Pascal VRTICKA, PhD
Senior Researcher
Research Group “Social Stress and Family Health”
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Stephanstraße 1A
04103 Leipzig
Germany
Institute Website: 
Other Websites: ResearchGate; Linkedin; Frontiers, Academia
Email: 
General Overview of my Research
My interdisciplinary research is situated at the interface between developmental psychology and social (cognitive affective) neuroscience. I focus on normal as well as disturbed functioning of the human social brain, with a special interest in social interaction, caregiving, and attachment. I use several state-of-the-art social neuroscience techniques, among which three neuroimaging methods: (functional) magnetic resonance imaging ([f]MRI), functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning, and electroencephalography (EEG). I combine these neuroimaging methods with biological assessments ([epi]genetics, blood and saliva samples regarding immune system functioning and telomere length measurement), psychological self-report questionnaires, behavioral testing (age-appropriate narrative measures of attachment), as well as video-ratings. My participants are adults, adolescents, as well as children, both female and male, and most recently parent-child dyads – both fathers and mothers with their young children.
For more information on my research, feel free to explore the remaining pages of my website.
