Stellvertretende Direktorin / Professur für Soziale Neurowissenschaften

Berufung auf eine W2 Professur für Soziale Neurowissenschaft am Institut für Psychosoziale Medizin und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Jena

Unabhängige Forschungsgruppenleiterin, Gruppe „Sozialer Stress und Familiengesundheit“, Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften, Leipzig

Gruppenleiterin, Social Stress Laboratory, Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften, Leipzig

Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin, Abteilung Soziale Neurowissenschaft, Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften, Leipzig

Postdoc, Douglas Mental Health University Institute und Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Kanada

Dr. rer. nat. in Psychologie: “Behavioral response to methylphenidate challenge: Influence of early life parental care and personality”, Abteilung für Klinische und Physiologische Psychologie, Universität Trier

Vordiplom in Psychologie, Universität Trier

Blasberg, J.U., Jost, J., Kanske, P., Engert, V. (2023). Empathic stress in the mother-child dyad: Multimodal evidence for empathic stress in children observing their mothers during direct stress exposure.. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001430

Blasberg, J.U., Gallistl, M., Degering, M., Baierlein, F., Engert, V. (2023). You look stressed: A pilot study on facial action unit activity in the context of psychosocial stress. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2023.100187

Köhne, S., Engert, V., & Rosendahl, J. (2023). Stability of resilience in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Personality and Mental Health, 17(1), 55-66. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmh.1560

Marheinecke, R., Strauss, B., & Engert, V. (2023). Visible wounds of invisible repression: A perspective on the importance of investigating the biological and psychological impact of political repression. Psychological Trauma. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001548

Uhlig, M., Reinelt, J.D., Lauckner, M.E., Kumral, D., Schaare, H.L., Mildner, T., Babayan, A., Möller, H.E., Engert, V., Villringer, A., & Gaebler, M. (2023). Rapid volumetric brain changes after acute psychosocial stress. Neuroimage, 265, 119760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119760

Blasberg, J. U., Kanske, P., Böckler, A., Trautwein, F. M., Singer, T., & Engert, V. (2022). Associations of social processing abilities with psychosocial stress sensitivity. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 12, 100159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100159

Chand, T., Alizadeh, S., Jamalabadi, H., Herrmann, L., Krylova, M., Surova, G., van der Meer, J., Wagner, G., Engert, V., & Walter, M. (2022). Corrigendum to "EEG revealed improved vigilance regulation after stress exposure under Nx4 - A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over trial" [IBRO Neurosci. Rep. 11C (2021) 175-182]. IBRO Neuroscience Report, 12, 81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibneur.2021.12.006

Hoehne, K., Vrticka, P., Engert, V./ T. Singer (2022). Plasma oxytocin is modulated by mental training, but does not mediate its stress-buffering effect. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 141, 105734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105734

Linz, R., Puhlmann, L.M.C., Engert, V./ T. Singer (2022). Investigating the impact of distinct contemplative mental trainings on daily life stress, thoughts and affect-Evidence from a nine-month longitudinal ecological momentary assessment study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 142, 105800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105800

Mayer, A.V., Preckel, K., Ihle, K., Piecha, F.A., Junghanns, K., Reiche, S., Rademacher, L., Müller-Pinzler, L., Stolz, D.S., Kamp-Becker, I., Stroth, S., Roepke, S., Küpper, C., Engert, V., Singer, T., Kanske, P., Paulus, F.M., & Krach, S. (2022). Assessment of reward-related brain function after a single dose of oxytocin in autism: a randomized controlled trial. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science, 2(2), 136-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.10.004

Chand, T., Alizadeh, S., Jamalabadi, H., Herrmann, L., Krylova, M., Surova, G., van der Meer, J., Wagner, G., Engert, V., & Walter, M. (2021). EEG revealed improved vigilance regulation after stress exposure under Nx4 – A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over trial. IBRO Neuroscience Reports, 11, 175-182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibneur.2021.09.002

Engert, V., Blasberg, J. U., Köhne, S., Strauss, B., & Rosendahl, J. (2021). Resilience and personality as predictors of the biological stress load during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany. Translational Psychiatry, 11(1), 443. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-021-01569-3

Linz, R., Pauly, R., Smallwood, J., & Engert, V. (2021). Mind-wandering content differentially translates from lab to daily life and relates to subjective stress experience. Psychological Research, 85(2), 649-659. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-019-01275-2

Puhlmann, L. M. C., Linz, R., Valk, S. L., Vrticka, P., Vos de Wael, R., Bernasconi, A., Bernasconi, N., Caldairou, B., Papassotiriou, I., Chrousos, G. P., Bernhardt, B. C., Singer, T., & Engert, V. (2021). Association between hippocampal structure and serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in healthy adults: A registered report. NeuroImage, 236, 118011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118011

Puhlmann, L. M. C., Vrticka, P., Linz, R., Stalder, T., Kirschbaum, C., Engert, V., & Singer, T. (2021). Contemplative Mental Training Reduces Hair Glucocorticoid Levels in a Randomized Clinical Trial. Psychosomatic Medicine, 83(8). https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000970

Engert, V., Grant, J. A., & Strauss, B. (2020). Psychosocial Factors in Disease and Treatment—A Call for the Biopsychosocial Model. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(10), 996-997. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0364

Engert, V., Linz, R., & Grant, J. A. (2019). Embodied stress: The physiological resonance of psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 105, 138-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.12.221

Linz, R., Puhlmann, L. M. C., Apostolakou, F., Mantzou, E., Papassotiriou, I., Chrousos, G. P., Engert, V., & Singer, T. (2019). Acute psychosocial stress increases serum BDNF levels: an antagonistic relation to cortisol but no group differences after mental training. Neuropsychopharmacology, 44(10), 1797-1804. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-019-0391-y

Przyrembel, M., Vrticka, P., Engert, V., & Singer, T. (2019). Loving-Kindness Meditation -- A Queen of Hearts?: A Physio-Phenomenological Investigation on the Variety of Experience. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 26(7-8), 95-129.

Puhlmann, L. M. C., Engert, V., Apostolakou, F., Papassotiriou, I., Chrousos, G. P., Vrtička, P., & Singer, T. (2019). Only vulnerable adults show change in chronic low-grade inflammation after contemplative mental training: evidence from a randomized clinical trial. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 19323. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55250-3

Puhlmann, L. M. C., Valk, S. L., Engert, V., Bernhardt, B. C., Lin, J., Epel, E. S., Vrticka, P., & Singer, T. (2019). Association of Short-term Change in Leukocyte Telomere Length With Cortical Thickness and Outcomes of Mental Training Among Healthy Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 2(9), e199687. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.9687

Singer, T., & Engert, V. (2019). It matters what you practice: differential training effects on subjective experience, behavior, brain and body in the ReSource Project. Current Opinion in Psychology, 28, 151-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.12.005

Engert, V., Kok, B. E., Puhlmann, L. M. C., Stalder, T., Kirschbaum, C., Apostolakou, F., Papanastasopoulou, C., Papassotiriou, I., Pervanidou, P., Chrousos, G. P., & Singer, T. (2018). Exploring the multidimensional complex systems structure of the stress response and its relation to health and sleep outcomes. Brain Behavior, and Immunity, 73, 390-402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2018.05.023

Engert, V., Ragsdale, A. M., & Singer, T. (2018). Cortisol stress resonance in the laboratory is associated with inter-couple diurnal cortisol covariation in daily life. Hormones and Behavior, 98, 183-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.12.018

Linz, R., Singer, T., & Engert, V. (2018). Interactions of momentary thought content and subjective stress predict cortisol fluctuations in a daily life experience sampling study. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 15462. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-33708-0

Miller, R., Wojtyniak, J. G., Weckesser, L. J., Alexander, N. C., Engert, V., & Lehr, T. (2018). How to disentangle psychobiological stress reactivity and recovery: A comparison of model-based and non-compartmental analyses of cortisol concentrations. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 90, 194-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.12.019

Engert, V., Kok, B. E., Papassotiriou, I., Chrousos, G. P., & Singer, T. (2017). Specific reduction in cortisol stress reactivity after social but not attention-based mental training. Science Advances, 3(10), e1700495. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700495

Dedovic, K., Giebl, S., Duchesne, A., Lue, S. D., Andrews, J., Efanov, S., Engert, V., Beaudry, T., Baldwin, M. W., & Pruessner, J. C. (2016). Psychological, endocrine, and neural correlates of attentional bias in subclinical depression. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 29(5), 479-496. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2015.1101457

Engert, V., Koester, A. M., Riepenhausen, A., & Singer, T. (2016). Boosting recovery rather than buffering reactivity: Higher stress-induced oxytocin secretion is associated with increased cortisol reactivity and faster vagal recovery after acute psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 74, 111-120. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.08.029

Radenbach, C., Reiter, A. M., Engert, V., Sjoerds, Z., Villringer, A., Heinze, H. J., Deserno, L., & Schlagenhauf, F. (2015). The interaction of acute and chronic stress impairs model-based behavioral control. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 53, 268-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.12.017

Steinbeis, N., Engert, V., Linz, R., & Singer, T. (2015). The effects of stress and affiliation on social decision-making: Investigating the tend-and-befriend pattern. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 62, 138-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.08.003

Dedovic, K., Duchesne, A., Engert, V., Lue, S. D., Andrews, J., Efanov, S. I., Beaudry, T., & Pruessner, J. C. (2014). Psychological, endocrine and neural responses to social evaluation in subclinical depression. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9(10), 1632-1644. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nst151

Engert, V., Merla, A., Grant, J. A., Cardone, D., Tusche, A., & Singer, T. (2014). Exploring the Use of Thermal Infrared Imaging in Human Stress Research. PLoS One, 9(3), e90782. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0090782

Engert, V., Plessow, F., Miller, R., Kirschbaum, C., & Singer, T. (2014). Cortisol increase in empathic stress is modulated by emotional closeness and observation modality. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 45, 192-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.04.005

Engert, V., Smallwood, J., & Singer, T. (2014). Mind your thoughts: associations between self-generated thoughts and stress-induced and baseline levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase. Biological Psychology, 103, 283-291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.10.004

Admon, R., Leykin, D., Lubin, G., Engert, V., Andrews, J., Pruessner, J., & Hendler, T. (2013). Stress-induced reduction in hippocampal volume and connectivity with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex are related to maladaptive responses to stressful military service. Human Brain Mapping, 34(11), 2808-2816. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22100

Engert, V., Efanov, S. I., Duchesne, A., Vogel, S., Corbo, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2013). Differentiating anticipatory from reactive cortisol responses to psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38(8), 1328-1337. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.11.018

Duchesne, A., Tessera, E., Dedovic, K., Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2012). Effects of panel sex composition on the physiological stress responses to psychosocial stress in healthy young men and women. Biological Psychology, 89(1), 99-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.09.009

Engert, V., Efanov, S. I., Dedovic, K., Dagher, A., & Pruessner, J. C. (2011). Increased cortisol awakening response and afternoon/evening cortisol output in healthy young adults with low early life parental care. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 214(1), 261-268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-010-1918-4

Engert, V., Vogel, S., Efanov, S. I., Duchesne, A., Corbo, V., Ali, N., & Pruessner, J. C. (2011). Investigation into the cross-correlation of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase responses to psychological stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 36(9), 1294-1302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.02.018

Dedovic, K., Engert, V., Duchesne, A., Lue, S. D., Andrews, J., Efanov, S. I., Beaudry, T., & Pruessner, J. C. (2010). Cortisol awakening response and hippocampal volume: vulnerability for major depressive disorder? Biological Psychiatry, 68(9), 847-853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.07.025

Engert, V., Buss, C., Khalili-Mahani, N., Wadiwalla, M., Dedovic, K., & Pruessner, J. C. (2010). Investigating the association between early life parental care and stress responsivity in adulthood. Developmental Neuropsychology, 35(5), 570-581. https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2010.494752

Engert, V., Efanov, S. I., Dedovic, K., Duchesne, A., Dagher, A., & Pruessner, J. C. (2010). Perceived early-life maternal care and the cortisol response to repeated psychosocial stress. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 35(6), 370-377. https://doi.org/10.1503/jpn.100022

Khalili-Mahani, N., Dedovic, K., Engert, V., Pruessner, M., & Pruessner, J. C. (2010). Hippocampal activation during a cognitive task is associated with subsequent neuroendocrine and cognitive responses to psychological stress. Hippocampus, 20(2), 323-334. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.20623

Lord, C., Engert, V., Lupien, S., & Pruessner, J. (2010). Striatal and hippocampal structural changes associated with estrogen therapy use in lifelong reproductive events. Menopause, 17, 846-851.

Dedovic, K., Duchesne, A., Andrews, J., Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2009). The brain and the stress axis: The neural correlates of cortisol regulation in response to stress. Neuroimage, 47, 864-871.

Dedovic, K., Rexroth, M., Wolff, E., Duchesne, A., Scherling, C., Beaudry, T., Lue, S. D., Lord, C., Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2009, Oct 13). Neural correlates of processing stressful information: an event-related fMRI study. Brain Research, 1293, 49-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2009.06.044

Dedovic, K., Wadiwalla, M., Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2009). The role of sex and gender socialization in stress reactivity. Developmental Psychology, 45(1), 45-55. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014433

Engert, V., Joober, R., Meaney, M. J., Hellhammer, D. H., & Pruessner, J. C. (2009). Behavioral response to methylphenidate challenge: influence of early life parental care. Developmental Psychobiology, 51(5), 408-416. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.20380

Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2008). Dopaminergic and noradrenergic contributions to functionality in ADHD: the role of methylphenidate. Current Neuropharmacology, 6(4), 322-328. https://doi.org/10.2174/157015908787386069

Pruessner, J. C., Dedovic, K., Khalili-Mahani, N., Engert, V., Pruessner, M., Buss, C., Renwick, R., Dagher, A., Meaney, M. J., & Lupien, S. (2008). Deactivation of the limbic system during acute psychosocial stress: evidence from positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Biological Psychiatry, 63(2), 234-240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.04.041

Dedovic, K., Renwick, R., Mahani, N. K., Engert, V., Lupien, S. J., & Pruessner, J. C. (2005). The Montreal Imaging Stress Task: using functional imaging to investigate the effects of perceiving and processing psychosocial stress in the human brain. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, JPN, 30(5), 319-325.

Gaab, J., Rohleder, N., Heitz, V., Engert, V., Schad, T., Schürmeyer, T. H., & Ehlert, U. (2005). Stress-induced changes in LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine production in chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 30(2), 188-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2004.06.008

Gaab, J., Engert, V., Heitz, V., Schad, T., Schürmeyer, T. H., & Ehlert, U. (2004). Associations between neuroendocrine responses to the Insulin Tolerance Test and patient characteristics in chronic fatigue syndrome. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 56(4), 419-424. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3999(03)00625-1

Hellhammer, J., Fries, E., Buss, C., Engert, V., Tuch, A., Rutenberg, D., & Hellhammer, D. (2004). Effects of soy lecithin phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylserine complex (PAS) on the endocrine and psychological responses to mental stress. Stress, 7(2), 119-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890410001728379

Gaab, J., Hüster, D., Peisen, R., Engert, V., Heitz, V., Schad, T., Schürmeyer, T., & Ehlert, U. (2003). Assessment of cortisol response with low-dose and high-dose ACTH in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy comparison subjects. Psychosomatics, 44(2), 113-119. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psy.44.2.113

Gaab, J., Rohleder, N., Heitz, V., Schad, T., Engert, V., Schürmeyer, T. H., & Ehlert, U. (2003). Enhanced glucocorticoid sensitivity in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 15(4), 184-191. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1601-5215.2003.00033.x

Gaab, J., Hüster, D., Peisen, R., Engert, V., Heitz, V., Schad, T., Schürmeyer, T. H., & Ehlert, U. (2002). Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity in chronic fatigue syndrome and health under psychological, physiological, and pharmacological stimulation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64(6), 951-962. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000038937.67401.61

Gaab, J., Hüster, D., Peisen, R., Engert, V., Schad, T., Schürmeyer, T. H., & Ehlert, U. (2002). Low-dose dexamethasone suppression test in chronic fatigue syndrome and health. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64(2), 311-318. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-200203000-00015