Arbeitsbereich Emotionspsychologie und affektive Neurowissenschaft

Research Assistant

Approximately 5-17% of people living in Germany have difficulty in reading, although their IQ does not differ from normal or lies even above average and they feature normal hearing and sight. This phenomenon is called dyslexia. To what extent genetics influence dyslexia remains unclear.

Within the framework of a multi-methodological and model-led "imaging genetic" approach our project aims to explain the influence of geneson structuralproperties of the brain as well on cognitive processes underlying global reading performance. For that purpose we calculatefrom the subjects' genotypean Individual Reading-Associated Genetic Score (IRAGS). The IRAGS will be further correlated with the subjects‘ behavioral, neuroanatomic (structural) as well as physiological (functional)neuro-cognitive data.

A combination of genetic analyses and imaging techniques will provide a broad understanding of reading skills - from genes through brain function to sub-processes of global reading performance. This should provide a basis for the development of disease-specific diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

Nikulin VV, Kegeles J, Curio G. Miniaturized electroencephalographic scalp electrode for optimal wearing comfort. Clin Neurophysiol. 2010 Jul; 121(7):1007-14.