I recently watched the dinosaur documentary on Netflix. I realized why I never had a “dino phase”: they remind me to ask why are exist? Sometimes I am afraid of existence itself: being here, and at the same time getting old and dying. I feel that we are so small and fragile.
Which key papers would you include?
I would be very grateful for recommendations; classics, recent advances, or personal favorites on emotion/psychopathology aspect.
This year, I would like to include a set of must-read/present papers on body–brain–emotion interactions, with more emphasis on emotional and clinical relevance, and less on heavy neuroimaging or methodological detail. The goal is to increase the curiosity and accessible and engaging for MSc students
I’m currently redesigning my Body–Brain–Emotion seminar for our General Psychology MSc students. Last year, we covered the spectrum from basic sensory processes to perception (e.g., cardiac effects), as well as breathing and sleep, gut-brain interaction.
similar here. A grant I submitted almost a year ago is still under review at the DFG, and this was already the second submission. This isn’t just a DFG issue; for smaller funding agencies, it almost feels like being ghosted. ECRs like me are hit the hardest by these delays and uncertainties.
Two days ago, my PhD supervisor, visited Freiburg to give a talk on heart-brain interaction (to the public audience). Beyond the excellent/provocative talk and research, what I saw was that almost everyone after a PhD left academia. Such great names. It is hard to survive, especially in Germany.
I used Aldi vs. Edeka to explain neural dedifferentiation: with aging, neural responses may differentiate less between distinct stimuli. That example stuck and so did the joy of engaged discussions and very positive feedback.
Teaching Neuropsychology of Aging this semester was a really great experience. We covered everything from neural dedifferentiation to biomarkers (sex, BP, sleep) and dementia, but what stuck with students surprised me.
One wrote down just one word: EDEKA.
Median time under review (time intervened from submission to acceptance) of articles indexed in PubMed with a female first author (n = 2,562,262), a male first author (n = 3,405,821), a female corresponding author (n = 975,010), a male corresponding author (n = 1,946,469), a female first author and a female corresponding author (n = 757,878), a male first author and a male corresponding author (n = 1,357,835), all-female authors (n = 650,280), and all-male authors (n = 2,146,799)
Female scientists have to wait longer for their articles to be reviewed than their male colleagues. An analysis of 36.5 million papers in the life sciences shows that for females it took 115 days to reach a decision, compared to 101 days for men journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... @plosbiology.org
Another night, and I am again doing accounting for all running scientific projects, where to relocate, which HiWi needs to be where, and when to apply for what… 😅📊 And also a general ORGA!
I think I enjoy the management of "something". If I wasnot doing science, I’d probably end up in management. 🤔
Postdocs in Baden-Württemberg: I can really recommend applying!
It’s much more than funding, you get to meet people from different disciplines, build a strong network, and gain insight into how science policy and decision-making work.
Bonus: my German will definitely improve along the way 😊
Finally I am looking for a motivated student assistant (HiWi, 80 hours/month) at Uni Freiburg (Neuropsychology) 🧠
Project on sleep, EEG, heart–brain dynamics & memory.
MATLAB/Python a plus.
📩 deniz.kumral at psychologie.uni-freiburg.de
🎓 Almost completed my Neuropsychology of Aging seminar, with great student feedback
📄 And preprinted a systematic review on plasticity:
👉 osf.io/preprints/ps...
🧠 Finished a 1-year-long data completion:
~60 participants, each completing 6 MRI sessions (!) and 3 sleep nights with 128-channel EEG 💤⚡
⚡ Started concurrent EEG–fMRI piloting
💸 Received small grants
👩🏫 A lot of supervision
🎓 First proper teaching experience
📚 Hochschuldidaktik & learning how to teach better
🤝 And being supported by so many amazing peers
Grateful, tired, still standing — and moving forward 💪
Okay, I’m back 🌤️
After being quiet on social media for quite a while.
The past year was a real roller-coaster 🎢 — challenging, exhausting, but also shaping:
🦠 Being sick during Kita (Kindergarden) times
🚫 No Kita for a whole month
📝 Applying for grants… and getting rejected
✨
Stylized logo of the MindBrainBody Symposium
*13th MindBrainBody Symposium*
📆 Mar 9-11, 2026
🏠 #Berlin & virtual
(deadline: Jan 8, 2026)
Keynotes:
- @ulrikebingel.bsky.social
- Karl Friston (online)
- @tinalonsdorf.bsky.social
- Sonja Kotz
- Julian Thayer
...& so much more: prizes, posters, talks, food, drinks, encounters.
Let's meet!
The @dreamteamicm.bsky.social has launched an online survey about the things you experience when you fall asleep!
Everyone is different, so we need you to tell us!
It will take only 20 minutes, but it will mean a lot to dream researchers like us!
redcap.link/DriftingMinds
Please, share!
🧠💤
The beta release of SPM-Python is out now! Amazing work by Johan Medrano @johmedr.bsky.social , Yael Balbastre, Yulia Bezsudnova @ybezs.bsky.social and other members of their team. A new era for SPM! #OHBM2025
If you are at #PuG2025, @denizkumral.bsky.social will be giving a talk on the “Temporal dynamics of microstructural plasticity in the human brain” as part of the Emergence and Transfer of Memory Representations Symposium in room 0.004 Z6 at 14.30! 🧠
At #PuG2025? Into memory? We've got just the symposium for you. "The emergence and transformation of memory representations in the human brain". Co-chaired with @rolandbenoit.bsky.social and featuring @denizkumral.bsky.social, Anne Bierbrauer, and @mgarvert.bsky.social. Today, 2:30pm in 0.004 Z6.
Interestingly, even in a psychology master's program, the term interoception is barely covered. It is also striking how research doesnot always translate into applied knowledge. I am now trying to fill in some of those gaps—exploring everything from heart rhythms to stomach–brain interactions.
Teaching a seminar this semester called Body-Brain-Emotions—same name as the research group from my PhD days. My work has shifted since then, but the idea that the brain works in isolation? Still not me. 🫀🧠
Oh, there's an English version as well! DW reports about misconduct at Max Planck Institutes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5nE...
🕒 less than 24h until the doors to the 12th #MindBrainBody Symposium will open.
Safe travels and very much looking forward to seeing you there!
Please check out day 1 below and find all details at mindbrainbody.de
Map of Stand Up for Science events, with official SUFS events in Red and solidarity events in Blue
WHERE WILL YOU BE ON MARCH 7TH!?
Head to www.standupforscience2025.org/local-event-information/ or the link in our bio to find your closest event—or add one if you're hosting one!
#standupforscience2025
Big news! Starting today, GSO will stand for #Guidance, #Skills & #Opportunities for #Researchers.
For over 20 years, we’ve supported postdocs in-now, with an expanded focus, we’re evolving, too.
Our mission stays the same: help researchers shape careers while bridging research, industry & policy.
New preprint from the lab! 🧠 💤 🚨
Roüast et al. Random auditory stimulation disturbs traveling slow waves and declarative memory.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
New preprint from our lab on memory incorporation into dreams! 🧠 💭 💤
Palmieri et al. Incorporation of complex narratives into dreaming
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Keeping Up With the Boost Fellows, Freiburg
We visited cognitive neuroscientist and Boost fellow @denizkumral.bsky.social in Freiburg. Deniz moved there from the @mpicbs.bsky.social in Leipzig to the Imaging Memory and Consolidation Lab of Monika Schönauer at @uni-freiburg.de.
