Research Interests
- The development of cortical organization and reorganization across the life span
- Posttraumatic alterations in cerebral organization
- Psychotherapeutic interventions in trauma-spectrum and stress related-disorders
- Mental health in conflict and crisis regions
- Neural basis and behavioural treatment of tinnitus
Curriculum Vitae
Thomas Elbert studied Psychology, Mathematics and Physics at the universities of Munich and Tübingen (PhD, 1978). He is currently Professor of Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology at the University of Konstanz, Germany. He is also a member of the International Neuropsychological Symposium, the German Academy of Science and president of the Italian branch of vivo (www.vivo.org). His more than 400 publications include methodological studies (e.g., applications of nonlinear systems theory to biological systems), investigations on the self-regulation of the brain, and on cortical organization, plasticity and their relation to behaviour and psychopathology. Based on progress in understanding the mechanisms of neuroplasticity, new treatment approaches for aphasia, tinnitus and focal dystonia have been developed in the Konstanz laboratory. Clinical psychological research has focused on the consequences of traumatic stress. Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), a culturally universal short-term intervention for the reduction of traumatic stress symptoms in survivors of organized violence, torture, war, rape, and childhood abuse was developed in collaboration with Dres. Frank Neuner and Maggie Schauer. This treatment has been field-tested in crisis regions in Africa and Asia. Associate Editorships (past and present) include Psychophysiology, J. Psychophysiology, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical engineering, BMC Neuroscience, BMC Psychiatry, Open Neuroscience, Scitizen and others.
Lectures
- Neuropsychology and Neurorehabilitation
- Introduction to Clinical Psychology
- Introduction to Psychopharmacology
- Psychosomatics and Behavioral Medicine
- Psychotraumatology
Miscellaneous
Co-editor: 'Psychophysiology', 'Journal of Psychophysiology', IEEE Transactions on Biomedical engineering', 'BMC Neuroscience', 'BMC Psychiatry', 'Open Neuroscience', 'Scitizen' and others.