Ärztliche Leiterinin:   Prof. Dr. med. Sabine C. Herpertz
Psychologische Leiterin: Dr. rer. nat. Dipl.-Psych. Katja Bertsch
Mitarbeiter: Dr. med. Haang Jeung, Falk Mancke, Dr. med. Andrea Sauter, Dr. med. Ilinca Schmidinger, Dr. phil. Dipl.-Psych. Ruth Schmitt

We study neurobiological underpinnings of disorders of social interaction as they are particularly characteristic of personality disorders. We are interested in the contributions of basic psychological functions, such as social cognitive capabilities, affect regulation, and impulse control to adaptive and maladaptive social interaction, i.e., approach and attachment on the one hand and avoidance and aggression on the other. We use a translational approach that focuses on multimodal imaging and neuropeptides with neurobiological research being based on phenomenological psychopathology and the development of suitable experimental paradigms found in psychology and psychopathology. Our aim is to better understand the mechanisms that underlie psychic disorders and that could be the target of novel treatment strategies, in the realm of psychotherapy in particular.

Studies in Progress:

• Gender-specific effects of oxytocin
  
  
• Social cognition and empathy in borderline personality disorder – the role of the amygdala and the modulatory effect of oxytocin 
  
  
• Neuronal correlates of implicit and explicit affect regulation strategies
  
  
• Hypersensitivity to social threat, anger, and (auto)aggression in patients with borderline personality disorder
  
  
• Behavioral and neural effects of mothers' history of childhood abuse on the interaction with their child - a study on the intergenerational cycle of violence

The following methods are applied:

• Structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
  
  
• Neuroendocrinology
  
  
• Psychophysiology (electrodermal activity, electrocardiography, elektromyography)
  
  
• Neurophysiology (electroencephalography, event-related potentials)
  
  
• Eyetracking
  
  
• Experimental psychopathology