Research projects

Basic Research

We aim to investigate whether non-invasive brain stimulation of specific structures modulates sleep-dependent neural activity and memory-related processes? We aim to investigate how the interaction between the orbitofrontal cortex and thalamus controls sleep-dependent memory formation in humans through specific sleep-specific brain activity patterns with the help of non-invasive brain stimulation.
More

We explore whether posterior slow-wave activity and dreaming are causally related, applying non-invasive auditory stimulation to locally modulate low-frequency brain oscillations during sleep.
More​​​​​​​

We aim to investigate how auditory stimulation can be used to modulate sleep-specific brain activity patterns to study the mechanisms underlying their generation and functional role in the human brain.
More

Methods development 

We develop machine-learning methods that analyze high-density EEG in real time and use it to guide closed-loop auditory stimulation during sleep. The goal is to selectively target functionally distinct slow-wave subtypes and to make non-invasive sleep modulation more precise.
More​​​​​​​

This project investigates how infraslow sigma power fluctuations organize sleep dynamics across development and in psychiatric conditions and how they can be reshaped through sleep modulation.
More

Development of artificial intelligence tools for automated detection of EEG events, such as epileptic spikes and deep sleep.
More

Overnight sleep EEG recordings with up to 256 channels produce enormous amounts of data, making artifact removal a major challenge. Hd-SleepCleaner is a free, open-source MATLAB tool with a graphical interface that makes this process transparent, practical, and time-efficient for sleep researchers.
More​​​​​​​

ScoringHero is a free, cross-platform application for visualizing long-term EEG recordings, scoring sleep stages, and annotating events such as sleep spindles, K-complexes, and artefacts – with built-in support for automatic sleep staging and automatic K-complex and sleep spindle detection.
More​​​​​​​

Develop novel mobile EEG technologies that enable the continuous assessment and targeted modulation of sleep in natural home environments, opening new opportunities to better understand sleep function and develop scalable approaches for diagnosis and therapy.
More​​​​​​​

Translational Research

We evaluate the therapeutic potential of modulating deep sleep in patients' homes using auditory stimulation to suppress slow-wave activity. This interdisciplinary project integrates multiple modalities to map the neurobiological signatures of antidepressant response.
More

We aim to investigate how school start time in the morning relates to sleep behavior, cognitive capacity, and physical as well as psychological health of adolescents.
More​​​​​​​

Sleep and epilepsy are closely linked, we therefore investigate if we can use non-invasive sleep modulation to reduce epileptic activity during the night.
More

This project investigates how psychosis is shaped by sleep, cognition and perception over time.
More​​​​​​​

We investigate how rehabilitation of walking abilities after a stroke or in Parkinson’s Disease can be enhanced through a combination of personalized gait training and soft sounds played during deep sleep.
More​​​​​​​

Can deeper sleep help young brains recover after concussion? Using home-based EEG monitoring and non-invasive acoustic stimulation, this study investigates whether enhancing slow-wave sleep can support recovery processes after traumatic brain injuries in children and adolescents.
More​​​​​​​

This study investigates whether sleep duration and sleep quality can buffer the negative effects of repeated subconcussive head impacts on cognitive performance in youth football players, using objective sleep monitoring and cognitive assessments across a full football season.

More