Martin Sölch Chantal
Group Leader
Dr. Phil. Chantal Martin Sölch
Name of the Institution
University Hospital Zurich, Department of Psychiatry
National Institutes of Mental Health, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program
Street
Culmannstrasse 8
City
Zurich
Phone
+41-44-255 96 68
Group Members
Sonja Schumacher, dipl.-psych., scientific collaborator
Christoph Müller, Dr. med., scientific collaborator
Joanna Szczepanik, MA, research assistant/PhD student (NIMH)
Krystle Barhaghi, BA, research assistant (NIMH)
Main Field(s) of Research, Abstract
The main field of our research is the investigation of the neural mechanisms of reward processing and emotional regulation. A special emphasis is given to the role of dopamine and of the mesolimbic dopamine system in these processes. We are particularly interested in the understanding of the neural circuitry involved in reward in healthy subjects and in the examination of the function of the cerebral reward system in different psychiatric conditions, including drug dependence and depression. More recently, we began to investigate the function of the reward system in resilience after stress exposure. We use methods of the cognitive and behavioural neurosciences including measures of the activity of the autonomous (psychophysiology) and of the central nervous system, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional Magnetic Resonance (fMRI).
Main Fields of Research, Keywords
Affective and cognitive neurosciences, motivation, emotion, reward, dopamine, striatum, cerebral reward system, addiction, depression, PTSD
Special Techniques and Equipment
We use PET (positron emission tomography) and fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery). We have an experimental labor for the recording of the activity of the activity of the autonomous nervous system (respiration, heart rate, electrodermal activity, electromyogramm)
Education and Training
We have trainig opportunities for PhD students, for medical dissertations and for psychology diploma and master students.
Selected Publications
Künig G, Leenders KL, Martin-Soelch C, Missimer, J., Magyar S, Schultz W. (2000). Reduced reward processing in the brains of Parkinsonian patients. Neuroreport,11, 3681-3687.
Martin-Soelch C, Magyar S, Künig G, Missimer J, Schultz W, Leenders K. (2001). Changes in brain activation associated with reward processing in smokers and nonsmokers: a PET study. Experimental Brain Research. 139, 278-286.
Martin-Soelch C, Chevalley A-F, Kuenig G, Missimer, J, Magyar S, Mino, A, Schultz, W, Leenders KL. (2001) Changes in reward-induced brain activation in opiate addicts. Eur J of Neurosci, 14, 1360-8.
Albani G, Kunig G, Martin-Soelch C, Mauro A, Priano L, Martignoni E, Leenders KL (2001). The role of language areas in motor control dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. Neurological Science, 22, 43-44.
Martin-Soelch C, Leenders KL, Chevalley A-F, Missimer, J, Künig G, Magyar S, Mino, A, Schultz, W. (2001). Reward mechanisms in the brain and their role in dependence: Evidence from neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies. Brain Res Rev., 36(2-3):139-49
Martin-Soelch C, Missimer, J., Leenders KL, Schultz W. (2003). rCBF changes related to the processing of increasing reward. Eur. J. Neurosci, 18, 680-688.
Albani G, Sandrini G, Kunig G, Martin-Soelch C, Mauro A, Pignatti R, Pacchetti C, Dietz V, Leenders KL.(2003). Differences in the EMG pattern of leg muscle activation during locomotion in Parkinson's disease. Funct Neurol. 18(3):165-70
Keitz, M., Martin-Soelch, C. & Leenders K.L. (2003). Reward processing in the Brain: a prerequisite for movement preparation? Neural Plast. 10(1-2), 121-8
Martin-Soelch, C, Stöcklin, M, Dammann, G. , Opwis, K., Seifritz, E. (2006). Anxiety modulates the psychophysiological reactions, but not the habituation associated with affective sounds. Int. J. Psychophysiol., 61, 87-97.
Martin-Soelch, C & Ernst, M. (2007). Appetitive conditioning: neural bases and implications for psychopathology. Neurosci Biobehav Rev., 31(3):426-40
Wittmann, L., Moergeli, H., Martin-Soelch, C., Znoj, H., Schnyder, U. (2008) Comorbidity in posttraumatic stress disorder: a structural equation modelling approach. Compr Psychiatry, 49(5),430-40.
Martin-Soelch, C, Kobel, M,, Stoecklin, M., Michael, T, Weber, S, Krebs, B, Opwis, K. (2007). Reduced response to reward in smokers and cannabis users, Submitted.
Funding
National Alliance for Research in Depression and Schizophrenia (NARSAD), Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft Basel
URL
http://www.psychiatrie.usz.ch
http://intramural.nimh.nih.gov/mood/investigators/martin-soelch.htm
Link to "Forschungsdatenbank" of the University
http://www.research-projects.uzh.ch/p9424.htm
http://www.research-projects.uzh.ch/p9425.htm