Prof. Dr. Notger Müller
Group Leader
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
Leipziger Straße 44 / Haus 15
39120 Magdeburg
notger.mueller(at)dzne.de
+49 (0) 391 / 67-24517
+49 (0) 391 / 67-24528
More information
Areas of investigation/research focus
- Fig. 1: A measurement of hippocampal volume in a patient with mild cognitive impairment
There is growing evidence that effective treatment of dementia should start as early as possible, that is before a large number of nerve cells have died and the patient shows significant clinical symptoms. For such an early diagnosis we today still lack unambiguous biomarkers that could serve as indicators of an impending dementia.
Therefore, our group focuses on searching for such markers. We use new behavioral tests and advanced imaging techniques such as 7 Tesla high-field MRI.
A second focus of our group is on the development of prophylactic therapies such as a combined memory and movement training. It is known that such training can at least delay the signs of dementia. We study how combined cognitive and physical training over a 12-week period affects the memory of subjects with mild cognitive impairment. Thereby, improvements in memory performance and simultaniousy an increase in hippocampal volume (key brain structure for the memory) and the functional plasticity of the brain through MRI were shown.
In addition, we test for blood flow in vessels (perfusion MRI) and changes in biological markers (nerve growth factors). The aim of the study is to investigate how a training should optimally be set up - is an endurance training or a complex training required for a compensation of the dysfunction? Shoul this be combined with a cognitive training and should this be focused more on improving the disturbed functions or the compensation by other functions? How important is the social componentof such training?
- Fig. 2: Brain activation when processing a memory task and under the administration of a cholinesterase inhibitor, a drug that is used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease
An understanding of normal brain function is a prerequisite for understanding cognitive disorders. Therefore, a third focus of our group is on attention and working memory processes in healthy individuals. We intend to examine the hypothesis that the individual capacity of the more dopamine-dependent working memory is strongly correlated with the cholinergic-mediated ability to ignore irrelevant information through selective attention. To this end, behavioral (by distractors caused errors) and neurophysiological markers of selection ability (N2pc from EEG / MEG, modulation of fMRI responses in visual cortex) are set in relation to the individual capacity of working memory and its neurophysiological correlates (contralateral delay activity in the EEG / MEG , parietal activation in fMRI).
In addition to healthy people, also patients with cholinergic and dopaminergic deficits (incipient Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease) or lesions in brain structures critical for attention filtering and working memoryare tested. We have already investigated patients with circumscribed brain damage after stroke and were able to show which brain structures are critical for filtering attention and working memory storage. We also investigate to which extent polymorphisms in genes coding for the cholinergic or dopaminergic system and the structural integrity of the cholinergic basal forebrain or the dopaminergic midbrain can influence selection or memory capacities. Moreover, we test how these capacities can be improved by medications that specifically raise the level of neurotransmitters.
Cooperation partners of the group:
- Prof. Dr. Stefan Pollmann, Institute for Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
- Dr. Dr. Bernhard Baier, Clinic and Out-Patients' Clinic for Neurology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Publications
Pusher syndrome: its cortical correlate.
Baier B, Janzen J, Müller-Forell W, Fechir M, Müller N, Dieterich M. J Neurol. 2012 Feb;259(2):277-83. Epub 2011 Aug 10.
Repetition suppression vs. enhancement – it’s quantity that matters.
NG Müller, H Strumpf, M Scholz, B Baier, L Melloni; Cerebral Cortex, in press.
Interaction between Bottom-up Saliency and Top-down Control: How Saliency Maps Are Created in the Human Brain.
L Melloni, S van Leeuwen, A Alink, NG Müller; Cerebral Cortex, in press.
Frühdiagnose der möglichen Alzheimer-Erkrankung anhand neuer Forschungskriterien.
Bittner D, Müller NG (2010), Klin. Neurophysiol. 2010; 41: 106-115
Keeping memory clear and stable – the contribution of human basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex to working memory.
Baier B, Karnath H-O, Dieterich M, Birklein F, Heinze C, Müller NG (2010), J Neurosci 30(29):9788 –9792.
Anatomical correlate of impaired covert visual attentional processes in patients with cerebellar lesions.
Baier B, Dieterich M, Stoeter P, Birklein F, Müller NG (2010), J Neurosci 30:3770-3776.
The blind, the lame, and the poor signals of brain function--a comment on Sirotin and Das (2009).
Kleinschmidt A, Müller NG (2009), Neuroimage 50:622-625.
Emotional content does not interfere with verbal memory in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.
Müller NG, Wohlrath B, Kopp UA, Lengler U (2009), Epilepsy & Behavior, 15:367-371.
Exploring BOLD changes during spatial attention in non-stimulated visual cortex.
Heinemann L, Kleinschmidt A, Müller NG (2009), PLoS ONE ; 4(5):e5560.
The effects of implicit attentional learning and habituation on inhibition of return.
Wolf K, Ebeling D, Müller NG (2009), Attention, Perception & Psychophysics 71(1): 26-41.
The attentional blink modulates activity in the early visual cortex.
Hein G, Alink A, Müller NG (2009), J Cogn Neurosci; 21(1): 197-206.
Attention modulated activity in early visual cortex - more than a simple spotlight.
Müller NG & Ebeling D (2008), NeuroImage; 40( 2): 818-827
Competing neural responses for auditory and visual decisions.
Hein G., Alink A, Müller NG (2007), PLoS ONE 2(3): e320.
Temporal dynamics of the attentional spotlight: Neuronal correlates of attentional capture and inhibition of return in early visual cortex.
Müller NG, Kleinschmidt A (2007), J Cog Neurosci 19: 587-593.
Cross-modal processing in early visual and auditory cortices depends on the statistical relation of multisensory information.
Baier B, Kleinschmidt A, Müller NG (2006), J Neurosci; 26(47):12260-5.
The functional neuroanatomy of working memory - contributions of human brain lesion studies.
Müller NG, Knight RT (2006), Neuroscience; 139: 51-8.
The attentional field has a Mexican hat distribution.
Müller NG, Mollenhauer M, Rösler A, Kleinschmidt A (2005b), Vision Res; 45:1129-1137.
Interactions between task difficulty and hemispheric distribution of attended locations: implications for the splitting attention debate.
Müller NG, Kraft A, Hagendorf H, Schira MM, Dick S, Fendrich RM, Brandt SA (2005c), Brain Res Cogn Brain Res 24:19-32.
The Attentional 'Spotlight's' Penumbra: Center-surround Modulation in Striate Cortex.
Müller NG, Kleinschmidt A (2004), Neuroreport ;15(6):977-980.
The functional neuroanatomy of visual conjunction search: a parametric fMRI study.
Müller NG, Donner TH, Bartelt OA, Brandt SA, Villringer A, Kleinschmidt A (2003), NeuroImage. 20(3):1578-90.
Dynamic interaction of object- and space-based attention in retinotopic visual areas.
Müller NG, Kleinschmidt A (2003), J Neurosci, 23(30):9812-6.
Visual search in healthy persons and Alzheimer's patients: relating cognitive function to clinical practice.
Rösler A, Müller NG (2003), Nervenarzt; 74(10):863-8.
A physiological correlate of the "Zoom Lens" of visual attention.
Müller NG, Bartelt OA, Donner TH, Villringer A, Brandt SA (2003), J Neurosci, 23(9):3561-5.
Age related changes in fronto-parietal networks during spatial memory. An ERP Study.
Müller NG, Knight RT (2002), Cog Brain Res, 13(2):221-34.
Contributions of subregions of the prefrontal cortex to working memory: Evidence from brain lesions in humans.
Müller NG, Machado L, Knight RT (2002), J Cog Neurosci, 1, 4(5):673-86.
Interactions of localized cortical lesions with error processing: evidence from event-related brain potentials.
Ullsperger U, von Cramon DY, Müller NG (2002), Neuropsychology,16(4):548-61.