Professor Dr Frank Rösler
- Section Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
- Location Hamburg, Germany
- Election year 2001
Research
Major scientific interests: Cognitive processes, cognitive neurosciences, memory, language, brain neuroplasticity, factors influencing brain plasticity
Frank Rösler is a psychologist. His research focuses on the biological basis of cognitive processes, especially memory and language. He is also investigating the neuroplasticity of the brain in cases of damage to the nervous system. He was among the first to measure thought processes physiologically and is regarded as one of the pioneers of “Cognitive Neuroscience”.
Frank Rösler investigates brain functions such as perception, attention control, memory formation, decision making, and action control. These cognitive tasks originate in a nervous system in which the connections between nerve cells change through experience (plasticity). Frank Rösler would like to understand how such cognitive tasks are generated in this system and which processes are involved. He was one of the first to use EEG (Electroencephalogram) to measure electrical mass potentials during thought processes. He thereby laid the foundation for the “Cognitive Neurosciences”.
One of Frank Rösler's main areas of research are memory representations: We can only absorb and understand new things through experience and knowledge. The memory includes all other cognitive functions. Rösler asks: Where is the memory located? How does it work? He has investigated which brain structures are involved in memory retrieval and how they interact with each other.
Rösler is also studying the properties of the brain-mind system and genetic, epigenetic and environmental influences on brain plasticity. He inquires about the influencing factors and consequences of socialization. After all, the characteristics of society and culture also influence the plasticity of the brain.
Frank Rösler is a psychologist. His research focuses on the biological basis of cognitive processes, especially memory and language. He is also investigating the neuroplasticity of the brain in cases of damage to the nervous system. He was among the first to measure thought processes physiologically and is regarded as one of the pioneers of “Cognitive Neuroscience”.
Frank Rösler investigates brain functions such as perception, attention control, memory formation, decision making, and action control. These cognitive tasks originate in a nervous system in which the connections between nerve cells change through experience (plasticity). Frank Rösler would like to understand how such cognitive tasks are generated in this system and which processes are involved. He was one of the first to use EEG (Electroencephalogram) to measure electrical mass potentials during thought processes. He thereby laid the foundation for the “Cognitive Neurosciences”.
One of Frank Rösler's main areas of research are memory representations: We can only absorb and understand new things through experience and knowledge. The memory includes all other cognitive functions. Rösler asks: Where is the memory located? How does it work? He has investigated which brain structures are involved in memory retrieval and how they interact with each other.
Rösler is also studying the properties of the brain-mind system and genetic, epigenetic and environmental influences on brain plasticity. He inquires about the influencing factors and consequences of socialization. After all, the characteristics of society and culture also influence the plasticity of the brain.
Career
- 2013 Seniorprofessor Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology, University of Hamburg, Germany
- 2010-2013 Seniorprofessor for Experimental Psychology, University of Potsdam, Germany
- 2008-2009 Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study (HWK), Delmenhorst, Germany
- 2006-2007 Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin, Germany
- 1991 Research visit at the Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- 1986-2010 Professor for Experimental and Biological Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Marburg, Germany
- 1985-1986 Substitute professorship, Institute of Psychology, University of Hamburg, Germany
- 1985 Research visit at the University of Queensland, St. Lucia (Brisbane), Australia
- 1984 Research visit at the Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
- 1984 Research visit at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- 1984 Research visit at the University of Adelaide, Australia
- 1984 Research visit at the University of Queensland, St. Lucia
- 1983 Habilitation in Psychology at the University of Kiel, Germany; Title of thesis: “Hirnelektrische Korrelate Kognitiver Prozesse” (Brain electrical correlates of cognitive processes)
- 1980 Research visit at the University of California, San Diego, USA
- 1980 Research visit at the Stanford University, USA
- 1980 Research visit at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
- 1980 Research visit at the University of Ottawa, Canada
- 1976 Ph.D. at the University of Kiel, Germany; Ph.D. thesis: “Selektive Aufmerksamkeitsprozesse und visuell evozierte Potentiale bei der Beurteilung von Reizähnlichkeiten” (Selective attention and visual evoked potentials during similarity judgements)
- 1973-1985 Research Assistant at the Institute of Psychology, University of Kiel, Germany
- 1972 Diploma in Psychology at the University of Hamburg, Germany
Functions
- 2010-2020 Secretary of Class IV Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences
- 2009-2011 Chairman of the Wilhelm Wundt Society
- 2005/2006 Chairman of the evaluation committee for Psychology at the universities of Lower Saxony, Germany
- 2004-2010 Member of the senate and grants committee of the Collaborative Research Centers, German Research Foundation
- 2004 Member of the scientific board of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- 2001-2007 Senate member of the German Research Foundation
- 1999-2005 Member of the scientific board of the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo)
- 1996-2006 Member of the scientific board of the Minerva Center for Cognitive Processes and Human Performance at the University of Haifa and the Israel Institute of Technology Israel
- 1991-2000 Expert of the German Research Foundation, since 1996 Chairman of the panel of experts for Psychology
- 1990-1995 President / Vice President of the German Psychological Society and its Application (DGPA)
Projects
- until 2020 Secretary of class IV humanities, behavioral, and social sciences, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
- since 2016 German Research Foundation (DFG) Group “Inhibition, Erwartung und ihre Interaktion mit kognitive Kontrolle und Arbeitsgedächtnis in der Satzverarbeitung”
- 2010-2013 German Research Foundation (DFG) Group “Computational Modeling of Behavioral, Cognitive, and Neural Dynamics“ (DFG FOR 868), Project “Fixation triggered ERPs and anaphoric resolution”
- 2009-2011 “Neural dynamics underlying the amplification, inhibition, and integration of material-specific long-term memory representations” (DFG KH 235 1-1)
- 2005-2010 German Research Foundation Group “Perception and action” (DFG FG 560), Project “Perception and action when forming, storing, and using somatosensory spatial representations”
Honours and Memberships
- 2012 Lifetime achievement award of the German Psychological Society
- 2002 Max Planck Research Award for International Cooperation
- 2001 Member of the German Academy of Science Leopoldina, which was appointed the German National Academy of Sciences, Halle (Saale), in 2008
- 2000 Wolfgang Köhler Lecture presented at the 42nd Congress of the German Psychological Society in Jena, Germany
- 2000 Wilhelm Wundt Medal received as distinguished scientific contribution award of the German Psychological Society
- 1997 Member of the Wilhelm Wundt Society
- 1995 Member of the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW)