Department for Neuropsychology
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience
Faculty of Psychology
Ruhr University Bochum
Universitätsstr. 150
44801 Bochum
Room:
IB 6/185
Phone:
+49 (0)234 32-22674
Email:
nikolai.axmacher@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
How are experiences represented in the brain and transformed into memory traces? How do these experiences shape our identity? And how is memory compromised by trauma and Alzheimer's disease? In my group, we are investigating the neural foundations of memory functions and dysfunctions using cognitive neuroscience methods (EEG, fMRI at 3T and 7T, simultaneous EEG/fMRI, intracranial EEG, human single unit recordings). Neural network mechanisms are explored via distributed patterns of BOLD activity patterns and EEG oscillations.
I am particularly interested in the processing of specific experiences by the brain and how the resulting stimulus-specific representations can be decoded using algorithms from artificial intelligence and deep learning. We are investigating a wide range of memory processes (working memory, long-term memory, memory consolidation during resting state and sleep, autobiographical memory, social memory, repression). In addition, we are exploring the link between memory and spatial navigation, and how they are shaped by learning. Our vision is to track the brain mechanisms that support the transformation of perceptual representations into memory traces and their transformation during complex memory functions.
Bierbrauer, A., Fellner, M.‑C., Heinen, R., Wolf, O. T., & Axmacher, N. (2021). The memory trace of a stressful episode. Current Biology: CB, 31(23), 5204-5213.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.044
Ten Oever, S., Sack, A. T., Oehrn, C. R., & Axmacher, N. (2021). An engram of intentionally forgotten information. Nature Communications, 12(1), 6443. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26713-x
Bierbrauer, A., Kunz, L., Gomes, C. A., Luhmann, M., Deuker, L., Getzmann, S., Wascher, E., Gajewski, P. D., Hengstler, J. G., Fernandez-Alvarez, M., Atienza, M., Cammisuli, D. M., Bonatti, F., Pruneti, C., Percesepe, A., Bellaali, Y., Hanseeuw, B., Strange, B. A., Cantero, J. L., & Axmacher, N. (2020). Unmasking selective path integration deficits in Alzheimer's disease risk carriers. Science Advances, 6(35), eaba1394. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba1394
Fellner, M.‑C., Waldhauser, G. T., & Axmacher, N. (2020). Tracking Selective Rehearsal and Active Inhibition of Memory Traces in Directed Forgetting. Current Biology: CB, 30(13), 2638-2644.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.091
Lee, H., Stirnberg, R., Wu, S., Wang, X., Stöcker, T., Jung, S., Montag, C., & Axmacher, N. (2020). Genetic Alzheimer's Disease Risk Affects the Neural Mechanisms of Pattern Separation in Hippocampal Subfields. Current Biology: CB, 30(21), 4201-4212.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.042
Kunz, L., Wang, L., Lachner-Piza, D., Zhang, H., Brandt, A., Dümpelmann, M., Reinacher, P. C., Coenen, V. A., Chen, D., Wang, W.‑X., Zhou, W., Liang, S., Grewe, P., Bien, C. G., Bierbrauer, A., Navarro Schröder, T., Schulze-Bonhage, A., & Axmacher, N. (2019). Hippocampal theta phases organize the reactivation of large-scale electrophysiological representations during goal-directed navigation. Science Advances, 5(7), eaav8192. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav8192
Kunz, L., Maidenbaum, S., Chen, D., Wang, L., Jacobs, J., & Axmacher, N. (2019). Mesoscopic Neural Representations in Spatial Navigation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(7), 615–630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2019.04.011
Oehrn, C. R., Fell, J., Baumann, C., Rosburg, T., Ludowig, E., Kessler, H., Hanslmayr, S., & Axmacher, N. (2018). Direct Electrophysiological Evidence for Prefrontal Control of Hippocampal Processing during Voluntary Forgetting. Current Biology: CB, 28(18), 3016-3022.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.07.042
Zhang, H., Fell, J., & Axmacher, N. (2018). Electrophysiological mechanisms of human memory consolidation. Nature Communications, 9(1), 4103. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06553-y
Kunz, L., Schröder, T. N., Lee, H., Montag, C., Lachmann, B., Sariyska, R., Reuter, M., Stirnberg, R., Stöcker, T., Messing-Floeter, P. C., Fell, J., Doeller, C. F., & Axmacher, N. (2015). Reduced grid-cell-like representations in adults at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease. Science (New York, N.Y.), 350(6259), 430–433. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac8128
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Last update: Mar 04, 2024
