Brigitte Röder and her research on neuroplasticity
The new video portrait introduces Hector Fellow Brigitte Röder, Professor of Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology at Universität Hamburg and Visiting Professor at the LV Prassad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, India, and her research. She was honored with the Hector Science Award in 2017 and has been an active member of the Hector Fellow Academy ever since then.
Brigitte Röder dedicates her research to the mechanisms of the human brain and its neuroplasticity. The passionate scientist investigates how the brain develops and adapts through learning processes, depending on the experiences an individual has. Why do children learn differently from adults? Which mechanisms in the brain are decisive for this? When, how and in what environment do we learn best? And what are the consequences if children do not find ideal learning conditions? These are the questions that drive Brigitte Röder and her team at the University of Hamburg as they search for explanations. A central finding of their research emphasizes the crucial role that childhood experiences play in the formation of brain networks alongside genetic preconditions. Through experiments with test subjects, measuring for exemple electrical currents on the surface of the head, the researchers are trying to establish links between human behavior and changes in the brain.
Brigitte Röder and the research team at Universität Hamburg assume that there are "sensitive periodes" in the development of the brain during which children learn particularly easily. Rashi Pant's doctoral project, which was supervised by Brigitte Röder, also dealt with this topic. The young researcher is now an alumna of the Hector Fellow Academy. In order to investigate these "sensitive periods", Brigitte Röder and her team of scientists have developed a unique research model that examines people who are born blind and only regain their sight in adulthood through an operation. This allows the researchers to examine an unusual childhood experience. The Indo-German collaboration with the LV Prasad Eye Institute, an eye clinic and research facility for eye diseases in Hyderabad, India, is exemplary in this respect.
The passionate scientist is actively involved in the dialog between science and the public. She is the scientific host of the Hector Fellow Academy's 2024 symposium entitled "Why do children and adults learn differently?". This will take place on July 11, 2024 at 6 p.m. at Universität Hamburg (main building (ESA 1), lecture hall A) and via livestream. Registration is already open.
To introduce the Hector Fellow Academy and its members to a larger audience, we regularly publish video portraits. They present the members of the Academy as well as interesting insights into their ongoing research projects.