Stellvertretende Direktorin / Professur für Soziale Neurowissenschaften
Prof. Engert besetzt seit Oktober 2019 die W2 Professur für Soziale Neurowissenschaften am Institut für Psychosoziale Medizin, Psychotherapie und Psychoonkologie.
Forschungsschwerpunkte
- Chronischer Stress und Vulnerabilität: Einfluss früher Lebenserfahrungen auf stress-regulatorische Systeme
- Stressresonanz: Physiologische Grundlage und Mechanismen der Stressansteckung
- Plastizität des Stress Systems: Protektive Eigenschaften von Trainingsinterventionen und endogenen Markern (Oxytozin, BDNF, Telomerlänge)
- Weiterentwicklung stress-abhängiger Methodologie: Untersuchung der Multidimensionalität des Stress Systems
(Details zu den einzelnen Schwerpunkten siehe Forschung)
Methoden
- Verhalten (experimental, experience-sampling)
- Peripherphysiologie (autonome, endokrine und immunologische Erhebungen mittels EKG, Speichel- und Blut Proben)
- Bildgebung (Thermographie, strukturelle Magnetresonanztomographie)
Werdegang
2019 |
Berufung auf eine W2 Professur für Soziale Neurowissenschaft am Institut für Psychosoziale Medizin und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Jena |
seit 2019 |
Unabhängige Forschungsgruppenleiterin, Gruppe „Sozialer Stress und Familiengesundheit“, Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften, Leipzig |
2016-2018 |
Gruppenleiterin, Social Stress Laboratory, Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften, Leipzig |
2010-2016 |
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin, Abteilung Soziale Neurowissenschaft, Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften, Leipzig |
2007-2010 |
Postdoc, Douglas Mental Health University Institute und Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Kanada |
2006 |
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 |
2002-2006 | Doktorandin, Abteilung für Klinische und Physiologische Psychologie, Universität Trier |
2002 | Diplom in Psychologie: “Stress reactivity in traumatized adolescents after the experience of severe childhood abuse”, Abteilung für Klinische und Physiologische Psychologie, Universität Trier |
1999 |
Vordiplom in Psychologie, Universität Trier |
Publikationen
2023 | |
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. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119760 | |
2022 | |
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 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. doi: 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. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105734 Köhne, S., Engert, V., & Rosendahl, J. (2022). Stability of resilience in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Personality and Mental Health. doi: 10.1002/ pmh.1560 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. doi: 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. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.10.004 |
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2021 | |
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/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/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://journals.lww.com/psychosomaticmedicine/Fulltext/2021/10000/Contemplative_Mental_Training_Reduces_Hair.10.aspx |
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2020 | |
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 |
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2019 | |
Engert, V., Linz, R., & Grant, J. A. (2019). Embodied stress: The physiological resonance of psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 105, 138-146. https://doi.org/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 |
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2018 | |
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 |
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2017 | |
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 |
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2016 | |
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 |
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2015 | |
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 |
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2014 | |
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 |
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2013 | |
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 |
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2012 | |
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 |
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2011 | |
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 |
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2010 | |
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. |
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2009 | |
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 |
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2008 | |
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 |
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2005 | |
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 |
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2004 | |
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 |
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2003 | |
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 |
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2002 | |
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 |
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