Die Weltgesundheitsorganisation hat Stress zu einer der größten Gesundheitsgefahren des 21. Jahrhunderts erklärt und geht davon aus, dass im Jahr 2020 jede zweite Krankmeldung auf Stress zurückzuführen sein wird. Paradoxerweise geschieht diese Entwicklung von Stress zur „Volkskrankheit“ zu einer Zeit, zu der klassische Stressoren wie die Bedrohung unserer körperlichen Unversehrtheit (z.B. durch körperliche Entbehrung oder natürliche Feinde) seltener geworden sind. Heute ist es die menschliche Neigung, aus rein psychosozialen Gründen Stress zu empfinden, die unser Stress-System chronisch aktiviert und uns in Folge dessen anfällig für stress-assoziierte Erkrankungen macht. Die Untersuchung des Stress-Systems im sozialen Kontext, und umgekehrt, wie soziale Faktoren genutzt werden können, um unser Stress-System positiv zu beeinflussen und folglich stress-assoziierte Krankheiten zu verhindern oder abzuschwächen, ist ein wichtiger Fokus der Forschungsgruppe.
Team
Katja Heilmann
The Influence of Sex- and Stress Hormones on Empathic Processing (SSHE)
Empathic Stress in Family System (EMILY)
Grundlagenwissenschaftliche Untersuchung zu den psychobiologischen Folgen von SED-Unrecht
Publikationen
2024
Wesarg-Menzel, C., Marheinecke, R., Staaks, J., & Engert, V. (2024). Associations of diurnal cortisol parameters with cortisol stress reactivity and recovery: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 163, 106976. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.106976
2023
Blasberg, J.U., Gallistl, M., Degering, M., Baierlein, F., Engert, V. (2023). You look stressed: A pilot study on facial action unit activity in the context of psychosocial stress. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2023.100187
Blasberg, J.U., Jost, J., Kanske, P., Engert, V. (2023). Empathic stress in the mother-child dyad: Multimodal evidence for empathic stress in children observing their mothers during direct stress exposure.. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001430
Degering, M., Linz, R., Puhlmann, L. M. C., Singer, T., & Engert, V. (2023). Revisiting the stress recovery hypothesis: Differential associations of cortisol stress reactivity and recovery after acute psychosocial stress with markers of long-term stress and health. Brain, Behavior, & Immunity-Health, 28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2023.100598
Engert, V., Hoehne, K., & Singer, T. (2023). Specific reduction in the cortisol awakening response after socio-affective mental training. Mindfulness, 14, 681-694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02074-y
Engert, V., Klimecki, O. M., Kanske, P., & the Mindful Universities Research Group (2023). Spreading positive change: Societal benefits of meditation. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1038051
Köhne, S., Engert, V., & Rosendahl, J. (2023). Stability of resilience in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Personality and Mental Health, 17(1), 55-66. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmh.1560
Konrad, A. C., Engert, V., Albrecht, R., Dobel, C., Döring, N., Haueisen, J., Klimecki, O., Sandbothe, M., & Kanske, P. (2023). A multicenter feasibility study on implementing a brief mindful breathing exercise into regular university courses. Scientific Reports, 13, 7908. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34737-0
Marheinecke, R., Strauss, B., & Engert, V. (2023). Visible wounds of invisible repression: A perspective on the importance of investigating the biological and psychological impact of political repression. Psychological Trauma. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001548
Uhlig, M., Reinelt, J.D., Lauckner, M.E., Kumral, D., Schaare, H.L., Mildner, T., Babayan, A., Möller, H.E., Engert, V., Villringer, A., & Gaebler, M. (2023). Rapid volumetric brain changes after acute psychosocial stress. Neuroimage, 265, 119760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119760
2022
Blasberg, J.U., Kanske, P., Böckler, A., Trautwein, F.M., Singer, T., & Engert, V. (2022). Associations of social processing abilities with psychosocial stress sensitivity. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 12, 100159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100159
Chand, T., Alizadeh, S., Jamalabadi, H., Herrmann, L., Krylova, M., Surova, G., van der Meer, J., Wagner, G., Engert, V., & Walter, M. (2022). Corrigendum to ""EEG revealed improved vigilance regulation after stress exposure under Nx4 - A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over trial"" [IBRO Neurosci. Rep. 11C (2021) 175-182]. IBRO Neuroscience Report, 12, 81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibneur.2021.12.006
Hoehne, K., Vrticka, P., Engert, V., & Singer, T. (2022). Plasma oxytocin is modulated by mental training, but does not mediate its stress-buffering effect. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 141, 105734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105734
Linz, R., Puhlmann, L.M.C., Engert, V., & Singer, T. (2022). Investigating the impact of distinct contemplative mental trainings on daily life stress, thoughts and affect-Evidence from a nine-month longitudinal ecological momentary assessment study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 142, 105800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105800
Mayer, A.V., Preckel, K., Ihle, K., Piecha, F.A., Junghanns, K., Reiche, S., Rademacher, L., Müller-Pinzler, L., Stolz, D.S., Kamp-Becker, I., Stroth, S., Roepke, S., Küpper, C., Engert, V., Singer, T., Kanske, P., Paulus, F.M., & Krach, S. (2022). Assessment of reward-related brain function after a single dose of oxytocin in autism: a randomized controlled trial. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science, 2(2), 136-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.10.004
2021
Chand, T., Alizadeh, S., Jamalabadi, H., Herrmann, L., Krylova, M., Surova, G., van der Meer, J., Wagner, G., Engert, V., & Walter, M. (2021). EEG revealed improved vigilance regulation after stress exposure under Nx4 – A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over trial. IBRO Neuroscience Report, 11, 175-182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibneur.2021.09.002
Engert, V., Blasberg, J., Köhne, S., Strauss, B., & Rosendahl, J. (2021). Resilience and personality as predictors of the biological stress load during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany. Translational Psychiatry, 11(1), 443. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-021-01569-3
Linz, R., Pauly, R., Smallwood, J., & Engert, V. (2021). Mind-wandering content differentially translates from lab to daily life and relates to subjective stress experience. Psychological Research, 85(2), 649-659. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-019-01275-2
Puhlmann, L.M.C., Linz, R., Valk, S.L., Vrticka, P., de Wael, R.V., Bernasconi, A., Bernasconi, N., Caldairou, B., Papassotiriou, I., Chrousos, G.P., Bernhardt, B.C., Singer, T., & Engert, V. (2021). Association between hippocampal structure and serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in healthy adults: A registered report. Neuroimage, 236, 118011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118011
Puhlmann, L.M.C., Vrticka, P., Linz, R., Stalder, T., Kirschbaum, C., Engert, V., & Singer, T. (2021). Contemplative mental training reduces hair glucocorticoid levels in a randomized clinical trial. Psychosomatic Medicine, 83(8), 894-905. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000970
2020
Engert, V., Grant, J., & Strauss, B. (2020). Psychosocial factors in disease and treatment – a call for the biopsychosocial model. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(10), 996-997. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0364
2019
Engert, V., Linz, R., & Grant, J. A. (2019). Embodied stress: The physiological resonance of psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 105, 138-146. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.12.221
Linz, R., Puhlmann, L. M. C., Apostolakou, F., Mantzou, E., Papassotiriou, I., Chrousos, G. P., Engert, V., & Singer, T. (2019). Acute psychosocial stress increases serum BDNF levels: an antagonistic relation to cortisol but no group differences after mental training. Neuropsychopharmacology, 44(10), 1797-1804. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-019-0391-y
Przyrembel, M., Vrticka, P., Engert, V., & Singer, T. (2019). Loving-Kindness Meditation -- A Queen of Hearts?: A Physio-Phenomenological Investigation on the Variety of Experience. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 26(7-8), 95-129.
Puhlmann, L. M. C., Engert, V., Apostolakou, F., Papassotiriou, I., Chrousos, G. P., Vrtička, P., & Singer, T. (2019). Only vulnerable adults show change in chronic low-grade inflammation after contemplative mental training: evidence from a randomized clinical trial. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 19323. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55250-3
Puhlmann, L. M. C., Valk, S. L., Engert, V., Bernhardt, B. C., Lin, J., Epel, E. S., Vrticka, P., & Singer, T. (2019). Association of Short-term Change in Leukocyte Telomere Length With Cortical Thickness and Outcomes of Mental Training Among Healthy Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 2(9), e199687. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.9687
Singer, T., & Engert, V. (2019). It matters what you practice: differential training effects on subjective experience, behavior, brain and body in the ReSource Project. Current Opinion in Psychology, 28, 151-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.12.005
2018
Engert, V., Kok, B. E., Puhlmann, L. M. C., Stalder, T., Kirschbaum, C., Apostolakou, F., Papanastasopoulou, C., Papassotiriou, I., Pervanidou, P., Chrousos, G. P., & Singer, T. (2018). Exploring the multidimensional complex systems structure of the stress response and its relation to health and sleep outcomes. Brain Behavior, and Immunity, 73, 390-402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2018.05.023
Engert, V., Ragsdale, A. M., & Singer, T. (2018). Cortisol stress resonance in the laboratory is associated with inter-couple diurnal cortisol covariation in daily life. Hormones and Behavior, 98, 183-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.12.018
Linz, R., Singer, T., & Engert, V. (2018). Interactions of momentary thought content and subjective stress predict cortisol fluctuations in a daily life experience sampling study. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 15462. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-33708-0
Miller, R., Wojtyniak, J. G., Weckesser, L. J., Alexander, N. C., Engert, V., & Lehr, T. (2018). How to disentangle psychobiological stress reactivity and recovery: A comparison of model-based and non-compartmental analyses of cortisol concentrations. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 90, 194-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.12.019
2017
Engert, V., Kok, B. E., Papassotiriou, I., Chrousos, G. P., & Singer, T. (2017). Specific reduction in cortisol stress reactivity after social but not attention-based mental training. Science Advances, 3(10), e1700495. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700495
2016
Dedovic, K., Giebl, S., Duchesne, A., Lue, S. D., Andrews, J., Efanov, S., Engert, V., Beaudry, T., Baldwin, M. W., & Pruessner, J. C. (2016). Psychological, endocrine, and neural correlates of attentional bias in subclinical depression. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 29(5), 479-496. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2015.1101457
Engert, V., Koester, A. M., Riepenhausen, A., & Singer, T. (2016). Boosting recovery rather than buffering reactivity: Higher stress-induced oxytocin secretion is associated with increased cortisol reactivity and faster vagal recovery after acute psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 74, 111-120. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.08.029
2015
Radenbach, C., Reiter, A. M., Engert, V., Sjoerds, Z., Villringer, A., Heinze, H. J., Deserno, L., & Schlagenhauf, F. (2015). The interaction of acute and chronic stress impairs model-based behavioral control. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 53, 268-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.12.017
Steinbeis, N., Engert, V., Linz, R., & Singer, T. (2015). The effects of stress and affiliation on social decision-making: Investigating the tend-and-befriend pattern. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 62, 138-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.08.003
2014
Dedovic, K., Duchesne, A., Engert, V., Lue, S. D., Andrews, J., Efanov, S. I., Beaudry, T., & Pruessner, J. C. (2014). Psychological, endocrine and neural responses to social evaluation in subclinical depression. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9(10), 1632-1644. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nst151
Engert, V., Merla, A., Grant, J. A., Cardone, D., Tusche, A., & Singer, T. (2014). Exploring the Use of Thermal Infrared Imaging in Human Stress Research. PLoS One, 9(3), e90782. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0090782
Engert, V., Plessow, F., Miller, R., Kirschbaum, C., & Singer, T. (2014). Cortisol increase in empathic stress is modulated by emotional closeness and observation modality. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 45, 192-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.04.005
Engert, V., Smallwood, J., & Singer, T. (2014). Mind your thoughts: associations between self-generated thoughts and stress-induced and baseline levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase. Biological Psychology, 103, 283-291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.10.004
2013
Admon, R., Leykin, D., Lubin, G., Engert, V., Andrews, J., Pruessner, J., & Hendler, T. (2013). Stress-induced reduction in hippocampal volume and connectivity with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex are related to maladaptive responses to stressful military service. Human Brain Mapping, 34(11), 2808-2816. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22100
Engert, V., Efanov, S. I., Duchesne, A., Vogel, S., Corbo, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2013). Differentiating anticipatory from reactive cortisol responses to psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38(8), 1328-1337. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.11.018
2012
Duchesne, A., Tessera, E., Dedovic, K., Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2012). Effects of panel sex composition on the physiological stress responses to psychosocial stress in healthy young men and women. Biological Psychology, 89(1), 99-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.09.009
2011
Engert, V., Efanov, S. I., Dedovic, K., Dagher, A., & Pruessner, J. C. (2011). Increased cortisol awakening response and afternoon/evening cortisol output in healthy young adults with low early life parental care. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 214(1), 261-268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-010-1918-4
Engert, V., Vogel, S., Efanov, S. I., Duchesne, A., Corbo, V., Ali, N., & Pruessner, J. C. (2011). Investigation into the cross-correlation of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase responses to psychological stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 36(9), 1294-1302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.02.018
2010
Dedovic, K., Engert, V., Duchesne, A., Lue, S. D., Andrews, J., Efanov, S. I., Beaudry, T., & Pruessner, J. C. (2010). Cortisol awakening response and hippocampal volume: vulnerability for major depressive disorder? Biological Psychiatry, 68(9), 847-853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.07.025
Engert, V., Buss, C., Khalili-Mahani, N., Wadiwalla, M., Dedovic, K., & Pruessner, J. C. (2010). Investigating the association between early life parental care and stress responsivity in adulthood. Developmental Neuropsychology, 35(5), 570-581. https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2010.494752
Engert, V., Efanov, S. I., Dedovic, K., Duchesne, A., Dagher, A., & Pruessner, J. C. (2010). Perceived early-life maternal care and the cortisol response to repeated psychosocial stress. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 35(6), 370-377. https://doi.org/10.1503/jpn.100022
Khalili-Mahani, N., Dedovic, K., Engert, V., Pruessner, M., & Pruessner, J. C. (2010). Hippocampal activation during a cognitive task is associated with subsequent neuroendocrine and cognitive responses to psychological stress. Hippocampus, 20(2), 323-334. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.20623
Lord, C., Engert, V., Lupien, S., & Pruessner, J. (2010). Striatal and hippocampal structural changes associated with estrogen therapy use in lifelong reproductive events. Menopause, 17, 846-851.
2009
Dedovic, K., Duchesne, A., Andrews, J., Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2009). The brain and the stress axis: The neural correlates of cortisol regulation in response to stress. Neuroimage, 47, 864-871.
Dedovic, K., Rexroth, M., Wolff, E., Duchesne, A., Scherling, C., Beaudry, T., Lue, S. D., Lord, C., Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2009, Oct 13). Neural correlates of processing stressful information: an event-related fMRI study. Brain Research, 1293, 49-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2009.06.044
Dedovic, K., Wadiwalla, M., Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2009). The role of sex and gender socialization in stress reactivity. Developmental Psychology, 45(1), 45-55. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014433
Engert, V., Joober, R., Meaney, M. J., Hellhammer, D. H., & Pruessner, J. C. (2009). Behavioral response to methylphenidate challenge: influence of early life parental care. Developmental Psychobiology, 51(5), 408-416. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.20380
2008
Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2008). Dopaminergic and noradrenergic contributions to functionality in ADHD: the role of methylphenidate. Current Neuropharmacology, 6(4), 322-328. https://doi.org/10.2174/157015908787386069
Pruessner, J. C., Dedovic, K., Khalili-Mahani, N., Engert, V., Pruessner, M., Buss, C., Renwick, R., Dagher, A., Meaney, M. J., & Lupien, S. (2008). Deactivation of the limbic system during acute psychosocial stress: evidence from positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Biological Psychiatry, 63(2), 234-240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.04.041
Dedovic, K., Renwick, R., Mahani, N. K., Engert, V., Lupien, S. J., & Pruessner, J. C. (2005). The Montreal Imaging Stress Task: using functional imaging to investigate the effects of perceiving and processing psychosocial stress in the human brain. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, JPN, 30(5), 319-325.
Gaab, J., Rohleder, N., Heitz, V., Engert, V., Schad, T., Schürmeyer, T. H., & Ehlert, U. (2005). Stress-induced changes in LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine production in chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 30(2), 188-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2004.06.008
2004
Gaab, J., Engert, V., Heitz, V., Schad, T., Schürmeyer, T. H., & Ehlert, U. (2004). Associations between neuroendocrine responses to the Insulin Tolerance Test and patient characteristics in chronic fatigue syndrome. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 56(4), 419-424. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3999(03)00625-1
Hellhammer, J., Fries, E., Buss, C., Engert, V., Tuch, A., Rutenberg, D., & Hellhammer, D. (2004). Effects of soy lecithin phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylserine complex (PAS) on the endocrine and psychological responses to mental stress. Stress, 7(2), 119-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890410001728379
2003
Gaab, J., Hüster, D., Peisen, R., Engert, V., Heitz, V., Schad, T., Schürmeyer, T., & Ehlert, U. (2003). Assessment of cortisol response with low-dose and high-dose ACTH in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy comparison subjects. Psychosomatics, 44(2), 113-119. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psy.44.2.113
Gaab, J., Rohleder, N., Heitz, V., Schad, T., Engert, V., Schürmeyer, T. H., & Ehlert, U. (2003). Enhanced glucocorticoid sensitivity in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 15(4), 184-191. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1601-5215.2003.00033.x
2002
Gaab, J., Hüster, D., Peisen, R., Engert, V., Heitz, V., Schad, T., Schürmeyer, T. H., & Ehlert, U. (2002). Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity in chronic fatigue syndrome and health under psychological, physiological stimulation. Psychosomatic medicine, 64(6), 951-962.
https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000038937.67401.61
Gaab, J., Hüster, D., Peisen, R., Engert, V., Schad, T., Schürmeyer, T. H., & Ehlert, U. (2002). Low-dose dexamethasone suppression test in chronic fatigue syndrome and health. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64(2), 311-318. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-200203000-00015
