I joined the lab in January 2021. Before that, I obtained my PhD from the Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, LMU Munich.

In my PhD project, I addressed whether external warning signals speed up the perceptual processing of visual information in healthy and pathological aging, and which intrinsic brain networks are associated with such phasic alerting effects.

When I am not at work, you can find me on my bicycle exploring one of Berlin’s many lakes or at home baking carrot cake.

You can find further information about me on my personal website: https://mhaupt.netlify.app

General research interests

I am generally interested in the plasticity of the spatio-temporal dynamics underlying visual processing. We know that visual representations are anything but static and I am, therefore, using different types of brain reorganisation, i.e., due to congenital blindness or healthy aging, as a window into exploring the plasticity of these representations. In this research, I use a combination of fMRI, EEG, multivariate pattern analysis methods and behavioural measures.

I am funded by Radek’s ERC grant (until April 2024) and I am currently working on two research projects.

Research projects

In my first project, I am addressing how the lack of input to the visual cortex affects object representations. More specifically, I am using multivariate pattern analysis on fMRI data to investigate the neural dynamics underlying word representations during listening and Braille reading in congenitally blind individuals.

In my second project, I am investigating how object representations change over the life span. In cooperation with Douglas Garrett at the Max Planck Institute for Lifespan Development Berlin, I am combining fMRI, EEG and behavioural data in order to determine where and when in the visual processing hierarchy potential age-related changes in object representations occur.

Student supervision & opportunities

I am currently supervising the lab rotations of KayLee Flower (M.Sc. Mind and Brain, Humboldt University of Berlin) and Paulina María Pineda Zenizo (M.Sc. Medical Neuroscience, Charité).