Professor Markus Heinrichs, Ph.D.
Chair, Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy (Link)
Head, Outpatient Psychotherapy Clinic and Research Unit for Stress-Related Disorders (Link)
Head, Research Group "Social Neuroscience", Freiburg Brain Imaging Center (FBI), University Medical Center Freiburg (Link)
Senator Albert-Ludwigs University of Freiburg (Link)
Address: Department of Psychology
Laboratory for Biological Psychology,
Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg
Stefan-Meier-Strasse 8
D-79104 Freiburg i. Br.
Germany Office: 3rd Floor, Room 03-006
(Reception desk: Room 03-007) Telephone:
+49-(0)761-203-3029 (secretary)
+49-(0)761-203-97720 (clinic)
+49-(0)761-203-3024 (direct line) Fax: +49-(0)761-203-3023 E-mail: heinrichs@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de Office hours: Study courses: Wed., 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Clinic: By arrangement
(prior appointment by secretary)
Research and Work Focuses
- Psychobiological foundations of social interaction
- Stress- and anxiety-protective factors (e.g. oxytocin, social support, partnership, attachment)
- Diagnostics, prevention, and therapy of stress and stress-related disorders
- Etiology, pathogenesis, and experimental therapy research on mental disorders with social deficits (e.g. social phobia, personality disorders, autism)
- Psychotraumatology and emergency psychology
Selected Publications
2014: "Highly Cited Researcher" Award as one of the most cited researchers worldwide (evaluation of the top 1% of the most-cited publications in the natural sciences, social sciences, and medicine of the last decade) and placed on the list of "The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds" (press information University of Freiburg and press information German Psychological Society)
- Eisenegger, C., Kumsta, R., Naef, M., Gromoll, J., and Heinrichs, M. (2017)
Testosterone and androgen receptor gene polymorphism are associated with confidence and
competitiveness in men
Hormones and Behavior, 92, 93-102
Article
- Spengler, F. B., Schultz, J., Scheele, D., Essel, M., Maier, W., Heinrichs, M., and Hurlemann, R. (2017)
Kinetics and dose-dependency of intranasal oxytocin effects on amygdala reactivity
Biological Psychiatry, 82, 885-894
Article - Millan, M. J., Andrieux, A., Bartzokis, G., Cadenhead, K., Dazzan, P., Fusar-Poli, P., Gallinat, J., Giedd, J., Grayson, D. R., Heinrichs, M., Kahn, R., Krebs, M. O., Leboyer, M., Lewis, D., Marin, O., Marin, P., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., McGorry, P., McGuire, P., Owen, M. J., Patterson, P., Sawa, A., Spedding, M., Uhlhaas, P., Vaccarino, F., Wahlestedt, C., and Weinberger, D. (2016)
Altering the course of schizophrenia: progress and perspectives
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 15, 485-515
Article - Chen F. S., Kumsta R., Dvorak F., Domes G., Yim O.-S., Ebstein R. P., and Heinrichs M. (2015)
Genetic modulation of oxytocin sensitivity: a pharmacogenetic approach
Translational Psychiatry, 5, e664 (1-7)
Article - Heinrichs M., Stächele T. und Domes G. (2015)
Stress und Stressbewältigung
Göttingen: Hogrefe
Book - Ditzen B., and Heinrichs M. (2014)
Psychobiology of social support: the social dimension of stress buffering
Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 32, 149-162
Article - Kanat M., Heinrichs M., and Domes G. (2014)
Oxytocin and the social brain: neural mechanisms and perspectives in human research
Brain Research, 1580, 160-171
Article - Kumsta R., and Heinrichs M. (2013)Oxytocin, stress and social behavior: neurogenetics of the human oxytocin system
Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 23, 11-16
Article - Chen F. S., Minson J. A., Schöne M., and Heinrichs M. (2013)
In the eye of the beholder: eye contact increases resistance to persuasion
Psychological Science, 24, 2254-2261
Article - von Dawans B., Fischbacher U., Kirschbaum C., Fehr E., and Heinrichs M. (2012)
The social dimension of stress reactivity: acute stress increases prosocial behavior in humans
Psychological Science, 23, 651-660
Article - Eisenegger C., Naef M., Snozzi R., Heinrichs M., and Fehr E. (2012)
New evidence on testosterone and cooperation
Nature, 485, 5-6
Article - Meyer-Lindenberg A., Domes G., Kirsch P., and Heinrichs M. (2011)
Oxytocin and vasopressin in the human brain: social neuropeptides for translational medicine
Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12, 524-538
Article - Chen F. S., Kumsta R., von Dawans B., Monakhov M., Ebstein R. P., and Heinrichs M. (2011)
Common oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) polymorphism and social support interact to reduce stress in humans
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 108, 19937-19942
Article - von Dawans B., Kirschbaum C., and Heinrichs M. (2011)
The Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G): A new research tool for controlled simultaneous social stress exposure in a group format
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 36, 514-522
Article
- Eisenegger C., Naef M., Snozzi R., Heinrichs M., and Fehr E. (2010)
Prejudice and truth about the effect of testosterone on human bargaining behaviour
Nature, 463, 356-359
Article - Heinrichs M., von Dawans B., and Domes G. (2009)
Oxytocin, vasopressin, and human social behavior
Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 30, 548-557
Article - Ditzen B., Schaer M., Gabriel B., Bodenmann G., Ehlert U., and Heinrichs M. (2009)
Intranasal oxytocin increases positive communication and reduces cortisol levels during couple conflict
Biological Psychiatry, 65, 728-731
Article - Rimmele U., Hediger K., Heinrichs M., and Klaver P. (2009)
Oxytocin makes a face in memory familiar
Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 38-42
Article - Heinrichs M., and Domes G. (2008)
Neuropeptides and social behavior: effects of oxytocin and vasopressin in humans
Progress in Brain Research, 170, 337-350
Article - Baumgartner T., Heinrichs M., Vonlanthen A., Fischbacher U., and Fehr E. (2008)
Oxytocin shapes the neural circuitry of trust and trust adaptation in humans
Neuron, 58, 639-650
Article - Domes G., Heinrichs M., Michel A., Berger C., and Herpertz S.C. (2007)
Oxytocin improves "mind-reading" in humans
Biological Psychiatry, 61, 731-733
Article - Ditzen B., Neumann I.D., Bodenmann G., von Dawans B., Turner R.A., Ehlert U., and Heinrichs M. (2007)
Effects of different kinds of couple interaction on cortisol and heart rate responses to stress in women
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 32, 565-574
Article - Soravia L.M., Heinrichs M., Aerni A., Maroni C., Schelling G., Ehlert U., Roozendaal B., and De Quervain D.J.-F. (2006)
Glucocorticoids reduce phobic fear in humans
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 103, 5585-5590
Article - Heinrichs M., Wagner D., Schoch W., Soravia L.M., Hellhammer D.H., and Ehlert U. (2005)
Predicting posttraumatic stress symptoms from pretraumatic risk factors: A 2-year prospective follow-up study in firefighters
American Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 2276-2286
Article - Kosfeld M.*, Heinrichs M.*, Zak P., Fischbacher U., and Fehr E. (2005)
(* shared first authorship)
Oxytocin increases trust in humans
Nature, 435, 673-676
Article - Heinrichs M., Meinlschmidt G., Wippich W., Ehlert U., and Hellhammer D.H. (2004)
Selective amnesic effects of oxytocin on implicit and explicit memory
Physiology & Behavior, 83, 31-38
Article - Heinrichs M., Baumgartner T., Kirschbaum C., and Ehlert U. (2003)
Social support and oxytocin interact to suppress cortisol and subjective responses to psychosocial stress
Biological Psychiatry, 54, 1389-1398
Article