What are the neural and computational mechanisms that go awry in psychiatric patients and how do these deficits emerge during development?

Tobias Hauser is interested in understanding the neurocomputational mechanisms underlying obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). His research aims to bridge the gaps between symptoms, aberrant cognitions and deficient neural processes using computational neuroimaging. He pursues a translational approach, where clinical, pharmacological and basic neuroscience studies mutually inform each other to better characterise the neural network deficiencies in mental health patients.

Tobias has a developmental perspective and investigates when and how psychiatric symptoms manifest and how they are related to deviations of a canonical brain development. He uses a variety of neuroscientific techniques (fMRI, EEG, MEG, tDCS, pupillometry) and computational modelling to link overt behaviour to algorithmic and implementation levels.

For more information about his research, please visit the Developmental Computational Psychiatry Group website.