Publications

Investigating the analytical robustness of the social and behavioural sciences

2026, Meta-Science (Methods) /

Finn Luebber from the Social Neuroscience Lab has participated in this meta-science project, which was now published at Nature   Title: Investigating the analytical robustness of the social and behavioural sciences Abstract: The same dataset can be analysed in different justifiable ways to answer the same research question, potentially challenging the robustness of empirical science1,2,3. […]

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No neurobehavioral evidence for reduced motivational potential of social rewards in alcohol use disorder during early abstinence

2026, Clinical, Social Reward /

The second paper of Yana Schwarze‘s PhD has been accepted and published at Cortex!   AbstractThe mesolimbic dopamine system plays a central role in motivating behavior. In alcohol use disorder (AUD), this system is thought to be dysfunctional, leading to hyperreactivity to alcohol-related cues. In contrast, evidence on how individuals with AUD respond to alcohol-unrelated reward

No neurobehavioral evidence for reduced motivational potential of social rewards in alcohol use disorder during early abstinence Read More »

Series of publications on systemic psychotherapy

2025, Clinical, Meta-Science (Implications) /

Three new papers and/or book chapters on discrimination critique in systemic psychotherapy by Jonathan Czollek have been published!  Check it out: Czollek, J. (2025). Ein vorläufiges Modell Diskriminierungskritischer Psychotherapie und Beratung. eine intersektionale und diversitätspsychologische Perspektive. In S. Saase, A. Namdiero-Walsh, S. Schlör & K. Dücker (Hrsg.), Intersektionalität in Therapie und Beratung: (Un)Möglichkeiten (S. 331-348). Nomos Verlag. Czollek, J., Dücker,

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The impact of memory training on abstinence among individuals with alcohol use disorder

2025, Clinical /

New paper by Maurice Cabanis et al. on “The impact of memory training on abstinence among individuals with alcohol use disorder‘!   Background: Chronic excessive alcohol consumption is associated with cognitive deficits. Patients with cognitive impairment, particularly memory deficits, may have difficulties in acquiring new semantic and procedural information which could affect the effectiveness of clinical

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Lottery before peer review is associated with increased female representation and reduced estimated economic cost in a German funding line

2025, Meta-Science (Implications) /

Abstract Research funding is a key determinant of scientific progress. However, current allocation procedures for third-party funding are criticized due to high costs and biases in the selection. Here, we present data from a large German funding organization on an implementation of a lottery-first approach followed by peer review to allocate funding. We examine the

Lottery before peer review is associated with increased female representation and reduced estimated economic cost in a German funding line Read More »

Altered association of plasmatic oxytocin with affective stress response in alcohol use disorder

Clinical, Hormones/Neuromodulators, Social Cognition /

New publication in Translational Psychiatry by Annalina Mayer and team members! In this study we examined whether baseline plasma oxytocin levels are associated with stress responses in early-abstinent individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and compared them to healthy controls. While oxytocin concentrations did not differ between groups, their associations with affective stress responses diverged:

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Initial expectations and confidence affect the formation of novel self-beliefs and their revision

2025, Social Learning /

Another long journey comes to a successful end with this publication!  Congratulations to Alexander Schröder for this great collaborative effort, which brings together Susanne Diekelmann (as part of the DFG-funded Research Group “Information abstraction during sleep”), Christoph Korn (University of Heidelberg; expert in computational modeling and belief updating), Lei Zhang (our group’s teacher and advisor

Initial expectations and confidence affect the formation of novel self-beliefs and their revision Read More »

Commentary on Cropp et al. (2025) Interpersonal Dynamics

2025, Clinical, Social Emotions, Social Learning /

Affected beliefs in interpersonal dynamics The target article “Interpersonal Dynamics” presents the centrality of interpersonal processes in the formation and maintenance of psychological dysfunction, as well as in therapeutic change. The authors emphasize that interpersonal patterns are not static traits but should rather be viewed and understood as dynamic, reciprocal processes shaped by past experiences

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Dopaminergic Mechanisms of Cognitive Flexibility: An [18F]Fallypride PET Study

2025, Hormones/Neuromodulators /

New paper by Lena Rademacher, published in Journal of Nuclear Medicine, from our group!   Abstract Cognitive flexibility is the ability to appropriately adapt one’s thinking and behavior to changing environmental demands and is conceptualized as an aspect of executive function. The dopamine system has been implicated in cognitive flexibility; however, a direct, that is,

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Contracted functional connectivity profiles in autism

2024, Clinical /

A new publication by Clara F. Weber from her time at the Multimodal Imaging and Connectome Analysis Laboratory (head: Prof Boris Bernhardt) at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University in Canada.    Objective Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that is associated with atypical brain network organization, with prior work suggesting differential connectivity

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