Faculty member

Research Interests

Prof. Joseph Classen, chairman of the Dept. of Neurology, University Hospital of Leipzig, is interested in studying the principles of motor control and in the mechanisms of neuronal plasticity and motor learning. In particular, his group focusses on how neuronal plasticity can be harnessed in order to effectively ameliorate the symptoms of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. In addition, the lab aims at developing new methods of brain stimulation. Methods applied in Prof. Classen’s group include noninvasive brain stimulation (such as TMS and tDCS), as well as electroencephalography, psycho-physics, cinematography, and video recordings in both healthy individuals and in patients with neurological disorders.

Available PhD projects

Current projects are carried out in three key areas: non-invasive brain stimulation for the treatment of motor disorders (e.g., bradykinesia in Parkinson’s disease), including augmentation of training-induced plasticity in stroke; physiologically based strategies for fall prevention using sensor and stimulation technology; neurological dimensions of bodily cognition such as sensations of body ownership and sense of agency.