Research group: Psychology of breathlessness
| Head of group: |
PD Dr. Andreas von Leupoldt
Psychologist
Principal Investigator of Heisenberg Research Group |
Overview
Our group studies the interactions between psychology and respiratory system with a specific focus on the perception of breathlessness (also termed dyspnea or air hunger). Breathlessness is the subjective experience of breathing discomfort and is an unpleasant and threatening cardinal symptom in respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but also in other disorders including anxiety disorders. Breathlessness is associated with great individual burden and functional limitations, but it also motivates adequate disease behavior such as proper medication use or physician visits.
We are specifically interested in how psychological factors such as affective states, personality traits, learning or social aspects interact with the subjective experience and the neural processing of breathlessness. Using a multi-modal approach we study these interactions in healthy individuals and patients with respiratory disease, both in the lab and in clinical settings. Our methods spectrum includes behavioral studies, exercise tests, peripheral psychophysiological measurements, functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography.
Research topics
- Neural processing of breathlessness in health and respiratory disease
- Impact of emotions on subjective perception/neural processing of breathlessness
- Impact of social aspects, genetic polymorphisms and rehabilitation on perceived breathlessness
- Depression, anxiety and information processing in asthma and COPD
- Subjective perception and neural processing of pain
Key publications
- von Leupoldt, A., Brassen, S., Baumann, H.J., Klose, H. & Büchel, C.: Structural brain changes related to disease duration in patients with asthma. PLoS One 2011; 6(8):e23739
- von Leupoldt, A., Taube, K., Lehmann, K., Fritzsche, A. & Magnussen, H.: The impact of anxiety and depression on outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD. Chest 2011; 140:730-736
- von Leupoldt, A., Chan, P.S., Bradley, M.M., Lang, P.J. & Davenport, P.W.: The impact of anxiety on the neural processing of respiratory sensations. Neuroimage 2011; 55:247-252
- von Leupoldt, A., Vovk, A., Bradley, M.M., Keil, A., Lang, P.J. & Davenport, P.W.: The impact of emotion on respiratory-related evoked potentials. Psychophysiology 2010; 47:579-586
- von Leupoldt, A., Sommer, T., Kegat, S., Eippert, F., Baumann, H.J., Klose, H., Dahme, B. & Büchel, C.: Down regulation of insular cortex responses to dyspnea and pain in asthma. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2009; 180:232-238
- von Leupoldt, A., Sommer, T., Kegat, S., Baumann, H.J., Klose, H., Dahme, B. & Büchel, C.: Dyspnea and pain share emotion-related brain network. Neuroimage 2009; 48:200-206
- von Leupoldt, A., Sommer, T., Kegat, S., Baumann, H.J., Klose, H., Dahme, B. & Büchel, C.: The unpleasantness of perceived dyspnea is processed in the anterior insula and amygdala. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2008; 177:1026-1032
- Schön, D., Rosenkranz, M., Regelsberger, J., Dahme, B., Büchel, C. & von Leupoldt, A.: Reduced perception of dyspnea and pain after right insular cortex lesions. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2008; 178:1173-1179
