. (2025). First evaluation of the emotional picture set of self-injury images (EPSI) using psychophysiological and self-report measures. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 12(1), 27.
Schulze, M., Aslan, B., Farrher, E., Grinberg, F., Shah, N., Schirmer, M., ... & Philipsen, A. (2023). Network-Based Differences in Top–Down Multisensory Integration between Adult ADHD and Healthy Controls—A Diffusion MRI Study. Brain Sciences, 13(3), 388.
Schramm, M., Goregliad Fjaellingsdal, T., Aslan, B., Jung, P., Lux, S., Schulze, M., & Philipsen, A. (2023). Electrophysiological evidence for increased auditory crossmodal activity in adult ADHD. Frontiers in neuroscience, 17, 1227767.
Schulze, M., Aslan, B., Stöcker, T., Stirnberg, R., Lux, S., & Philipsen, A. (2021). Disentangling early versus late audiovisual integration in adult ADHD: a combined behavioural and resting-state connectivity study. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 46(5), E528-E537.
full list on Google Scholar