Andreas K. Engel

The research activities of Prof. Engel’s group focus on cognitive and sensorimotor functions, which are studied in humans and animal models using neurophysiological and neuroimaging techniques. Prof. Engel is one of the leading proponents of the so-called “temporal correlation model” of neural coding, which predicts that synchrony of neural signals may serve to coordinate the activity of large populations of neurons for the implementation of complex perceptual and cognitive processes. Over the last 20 years, Prof. Engel and his coworkers have made key contributions to the experimental validation of this model. The group is addressing the neural mechanisms underlying perceptual integration, sensorimotor integration, multisensory interactions, attentional control, response selection, perceptual decision making, agency, social cognition and awareness. Research of the group also focusses on the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia and autism. Moreover, the work of Prof. Engel’s group aims at establishing strong interdisciplinary links between neurophysiology, neuroimaging and technical applications (neuroprosthetics, brain-computer-interfaces, robotics), which have successfully been established already as part of several EU-funded IST projects (Amouse, POP, eSMCs, socSMCs) and networks (Neuro-IT, euCognition, euCogII, euCogIII).