Welcome
We are using the framework of Bayesian inference and predictive processing to develop computational models for understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of cognitive processing in healthy brains, studying inter-individual differences using personality traits, and of potential cognitive alterations in psychiatric disorders, such as psychosis. The aim of our work is to build unifying models that allow translation between different cognitive domains such as decision making, language or memory processing and brain alterations. In our research, we therefore develop and apply computational models to novel behavioural paradigms, which combine different cognitive domains (e.g., language processing and episodic memory), and brain data (i.e., f/MRI, EEG, spectroscopy, PET).
People
Franziska Knolle. Franziska is the PI of the KnolleLab, which is based at the Department of Neuroradiology, School of Medicine and Health,Technical University of Munich. In June 2024, she completed her Habilitation in Neuroscience. She is also a former Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow and completed her PhD at the Max Planck Institute of Cognitive and Brain Science, Leipzig, Germany, with Sonja Kotz and Erich Schroeger on subcortical contributions to predictive processing in the sensory domain. After taking a break from academia to complete her medical undergraduate studies (Physikum) at the TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany, she took up a post-doc position with Jenny Morton on animal models for Huntington’s Disease at PDN, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. In 2017, she then joined the lab of Graham Murray and Paul Fletcher, both Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, to investigate dysfunctional mechanisms underlying psychotic symptoms, using fMRI and computational approaches.
Follow Franziska on Bluesky 🦋
Elisabeth Sterner. Elisabeth is doing her PhD, investigating the neural and temporal signatures of the use of prior knowledge during language processing in individuals with high schizotypy and autism using EEG, and fMRI. See more details …
Pritha Sen. Pritha is doing her PhD, using computational and machine learning models for exploring the risk for developing psychiatric disorders in large communal data sets.
Verena Demler. Verena is doing a medical research doctorate (MD sci.). She investigates association of glutamateric alterations and functional brain signatures in individuals with high schizotypy using fMRI and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.
Verena’s work is published in BMC Psychiatry and Scientific Reports
Zach Tefertiller. In his PhD, Zach aims to construct a predictive tool to estimate the likelihood of clinical presentations such as psychosis via a battery of cognitive tasks using computational frameworks such as active inference alongside and other statistical models.
Julia Kohler. Julia is doing a medical research doctorate (MD sci.), investigating the neural signatures of the use of prior knowledge during language processing in individuals with high schizotypy using fMRI. See more details …
Onur Icin. In his PhD, Onur focuses on the early detection of schizophrenia using MRI. His research combines multiple MRI imaging modalities to explore structural and functional brain changes. By correlating these imaging findings with cognitive data, Onur aims to identify predictive biomarkers of schizophrenia, enhancing the understanding of its neurobiological mechanisms and improving strategies for early diagnosis and intervention.
Miriam Langerbeck. In her PhD, Miriam is examining the neurobiology of apathy in schizophrenic individuals, by using MRI and computational models. Miriam aims to find subcortical biomarkers that are predictive for the development of apathy and developing non-invasive brain stimulation protocols for early treatment. This project is realised in close collaboration with Dr. Gerard Derosiere (LNRC).
Bruna Carvalho. Bruna is doing her PhD. Her project investigates the neural and computational bases underlying apathy in schizophrenia and schizotypy and explores potential ways to alleviate it via the use of computational modeling, brain stimulation, multimodal neuroimaging and online studies. This project is made in co-supervision with Dr. Gerard Derosiere (CNRL).
Daniel Zewen. Daniel is pursuing a medical doctorate. In his project, he is investigating how the semantic prior weight and levels of ACC glutamate measured with MR spectroscopy interact and change from a state of active psychosis to a state of psychotic remission.
Kevin Agboka. Kevin is a medical doctorate student. In his thesis project, he is exploring the differences in cortical metabolic profiles of individuals with high and low schizotypal traits, and linking them to different subclinical scores.
Katharina Schmitz. Katharina is a medical doctorate student. In her thesis project, she is investigating whether function connectivity gradients change from acute psychosis to psychotic remission, and how potential changes are linked to predictive language processing.
Katharina Vogl. Katharina is a medical doctorate student. In her thesis project, she is investigating how predictive language processing changes from acute psychosis to psychotic remission, and how potential changes are linked neurobiological brain alterations.
Current Master’s and Bachelor’s Students, and Interns
Yasin Öztürk, LMU (Bachelor’s student)
Sophia List, LMU (Intern)
Ilka Biemann, LMU (Master’s student)
Anastasia Borisov, LMU (Master’s student)
Miriam Langerbeck, Maastricht University (Master’s student)
Zlata Korneeva, LMU (Master’s student)
Mariya Khatava, LMU (Master’s student)
xxxx
Join the lab?
For prospective PhD students or PostDocs: Please get in contact for open positions. Also there are several great opportunities for funding (e.g., DFG, DAAD, Marie-Curie, Leopoldina, etc).
For Master students, HiWis, interns or summer students: Please get in contact directly (franziska.knolle at tum.de) to discuss opportunities.
Former Lab Members
Xiaowen Luo, University of Groningen, in her master’s thesis Xiaowen explored the link between ACC glutamate and the prior weight in chronic schizophrenia patients.
Simiao Xu. Simiao explored the associations between altered white matter connectivity and personality traits such as psychotic-like experiences and autistic traits.
Lea Zaric. Lea investigated the temporal signature of predictive language processing and exploring associations with schizotypic personality traits.
Viola von Heyden. For her bachelor thesis project she investigated reward processing in adolescents at risk for psychosis.
Alexia Pagkopoulou. In her Bachelor project she investigated temporal stabilities of predictions in language processing.
Clara Seifert. Clara investigated neural circuits of novelty and emotional salience processing in early early psychosis and Parkinson’s psychosis in her Master Thesis. She is now doing a PhD at the Chair of movement science supervised by Prof. J. Hermsdoerfer and PD Dr. A. Wohlschlaeger.
Madeleine Seitz. For her master thesis, Madeleine was studying cognitive and brain alterations in adolescents scoring high for prodromal psychosis using machine learning algorithms. She is now a clinical research coordinator at the LINC at the University of Pennsylvania.
Sarah Daimer. In her master’s project, she investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health using machine learning approaches. Sarah is now doing her training to become an approved psychotherapist.
Jolina Mueller-Chorus, Psychology, LMU, completed a master thesis in the lab
Clara Sowade, Psychology, LMU, completed a master thesis in the lab
Omar Darawasha, Biomedical Engineering, TUM, Summer Student
Current collaborators
Dr Helen Blank (UKE Hamburg) – Gerard Derosiere (Lyon Neuroscience Research Center) – Dr Kelly Diederen (King’s College London) – Prof Marta Garrido (University of Melbourne) – Dr Andrea Greve (MRC CBU) – Dr James Kesby (University of Queensland) – Prof Kathrin Koch (Technical University Munich) – Prof Sonja Kotz (Maastricht University) – Prof Chris Mathys (University of Aarhus) – Dr Lucy MacGregor (MRC CBU) – Dr Michael Moutoussis (UCL) – Prof Graham Murray (University of Cambridge) – Prof Al Powers (Yale University) – Prof Daniel Rueckert (Technical University Munich) – Dr Christian Sorg (Technical University Munich) – Dr Tommy Sprague (UC Santa Barbara) – Dr Veith Weilnhammer (UC Berkeley) – Dr Afra Wohlschlaeger (Technische University Munich)
Funding
franziskaknolle.com 