Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Interaction (NEVIA) Group

Head: Prof. Christine Falter-Wagner

Focus:

Our research focuses, broadly, on the mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Neurodevelopmental disorders often persist over the life span and can be accompanied by psychiatric comorbidities. A major focus of our research lies in investigating the communication patterns in interactions of people with ASD. Importantly, non-verbal communication in ASD is characterized by qualitative differences in single communicative behaviours and in their integration (e.g. eye gaze and gestures). Temporal factors play a major role in these differences. We assess these and related factors by means of psychophysical experiments, movement analyses, eye-tracking, psychophysiological measurements, neuroimaging, and neuroendocrine measures. Furthermore, we work on the development of diagnostic and screening instruments.