Press Releases

Depressed mood, quick temper, sleep problems, anxiety, feeling detached and barely able to cope with everyday life – women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a condition that causes great suffering for those affected, are familiar with all of these symptoms. It is known that the symptoms occur between ovulation and menstruation, but the cause is still largely unclear. Now, in a recent study, researchers led by Julia Sacher and Kim Carina Hoffmann from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the Department of Cognitive Neurology at the University of Leipzig Medical Center have shown that patients with PMDD have a blunted morning stress hormone response around the time of ovulation, in contrast to healthy women. In collaboration with colleagues at the Clinic and Polyclinic for Nuclear Medicine at University of Leipzig Medical Center and the Institute for Psychosocial Medicine, Psychotherapy, and Psycho-Oncology at Jena University Hospital, they further demonstrated that lower cortisol peaks towards the end of the cycle are associated with more depressive symptoms and increased serotonin transporter binding in the midbrain. more

We know this from sport or rehabilitation: if you imagine a movement and practise it with the corresponding kinaesthetic feeling in your head, you can often improve your performance. Magdalena Gippert, Arno Villringer, Bernhard Sehm and Vadim Nikulin from MPI CBS in Leipzig have now investigated whether imagining just a part of a motor sequence is sufficient to support the learning of the entire movement. They used an exoskeleton robot to measure the motor learning of the study participants. The results of the study now published in PNAS could, among other things, help to improve the recovery of motor skills after a stroke through targeted imagination training.
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How are the relations between different action plans organized and structured in the brain to support our rich behavioural repertoire? Irina Barnaveli and Christian Doeller together with Simone Viganò and Daniel Reznik from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and with Patrick Haggard from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, argue in their recent study that the brain organizes action-outcome associations in a cognitive map-like structure. The researchers further demonstrate in their study, published in Nature Communications, that these cognitive maps, located in the hippocampal system, communicate with the motor system during action evaluation, suggesting that goal-directed action planning skills rely on multiple neural systems.
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Bin Wan and Sofie Valk from MPI CBS together with colleagues from Research Center Jülich, Montréal Neurological Institute and Hospital, and University of Cambridge describe in their recently published study in Nature Communications to what extend the anatomy of the human cortex is different between left and right, at the finest scale to date. Moreover, they describe that microstructural asymmetry of the brain is heritable and corresponds to asymmetry of brain function at rest. And they demonstrate to what extend individuals show differences in brain structure between the left and right hemispheres related to inter-individual variability in language-related skills such as reading and mental health, such as anxiety.
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Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig (MPI CBS) have developed a novel, non-invasive method to record electrical activity in the human spinal cord with high precision and sensitivity. The reactions of the spinal cord to pain stimuli can also be measured more accurately, which could open up new avenues for pain research and potential clinical applications. The study was recently published in the journal PLOS Biology.
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Scientists around Malte Brammerloh and Evgeniya Kirilina from MPI CBS in Leipzig describe a new technique for measuring the magnetic properties of metals within cells in the Journal “Physical Review X”. The method is providing a powerful tool for studying how metal accumulation in cells contributes to certain diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. more

Feelings or emotions have not yet been systematically described in neuroscience. The best-known theories on why emotions significantly influence our brain and how they arise were put forward at the end of the 1970s. The Human Affectome Project has now presented a comprehensive and integrated model for emotions and feelings that is intended to serve as a common concept for affective research. Together with over 170 researchers from more than 20 countries, Matthias Schroeter and his team from MPI CBS report in the journal "Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews" on, among other things, which brain regions are involved in social emotions. more

In most decision-making situations we need to plan well ahead as values of choice options often change over time. How does our brain manage to make good predictions in such situations and select the best option for the future? Alexander Nitsch and Christian Doeller from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) investigated this together with Nicolas Schuck from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in their recent study published in Nature Communications.

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Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig have unearthed fascinating evidence that the brain undergoes important changes in wiring when we embark on the journey of learning a new language in adulthood. They organized a large intensive German learning program for Syrian refugees and studied their brains using advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), uncovering dynamic modulations in the wiring of crucial language regions that enabled them to communicate and think in the new language.
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Optimal windows exist for action and perception between the two consecutive heart beats, according to a study published in PLOS Biology by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) in Leipzig. The sequence of heart contraction and relaxation is linked to changes in the motor system and its ability to respond to stimulation, and this could have implications for treatment of depression and stroke.   more

The human brain is not fully developed at birth. Above all, it is still quite slow. Rapid brain activity, and thus the ability to process fast signals, only matures in the first years of life. In a study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig (MPI CBS) have shown for the first time that the slowness of the baby brain is crucial for the course of language acquisition. more

The human brain is not fully developed at birth. Above all, it is still quite slow. Rapid brain activity, and thus the ability to process fast signals, only matures in the first years of life. In a study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig (MPI CBS) have shown for the first time that the slowness of the baby brain is crucial for the course of language acquisition. more

Central learning and memory hubs change in response to sex hormones. A new study in Nature Mental Health by Rachel Zsido and Julia Sacher of MPI CBS and the University of Leipzig Medical Center links rhythmic oscillations in ovarian hormone levels in women during the menstrual cycle to changes in brain structure. more

Autism is a complex and multifaceted neurodevelopmental condition. Often, people with autism have altered information and perceptual processing in the brain, which alters the development of social interaction, communication and behavioural repertoires. Thus, compared to non-autistic individuals, they show subtle changes in the asymmetry of the brain structure and a lower laterality of functional activation, in terms of the use of the left or right hemisphere in the brain. Bin Wan and Sofie Valk from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig and Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany), together with international researchers from South Korea, UK, Switzerland, and Canada, have now investigated in a study whether such functional asymmetries in autism are indicative of altered systematic organisation in the brain in general. more

The Max Planck Society honours young scientists and researchers each year with the Otto Hahn Medal for outstanding scientific achievements. This year, Lara Puhlmann and Esra Al from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) won two of the coveted awards. more

Our mental health and that of our cardiovascular system have a complex interaction. A recent study from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) in Leipzig, Germany, now shows the links between higher blood pressure and depressive symptoms, well-being and emotion-related brain activity that may be relevant to the development of hypertension. more

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig have found evidence that the language we speak shapes the connectivity in our brains that may underlie the way we think. With the help of magnetic resonance tomography, they looked deep into the brains of native German and Arabic speakers and discovered differences in the wiring of the language regions in the brain. more

Scientists led by Julia Sacher from MPI CBS and Osama Sabri from the Leipzig University Hospital have discovered in an elaborate patient study that the transport of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain increases in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) shortly before menstruation. Their findings provide the basis for a more targeted therapy of this specific mood disorder, in which patients only have to take antidepressants for a few days. more

Anyone who has ever learned a foreign language knows how laborious it is to acquire vocabulary and grammar. In contrast, children acquire their first language seemingly effortlessly. By the age of four, many children are already speaking without errors and can draw on a large vocabulary. But how can the brain accomplish this? In a study published in the journal "Cerebral Cortex", scientists from MPI CBS now describe that the development of language ability in three to four year olds is accompanied by the maturation of brain areas within the same language network that is also responsible for understanding and producing language in adults. more

Communicating with babies in infant-directed-speech is considered an essential prerequisite for successful language development of the little ones. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences have now investigated how the mood of mothers in the postpartum period affects their child’s development. They found that even children whose mothers suffer from mild depressive mood that do not yet require medical treatment show early signs of delayed language development. The reason for this could be the way the women talk to the newborns. The findings could help prevent potential deficits early on. more