Prof. Dr. Boris Quednow

 

Main Goals, Keywords

Pharmacopsychology – today a subdiscipline of Neuropsychology and Biological Psychology – was founded by the famous German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926). This research field aims to explore the neurochemical basis of cognition, emotion and behaviour by pharmacological challenges. Standing in Kraepelins tradition, our main research goal is a better understanding of the neurobiological and neuropharmacological principles of attention, cognition and emotion.

Keywords: Cocaine, ecstasy, MDMA, GHB, nicotine, psilocybin, schizophrenia, depression, addiction, endophenotype, sensorimotor gating, prepulse inhibition, genetics, neuropsychology, neuroenhancement, social cognition, decision-making, neuroeconomics, PET

Group Members

One group leader, one senior research fellow, four PhD students, one technical assistant

Previous and Current Research

We are investigating the behavioural neurotoxicity of illegal drugs (such as cocaine, MDMA [“ecstasy”], GHB, and cannabis), the behavioural genetics of sensorimotor gating and higher cognition, and the neurochemical basis of impaired early information processing and complex cognitive functions (e.g., social cognition) in psychiatric diseases such as addiction, schizophrenia and depression.

Techniques and Equipment

To achieve this we are using specifically designed behavioral tests, classical neuropsychological tasks, startle response paradigms (prepulse inhibition and affective startle modulation), eye tracking, positron emission tomography (18F-2-FDG, 18F-altanserin, 11C-ABP-688 PET), fMRI, magnet resonance spectroscopy, pharmacological challenges, and molecular genetics.

Selected Publication

• Vonmoos M, Hulka LM, Preller KH, Jenni D, Baumgartner MR, Stohler R, Bolla KI, Quednow BB (2013). Cognitive dysfunctions in recreational and dependent cocaine users: role of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, craving and early age at onset. Br J Psychiatry May 23. [Epub ahead of print]
• Hulka LM, Treyer V, Scheidegger M, Preller KH, Vonmoos M, Baumgartner MR, Johayem A, Ametamey SM, Buck A, Seifritz E, Quednow (2013). BB Smoking but not cocaine use is associated with lower cerebral metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 density in humans. Mol Psychiatry Apr 30. doi: 10.1038/mp.2013.51. [Epub ahead of print]
• Petrovsky N, Ettinger U, Kessler H, Mössner R, Wolfsgruber S, Dahmen N, Maier W, Wagner M, Quednow BB. The effect of nicotine on sensorimotor gating is modulated by a CHRNA3 polymorphism. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2013 Apr 19. [Epub ahead of print]
• Preller KH, Wagner M, Sulzbach C, Hoenig K, Neubauer J, Franke PE, Petrovsky N, Frommann I, Rehme AK, Quednow BB. Sustained incentive value of heroin-related cues in short- and long-term abstinent heroin users. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2012 Dec 7. doi:pii: S0924-977X(12)00319-7. 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2012.11.007. [Epub ahead of print]

Selected Lectures, Seminars, Colloquia

• Lecture: Psychophysiology of Psychotropic Substances (Medical Faculty UZH)
  
• Lecture: Neurobiology of Addiction and Drug Abuse (ZNZ)
  
• Seminar: Methods of Pharmacopsychology (Philosophical Faculty UZH)

Funding

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Nachwuchsförderungskredit der Universität Zürich, Hartmann Müller-Stiftung, Olga Mayenfisch-Stiftung, industrial funding.

URL

http://www.dcp.uzh.ch/research/Neuropsycho/experimental.html