JenTower Seminar Room

Research Seminar "Research Seminars on Person Perception and Social Interaction: Current Topics in Autism Research"

Open Research Seminar taking place once a month, featuring discussions on current research from the Research Units Team or topics brought forward from external speakers.
JenTower Seminar Room
Image: Simone Dahmen
Information

If you would like to participate or be included in the mailing list for the research seminar, please contact Andrea Kowallik (andrea.kowallik@uni-jena.de) or our office at sekretariat.allgpsy@uni-jena.de

You can receive the slides/materials from talks held in the seminar by inquiring at the office, or directly with the speaker.

What is our Research Seminar?

The Research Seminar Research Seminars on Person Perception and Social Interaction: Current Topics in Autism Research is an open Research Seminar concurring once a month on Fridays, 9-11am. We use the meeting room on the 18th floor of the JenTower (south). The content is a mixture of presentations by students and researchers on Autism-related topics of interest or on their own research, and discussions of interesting publications in this area. Additionally, we sometimes have talks by external speakers.

Confirmed dates and events will be announced at the beginning of each term.

This course is primarily for Ph.D. candidates and post-docs, but a limited number of spaces are available for students with a special interest in the topic and members of the public.

List of topics of previous talks (not exhaustive)

  • low functioning ASD
  • current therapy for ASD (early intervention, therapy for adults, pharmacological therapy, etc.)
  • learning mechanisms in ASD
  • schizophrenia versus autismus: The Hypo-Hyper-Intentionality hypothesis
  • psycho-social functioning and life satisfaction in adults with ASD
  • reduced cortical thickness in children with ASD
  • prospective memory in ASD
  • savant abilities in ASD
  • the role of testosterone in ASD
  • emotion regulation in ASD
  • face processing in ASD
  • autism and art (art therapy)
  • autism in other species (mice, rats, birds, dogs, non-human primates)

Talks from previous Semesters, by term

  • Summer Term 2023
    • 16.06.2023            Topic: “Scotopic Sensitivity in Autism”, presented by Vivian Werner
      • Ludlow, A. K., Giannadou, A., Franklin, A., Allen, P. M., Simmons, D. R., & Wilkins, A. J. (2020). The possible use of precision tinted lenses to improve social cognition in children with autism spectrum disorders. Vision Research, 170, 53-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2020.03.007External link
    • 02.06.2023            Topic: “Investigating Mu Rhythm and Its Source Localization During the Observation of Human Social Interaction and Biological Movement in Young Adults with Autism”, presented by MD Samaneh Dastgheib
    • 12.05.2023          Topic: “Autism and Attachment disorders”
      • Davidson, C., O’Hare, A., Mactaggart, F., Green, J., Young, D., Gillberg, C., & Minnis, H. (2015). Social relationship difficulties in autism and reactive attachment disorder: Improving diagnostic validity through structured assessment. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 40, 63-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2015.01.007External link
      • Davidson, C., Moran, H., & Minnis, H. (2022). Autism and attachment disorders–how do we tell the difference?. BJPsych Advances, 28(6), 371-380. https://doi.org/10.1192/bja.2022.2External link
    • 21.04.2023          Organizational Meeting
  • Winter Term 2022/23
    • 24.03.2023           Autism Network Meeting
    • 24.03.2023            Topic: “Transcranial electrical stimulation in ADHD and ASD”, presented by Prof. Kerstin Krauel (Head of Research and Teaching of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic at the University Hospital in Magdeburg)
    • 10.02.2023           Preliminary Data Presentation: “Autism and Social Perception”, presented by Andrea Kowallik, MD Samaneh Dastgheib
    • 13.01.2023            Topic: “Clockwork Thoughts & Visual Silence: The challenges and complexities faced when autism and deafness coexist”, presented by Omar Edrees
      • Young, A., Ferguson-Coleman, E., Wright, B., & Le Couteur, A. (2019). Parental conceptualizations of autism and deafness in British deaf children. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 24(3), 280-288. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enz002External link
      • Allgar, V., Wright, B., Taylor, A., Couter, A. L., & Phillips, H. (2021). Diagnosing autism spectrum disorders in deaf children using two standardised assessment instruments: The ADIR-Deaf adaptation and the ADOS-2 Deaf adaptation. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10(19), 4374. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10194374External link
    • 02.12.2022            Christmas Special: TEDx Talk “Music as a window into the Autistic mind”
    • 11.11.2022            Autism Network Meeting
    • 11.11.2022            Topic: “Autism and Brain Asymmetries”, presented by Vivian Werner
      • Floris, D. L., Wolfers, T., Zabihi, M., Holz, N. E., Zwiers, M. P., Charman, T., … & Wooldridge, C. (2021). Atypical brain asymmetry in autism—a candidate for clinically meaningful stratification. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 6(8), 802-812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.08.008External link
    • 04.11.2022           Topic: “Transgender and Autism”, presented by Prof. Florian Zepf, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital of Jena
    • 21.10.2022            Organizational Meeting
  • Summer Term 2022
    • 01.07.2022          Topic: “Cultural and contextual effects on autism diagnoses”
      • de Leeuw, A., Happé, F., & Hoekstra, R. A. (2020). A conceptual framework for understanding the cultural and contextual factors on autism across the globe. Autism Research, 13(7), 1029-1050. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2276External link
    • 03.06.2022          Topic: “The effects of Autism on Voice Memory”, presented by Prof. David Feinberg from McMaster University, Canada
      • in collaboration with the Voice Research Unit
    • 20.05.2022          Topic: “Machine-Learning Based Analysis of Empathy in Real-Time Social Interactions”, presented by Cem Doğdu
      • Original research: Doğdu, C., Kessler, T., Schneider, D., Shadaydeh, M., Schweinberger, S.R. (2022). A comparison of machine learning algorithms and feature sets for automatic vocal emotion recognition in speech. Sensors, 22, 7561. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22197561External link
    • 13.05.2022          Neurofeedback Workshop
    • 29.04.2022          Organizational Meeting
  • Winter Term 2021/22
    • 04.02.2022           Topic: “Gender differences in ADI-R”, presented by Rebecca Wientzek
      • Beggiato, A., Peyre, H., Maruani, A., Scheid, I., Rastam, M., Amsellem, F., … & Delorme, R. (2017). Gender differences in autism spectrum disorders: Divergence among specific core symptoms. Autism Research, 10(4), 680-689. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1715External link
    • 14.01.2022           Autism Network Meeting
    • 14.01.2022           Topic: “Synchronization-based dance/movement therapy”, presented by Nerea Aizpurua
      • Koehne, S., Behrends, A., Fairhurst, M. T., & Dziobek, I. (2016). Promoting social cognition through an imitation and synchronization-based dance/movement intervention in adults with autism spectrum disorder: A controlled proof-of-concept study. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 85(1), 27-35. https://doi.org/10.1159/000441111External link
    • 10.12.2021           Christmas Special: Short film “Signale” (“signals”) and discussion with producer Louis Bennies
    • 12.11.2021           Topic: “Language use and the appropriate way to talk about individuals with autism (in autism research)”
      • Vivanti, G. (2020). Ask the editor: What is the most appropriate way to talk
         about individuals with a diagnosis of autism?. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50, 691–693. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04280-xExternal link
      • Botha, M., Hanlon, J. & Williams, G.L. (2021). Does language matter? Identity-first versus person-first language use in autism research: A response to Vivanti. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04858-wExternal link
      • Lei, J., Jones, L., & Brosnan, M. (2021). Exploring an e-learning community’s response to the language and terminology use in autism from two massive open online courses on autism education and technology use. Autism, 25(5), 1349–1367. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361320987963External link
      • Bury, S.M., Jellett, R., Spoor, J.R. et al. (2020). “It defines who I am” or “It’s something I have”: What language do [autistic] Australian adults [on the autism spectrum] prefer?. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04425-3External link
      • Fletcher-Watson, S., Bölte, S., Crompton, C. J., Jones, D., Lai, M.-C., Mandy, W., Pellicano, L., Stahmer, A., Taylor, J., & Mandell, D. (2021). Publishing standards for promoting excellence in autism research. Autism, 25(6), 1501–1504. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211019830External link
    • 05.11.2021           Autism Network Meeting
    • 22.10.2021           Organizational Meeting
  • Summer Term 2020
    • 03.07.2020          Topic: “Design of intervention studies”
    • 12.06.2020          Autism Network Meeting
    • 08.05.2020          Topic: “Consequences of the pandemic on people with ASD”
      • Keypaper: Narcisi, Antonio (2020): Handle the Autism Spectrum Condition during Coronavirus (COVID-19) Stay at Home Period: Ten Tips for Helping Parents and Caregivers of Young Children. Brain Sciences, 10(4), 207;https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10040207
      • Keypaper: Yarımkaya, E., & Esentürk, O. K. (2020). Promoting physical activity for children with autism spectrum disorders during Coronavirus outbreak: benefits, strategies, and examples. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2020.1756115
    • 24.05.2020          Cancelled
  • Winter Term 2019/20
    • 21.02.2020                Autism Network Meeting 
    • 24.01.2020                Topic: “ASD Einzeltherapie-Ansatz nach Dziobek”
      • Keypaper: Dziobek, I., Stoll, S., & Lipinski, S. (2019). Hochfunktionaler Autismus bei Erwachsenen : ein kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutisches Manual / Isabel Dziobek und Sandra Stoll ; unter Mitarbeit von Silke Lipinski: Ein kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutisches Manual (1. Auflage.). Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer.
    • 13.12.2019                 Christmas Special: “The public image of autism fueled by the media”
    • 22.11.2019                 Topic: “Mu rhythm enhancement versus suppression-neurofeedback training in ASD” presented by Samaneh Dastgheib
      • Keypaper: de Vega, M., Padrón, I., Moreno, I. Z., García‐Marco, E., Domínguez, A., Marrero, H., & Hernández, S. (2019). Both the mirror and the affordance systems might be impaired in adults with high autistic traits. Evidence from EEG mu and beta rhythms. Autism Research.
      • Keypaper: Friedrich, E. V., Sivanathan, A., Lim, T., Suttie, N., Louchart, S., Pillen, S., & Pineda, J. A. (2015). An effective neurofeedback intervention to improve social interactions in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 45(12), 4084-4100.
      • Keypaper: García Vite, T. K., Ayala Guerrero, F., Mateos Salgado, E. L., & Cebreros Paniagua, R. (2018). Characterization of the Mu rhythm during the sleep of children with autism spectrum disorder level 1. Salud Mental, 41(3), 109-116.
      • Keypaper: Pineda, J. A., Carrasco, K., Datko, M., Pillen, S., & Schalles, M. (2014). Neurofeedback training produces normalization in behavioural and electrophysiological measures of high-functioning autism. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 369(1644), 20130183.
    • 25.10.2019                  Topic: Coordination meeting
  • Summer Term 2019
    • 12.04.2019          Topic: “Summing up pre-/neonatal and early childhood brain growth and ASD”
      • Keypaper:  Blanken, L. M., Dass, A., Alvares, G., van der Ende, J., Schoemaker, N. K., El Marroun, H., … & Dissanayake, C. (2018). A prospective study of fetal head growth, autistic traits and autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 11(4), 602-612.
      • Keypaper: Bonnet‐Brilhault, F., Rajerison, T. A., Paillet, C., Guimard‐Brunault, M., Saby, A., Ponson, L., … & Roux, S. (2018). Autism is a prenatal disorder: Evidence from late gestation brain overgrowth. Autism Research, 11(12), 1635-1642.
    • 24.05.2019          Topic: “Overarousal hypotheses/ socioaffective-excitatory/inhibitory-imbalance model”
      • Keypaper:  Hadjikhani, N., Zurcher, N. R., Lassalle, A., Hippolyte, L., Ward, N., & Johnels, J. Å. (2017). The effect of constraining eye-contact during dynamic emotional face perception—an fMRI study. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 12(7), 1197-1207.
    • 05.07.2019          Topic: “Relationships between ASD, emotion recognition and autonomic measures”
      • Keypaper:  Bal, E., Harden, E., Lamb, D., Van Hecke, A. V., Denver, J. W., & Porges, S. W. (2010). Emotion recognition in children with autism spectrum disorders: Relations to eye gaze and autonomic state. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 40(3), 358-370.
    • 26.07.2019          Topic: “Neurofeedback and HRV biofeedback” presented by Andy Schumann
      • Keypaper:  Lehrer, P. M., & Gevirtz, R. (2014). Heart rate variability biofeedback: how and why does it work?. Frontiers in psychology, 5, 756.
      • Keypaper:  Mather, M., & Thayer, J. F. (2018). How heart rate variability affects emotion regulation brain networks. Current opinion in behavioral sciences, 19, 98-104.
  • Winter Term 2018/19
    • 08.02.2019            Topic: “Abnormal brain growth in autism”
      • Keypaper: Courchesne, E., Campbell, K., Solso, S. Brain growth across the life span in autism: Age-specific changes in anatomical pathology. Brain Research, 1380:138-45, 2011
    • 25.01.2019          Topic: “BDNF- Brain Drive Neurotrophic Factor- A biomarker for ASD?” presented by Samaneh Dastgheib
      • Keypaper: Qin, X., Feng, J., Cao, C., Wu, H., Loh, Y., and Cheng, Y. (2016). Association of peripheral blood levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor with autism spectrum disorder in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. 170. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.1626
      • Keypaper: Saghazadeh, A., and Rezaei, N. (2017). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in autism: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 47. doi: 10.1007/s10803-016-3024-x
    • 14.12.2018          Christmas Special
    • 16.11.2018           Topic: “Imitation and emotion recognition in ASD” presented by Andrea Kowallik
      • Keypaper: Michael B. Lewis & Emily Dunn (2017) Instructions to mimic improve facial emotion recognition in people with sub-clinical autism traits, The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70:11, 2357-2370, DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2016.1238950
    • 26.10.2018          Topic: “Pupillometry and ASD” presented by Helene Kreysa and Dana Schneider
      • Keypaper: Nuske et al.: Reactivity to fearful expressions of familiar and unfamiliar people in children with autism: an eye-tracking pupillometry study. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders 2014 6:14. doi:10.1186/1866-1955-6-14
      • Keypaper: Nuske HJ, Vivanti G, Dissanayake C. Others’ emotions teach, but not in autism: an eye-tracking pupillometry study. Mol Autism. 2016;7(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s13229-016-0098-4
  • Summer Term 2018
    • 28.09.2018           Topic: “Repetition suppression in autism and schizophrenia” presented by  Prof. Gyula Kovacs
      • Keypaper: Wacongne et al. (2012). A Neuronal Model of Predictive Coding Accounting for the Mismatch Negativity. The Journal of Neuroscience, 32(11), 3665–3678.
      • Keypaper: Sinha et al. (2014). Autism as a disorder of prediction. PNAS, 111(42), 15220–15225.
      • Keypaper: Fletcher & Frith (2009). Perceiving is believing: a Bayesian approach to explaining the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Nature Reviews, Neuroscience, 10, 48-58.
    • 17.08.2018           Topic: “The relationship between ASD and Schizophrenia/Schizotypy” presented by Linda Ficco, Andrea Kowallik & Helene Kreysa
      • Keypaper: Chisholm et al. (2015). The association between autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A review of eight alternate models of co-occurrence. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 55 (2015) 173–183.
    • 13.07.2018           Topic: “ABA Therapie” presented by Justyna Przeperska
    • 15.06.2018           Topic: “Schizophrenia and autism as contrasting minds: neural evidence for the hypo-hyper-intentionality hypothesis” presented by Linda Ficco
    • 04.05.2018           Topic: “Neurofeedback and Autism” presented by Dr. Stella Färber & Prof. Stefan Schweinberger
    • 17.04.2018            Topic: “Voice Perception in Autism” presented by Dr. Schelinski (Max-Plank-Institute Leipzig)
    • 13.04.2018            Topic: “Soziales Fertigkeitentraining und dazugehörige personalisierte Ansätze & Differentiating early and late electrophysiological markers of empathy in individuals with high and low autistic traits” presented by Prof. Sven Bölte & Dr. Dana Schneider
  • Winter Term 2017/18
  • Summer Term 2017
    • 11.08.2017           Topic: “Action presentation along the autism spectrum” presented by Carina Giesen
    • 14.07.2017           Topic: “Autism diagnosis in infants by brain scan” presented by Catarina Amado
    • 23.06.2017          Topic: “Psychotherapy on adults with highfunctioning autism” presented by Silke Lipinski
    • 07.04.2017          Topic: “Autism through the lens of a camera” presented by Gregor Hayn-Leichsenrin
  • Winter Term 2016/17
    • 17.03.2017           Topic: “Talk of a concerned mother & Romantic relationships among adults with ASD” presented by Gudrun Uhlig & Catarina Amado
      • Keypaper: Strunz et al. (2016). Romantic Relationships and Relationship Satisfaction Among Adults With Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73(1), 113-125.
    • 24.02.2017           Topic: “Auditory/Voice processing in ASD” presented by Romi Zäske
      • Keypaper: Schelinski et al. (2016). Temporal voice areas exist in autism spectrum disorder but are dysfunctional for voice identity recognition. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(11), 1812-1822. 
      • Keypaper: Schelinski et al. (2016). Voice identity processing in autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 10(1), 155-168. 
    • 20.01.2017           Topic: “The influence of oxytocin on social functioning and ASD” presented by Philipp Kanske & Katrin Preckel (MPI Leipzig)
      • Keypaper: Watanabe et al. (2015). Clinical and neural effects of six-week administration of oxytocin on core symptoms of autism. Brain, 138(11), 3400-3412. 
      • Keypaper: Kanske et al. (2016). Are strong empathizers better mentalizers? Evidence for independence and interaction between the routes of social cognition. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(9), 1383-1392.
    • 16.12.2016           Christmas Special- Non Scientific Event on ASD
    • 18.11.2016           Topic: “Learning mechanisms in ASD” presented by Katharina Limbach
      • Keypaper: Bo et al. (2016). Do children with autism spectrum disorders have motor learning difficulties? Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 23, 50-62.  
    • 14.10.2016           Topic: “Emotion Regulation in Autism Spectrum Disorder” presented by Claudia Menzel
      • Keypaper: Mazefesky et al. (2013). The Role of Emotion Regulation in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(7), 679–688.
      • Keypaper: Samson et al. (2012). Emotion Regulation in Asperger’s Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism. Emotion, 12(4), 659-665.
  • Summer Term 2016
    • 16.09.2016           Topic: “The Intense World Theory of Autism” presented by Catarina Amado
      • Keypaper: Markram et al. (2007). The intense world syndrome–an alternative hypothesis for autism. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 1(1), 77-96.  
    • 19.08.2016           Topic: “Autism & Creativity” presented by Marlena Itz
      • Keypaper: Best et al. (2015). The Relationship Between Subthreshold Autistic Traits, Ambiguous Figure Perception and Divergent Thinking. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(12), 4064-4073.
    • 15.07.2016           Topic: “The Extreme Male Brain Hypothesis of ASD” presented by Gregor Hayn-Leichsenring
      • Keypaper: Baron-Cohen (2002). The extreme male brain theory of autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6(6), 248-254.
    • 17.06.2016            Topic: “Genetics in ASD” presented by Christpoph Redies
      • Keypaper: de la Torre et al. (2016). Advancing the understanding of autism disease mechanisms through genetics. Nature Medicine Review, 22(4), 345-361.
    • 20.05.2016           Topic: “Autism research with autistic traits in the general population” presented by Carina Giesen
      • Keypaper: Baron-Cohen et al. (2001). The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism, Malesand Females, Scientists and Mathematicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(1), 5-17.
  • Winter Term 2015/16
    • 18.03.2016           Topic: “A duet for one. Sychrony in Dual Interactions & WGAS 2016 report” presented by Helene Kreysa & Verena Skuk
      • Keypaper: Friston, & Frith (2015). A duet for one. Consciousness and Cognition, 36, 390-405.
    • 19.02.2016            Topic: “Autism in Adulthood” presented by Gregor Hayn-Leichsenring & Claudia Menzel
      • Keypaper: Magiati et al. (2014). Cognitive, language, social and behavioural outcomes in adults with autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review of longitudinal follow-up studies in adulthood. Clinical Psychology Review, 34(1), 73-86.
    • 15.01.2016             Topic: “Gender Differences in ASD & Person Perception in ASD” presented by Dana Schneider & Stefan Schweinberger
      • Keypaper: Werling, & Geschwind (2013). Sex differences in autism spectrum disorders. Current Opinion in Neurology, 26(2), 146-153.;                                
      • Keypaper: Rhodes et al. (2013). Autistic traits are linked to reduced adaptive coding of face identity and selectively poorer face recognition in men but not women. Neuropsychologia, 51(13), 2702-2708.
    • 27.11.2015             Topic: “Broken Mirror Neuron Theory in ASD” presented by Katharina Limbach
      • Keypaper: Southgate (2008). Unbroken mirrors: Challenging a theory of autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(6), 225-229.
    • 30.10.2015            Topic: “Predictive Coding in ASD” presented by Christoph Redies
      • Keypaper: Van de Cruys et al. (2014). Precise minds in uncertain worlds: Predictive coding in autism. Psychological Review, 121(4), 649-675.
  • Summer Term 2015
    • 18.09.2015           Topic: “Social Motivation in ASD” presented by Carina Giesen
      • Keypaper: Chevallier et al. (2012). The social motivation theory of autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(4), 231-239.
    • 07.08.2015           Topic: “Eye Contact in Children with ASD” presented by Helene Kreysa
      • Keypaper: Falck-Ytter et al. (2015). Eye Contact Modulates Cognitive Processing Differently in Children With Autism. Child Development, 86(1), 37-47.
    • 10.07.2015            Topic: “Mouse models in ASD” presented by Gregor Hayn-Leichsenring
      • Keypaper: Hamilton et al. (2011). Multiple Multiple autism-like behaviors in a novel transgenic mouse model. Behavioural Brain Research, 218(1), 29-41.
    • 17.04.2015            Topic: “Antioxidant treatment in ASD & WGAS 2015 news” presented by Dana Schneider & Jürgen Kaufmann
      • Keypaper: Singh et al. (2014). Sulforaphane treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(43), 15550-15555.