Lifespan Neuroscience Research Group

Overview

Our group studies how aging influences cognition and emotion using behavioral tools, peripheral physiology as well as structural and functional neuroimaging methodologies. We have a major current focus being the differentiation between successful and non-successful aging with respect to cognitive and emotional health. Both seem to be maintained by compensatory and adaptive mechanisms in response to age-related life and brain changes. We want to know how the brain contributes to this adaptation and whether/why this adaptation is lacking in non-successful aging like late-life depression and older people with cognitive impairment. Accordingly, in our current intervention studies we investigate whether it is possible to boost cognitive and emotional resilience in aging. In this context, as part of the SFB TR 134, we are interested in the effects of weight and eating behavior on neurobehavioral functions across the life-span and how such effects can be modulated by dietary intervention.

  • Staff

    • Emotion regulation and self-control across the life-span
    • Metabolic and cognitive control of eating behavior
    • Age-effects of eating behavior on homeostatic, cognitive and neural functions
    • Decision making and aging, e.g. delay discounting, food choice
    • Autobiographical memory and regret regulation
    • Enhancement of mental and physical health in older age

  • Tiedemann LJ, Schmid SM, Hettel J, Giesen K, Francke P, Büchel C, Brassen S (2017) Central insulin modulates food valuation via mesolimbic pathways. Nature Communications 8:16052

    Sasse LK, Peters J, Büchel C, Brassen S: Effects of prospective thinking on intertemporal choice: The role of familiarity. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36(10):4210-21.

    Brassen S, Gamer M, Peters J, Gluth S, Büchel C: Don't look back in anger! Responsiveness to missed chances in successful aging. Science 2012; 336(6081):612-4

    Brassen S, Gamer M, Büchel C: Anterior cingulate activation is related to a positivity bias and emotional stability in successful aging. Biol Psychiatry 2011; 70(2):131-7

    Brassen S, Gamer M, Rose M, Büchel C: The influence of directed covert attention on emotional face processing. Neuroimage 2010; 50(2):545-51

    Brassen S, Büchel C, Weber-Fahr: Structure-funktion interactions of correct retreaval in healthy elderly women. Neurobiol Aging 2009; 30(7):1147-56

    Brassen S, Kalisch R, Weber-Fahr W, Braus DF, Büchel C: Ventromedial prefrontal cortex processing during emotional evaluation in late-life depression: a longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Biol Psychiatry 2008; 64(4):349-55

  • SFB TRR-134 Ingestive Behaviour: Homeostasis and Reward, Project C03 The influence of weight and weight loss on homeostatic, mnestic and reward-related brain circuits in older adults

    DFG Research Grant Decision making in successful aging: Influence of temporal distance and socioemotional relevance (BR2877/2-2)

    DFG Research Grant Emotional processing in successful aging and late-life depression (BR2877/2-1)

    DFG Research Grant Decision making in successful aging: Influence of temporal distance and socioemotional relevance (BR2877/2-2)

    Young Scientist Grant UKE Multimodal neuroimaging study for the early detection of preclinical dementia (FFM F-154)

  • Poster award 2016 of the German Psychological Society (DGPs; Section Biological Psychology) for the poster “"Insulin resistance and central insulin effects on food liking”" (Lena Tiedemann)

    New Investigator Travel Award 2016 of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB) in recognition of research project presentation at the 24th Annual Meeting of the SSIB, Porto, Portugal (Lena Tiedemann)

    Travel Award 2013 of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in recognition of research project presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, USA (Laura Sasse)

    Paper of the Month (POM) 2009 awarded by the Medial School of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf for the paper Brassen et al.: "“Don’t look back in anger! Responsiveness to missed chances in successful and nonsuccessful aging”", published in Science

    Faculty Young Investigator Grant 2005 of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (Stefanie Brassen)