Research areas 
Research projects 
External funding 
Measuring instruments and procedures 
Scientific links

On-going research projects

• Psychoneurobiological mechanisms in essential hypertension and coronary heart disease (CHD)
  • Project 1 (longitudinal survey): Longitudinal and cross-sectional relationships between psychological factors, intermediary-biological cardiovascular risk factors and future CHD in patients, individuals with essential hypertension and healthy individuals
  • Project 2 (imaging study): Neural correlates of physiological hyperresponsiveness to stress in essential hypertension – an fMRI study
  • Project 3 (oxytocin study): The effects of social support and the dispensing of oxytocin on the physiological responsiveness to stress in essential hypertension
• The effects of alpha-adrenergic blockade on norepinephrine-induced changes in blood lipids, procoagulant activity, and inflammatory cytokines in essential hypertension

Completed research projects

• Can dark chocolate protect against stress? The effects of a single serving of dark chocolate on psychobiological stress reactivity in humans
• The effects of a three-months-long Taiji intervention on psychobiological stress reactivity - a randomised controlled study
• Inventory for assessment of stress management skills (ISBF): Psychometric and endocrine validation of a questionnaire to determine perceived stress management skills
• Determinants and correlates of physiological stress reactivity
• Overcommitment to work: Psychobiological correlatives in excessive willingness to overexert oneself
• BNP and Neuroimmune Characteristics of Chronic Heart Failure and Depression
• Stress and flight safety: The influence of psychosocial stress on the ability to identify dangerous items during airport security checks
• Melatonin and psychobiological stress reactivity – does melatonin protect against stress?
• Occupational stress management: Evaluation of stress management training in occupational contexts
• Functionality of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in essential hypertension: Cortisol response to awakening and negative feedback sensitivity
• Hypertension and stress: Psychobiological factors of stress reactivity in essential hypertension
• Work and health - mechanisms: Glucocorticoid sensitivity of proinflammatory cytokine release among stressed employees of a southern German aircraft manufacturing company with increased risk of cardiovascular disease
• Working conditions and health: Correlations between vital exhaustion and working conditions among stressed employees of an aircraft manufacturing company