Michael Noll-Hussong

• Professor
• Chief Physician at Tagesklinik München-Westend

Introspective and self-referential in nature, the human brain's default mode network (DMN) is presumed to influence our behavior in response to the environment in predictive manner [Raichle ME, Gusnard DA (2005) J Comp Neurol 493:167-176; Bar M (2009) Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 364:1235-1243]. In the current study, we hypothesize that the s...

Background: Without stimulation, the human brain spontaneously produces highly organized, low-frequency fluctuations of neural activity in intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs). Furthermore, without adequate explanatory nociceptive input, patients with somatoform pain disorder experience pain symptoms, thus implicating a central dysregulation of...

Objective Psychological and neural mechanisms of the affective dimension of pain are known to be disturbed in patients with chronic pain disorder. The aim of this functional magnetic resonance imaging study was to assess the neurofunctional and behavioral measures underlying the ability to construct pain-related affective meaning in a painful situa...

Background Recent functional imaging studies on chronic pain of various organic etiologies have shown significant alterations in both the spatial and the temporal dimensions of the functional connectivity of the human brain in its resting state. However, it remains unclear whether similar changes in intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) also occur...

Conversion disorder is a medical condition in which a person has paralysis, blindness, or other neurological symptoms that cannot be clearly explained physiologically. To date, there is neither specific nor conclusive treatment. In this paper, we draw together a number of disparate pieces of knowledge to propose a novel intervention to provide tran...

Introduction Subjective cognitive impairment is frequently reported after COVID-19 infection. This study aims to assess objective impairment in attention, memory and executive functions among these patients. Further, we investigated potential determinants of objective cognitive impairment. Methods In this cross-sectional study, standardized neur...

Objective Subjective cognitive impairment is frequently reported by patients experiencing Post-COVID symptoms. This study aims to assess objective impairment in attention, memory, and executive functions among these patients. Further, we investigated potential determinants of objective cognitive impairment. Methods In this cross-sectional study, s...

Male C57BL/6N mice exposed to the chronic subordinate colony housing (CSC; 19 days) paradigm, a preclinically validated model of chronic psychosocial stress, are characterized by unaffected basal morning plasma corticosterone (CORT) concentrations despite adrenal and pituitary hyperplasia and increased adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) plasma conc...

We present here a unifying framework for affective phenomena: the Human Affectome. By synthesizing a large body of literature, we have converged on definitions that disambiguate the commonly used terms—affect, feeling, emotion, and mood. Based on this definitional foundation, and under the premise that affective states reflect allostatic concerns,...

Background: Thus far, most researchers on genocide and transgenerational transmissions have focused on the National Socialist Holocaust as the most abhorrent example of this severe human rights violation. Few data have been published on other ethnic or religious groups affected by genocidal actions in this context. Methodology: Using a mixed-met...

Recent fMRI studies on specific animal phobias, particularly spider phobia (arachnophobia), have identified a large variety of specific brain regions involved in normal and disturbed fear processing. Both functional and structural brain abnormalities have been identified among phobic patients. Current research suggests that both conscious and subco...

HINTERGRUND ✓ ca. 4,2 Mio. deutsche Frauen leiden an Endometriose [1], was vergleichbar mit der 12-Monats-Prävalenz von Diabetes Mellitus Typ 2 ist [2]. ✓ Es dauert bis zu elf Jahre bis zur korrekten Diagnose [1], Komorbiditäten mit psychiatrischen Erkrankungen sind dabei überdurchschnittlich hoch ✓ Bisher sind psychotherapeutische Interventione...

Hintergrund Im NKLM wird “Empathie” als “übergeordnete Kompetenz” insbesondere in “emotional herausfordernden Situationen” der “ärztlichen Gesprächsführung” aufgeführt (VIII.2-03.1). Jenseits eines curriculären Enactments unterbleibt die kritische Auseinandersetzung mit dem Empathiebegriff als solchem. Methode In einem diskursiven wissenschaftli...

The worldwide spread of COVID‐19 is especially causing a humanitarian catastrophe in refugee camps in crisis regions.1 For example, currently over 350 000 survivors of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorism in the Kurdistan region of Iraq live in more than 20 refugee camps. These communities, which had already been traumatized, are now co...

Moral judgment is a cognitively and emotionally demanding process that is subject of research in both imaging and psychological studies. This study using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) examined brain activity in moral decision-making and focused especially on identifying gender differences in 44 healthy individuals (22 males/females,...

Die psychosoziale Evaluation ist in Deutschland eine richtliniengemäße Grundbedingung zur Listung für ein Spenderorgan. Bisherige Forschungsergebnisse zeigen nicht nur erhöhte Prävalenzen für Depressionen und Angststörungen in Transplantationskandidat:innen, sondern spezifische Unterschiede zwischen den jeweils betroffenen Organ-empfängergruppen. A...

Endometriosis in women is as common as Diabetes Mellitus II in women. Comparable to other chronic pain conditions, endometriosis has an impact on quality of life, chronic pain associated disability, fatigue and sleep disturbances. Still, psychological interventions for women with endometriosis have not been researched so far. This study suggests th...

Die unmittelbare Konfrontation mit Krankheit, Sterben und Tod gehört zum ärztlichen Alltag. Sterben jenseits seiner existentiellen Bedeutung für den Einzelnen bedeutet ebenso Schmerz und Verlust für die Nachwelt. Die Begleitung der Hinterbliebenen in ihrer Trauer fordert uns heraus, stellt uns vor die Frage der adäquaten Form der menschlichen Antei...

50 Jahre Anamnesegruppen im Medizinstudium – ein Zwischenstand

Die Autoren weisen in ihrem Artikel deutlich darauf hin, dass in Deutschland leider gegenwärtig immer weniger Raucher mit dem Rauchen aufhören und sich unter anderem mehrere Faktoren darstellen lassen, die insbesondere den sozialen Gradienten im Rauch- beziehungsweise Gesundheitsverhalten weiter verstetigen (1). Die chronisch-obstruktive Lungenerkr...

Background Survivors of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) captivity are at high risk of developing mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Aims This study looks at the correlation between sexual abuse, shame, somatoform or bodily distress disorders, and dissociative seizures (psychogenic non-epileptic seizures). Method...

People with mental illness can internalize public prejudice and negative emotional reactions to their group, leading to self-contempt. This study examined self-contempt related to having a mental illness as predictor of suicidality among 77 people with mental illness in Southern Germany. Self-contempt, depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and suicida...

Experiencing pleasure and displeasure is a fundamental part of life. Hedonics guide behavior, affect decision-making, induce learning, and much more. As the positive and negative valence of feelings, hedonics are core processes that accompany emotion, motivation, and bodily states. Here, the affective neuroscience of pleasure and displeasure that h...

Experiencing pleasure and displeasure is a fundamental part of life. Hedonics guide behavior, affect decision-making, induce learning, and much more. As the positive and negative valence of feelings, hedonics are core processes that accompany emotion, motivation, and bodily states. Here, the affective neuroscience of pleasure and displeasure that h...

Former child soldiers are at high risk of developing mental disorders. This study looks at the prevalence of PTSD, depression and associated risk factors such as disturbed self-esteem among former child soldiers of the so-called 'Islamic State'. The psychological effect of traumatic events was assessed in 81 Yazidi children who had been child soldi...

Deutscher Kongress für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie vom 20. bis 22. März 2019 in Berlin – 80 Abstracts Zeitschrift für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie Februar 2019 Band 65, Ausgabe 1, S. 42-120

Most of the protagonists in modern medical TV series are played by attractive actors or those portraying a special type of physician. Our pilot study attempted to scrutinize whether or not current German viewers are influenced by US medical series when choosing their physicians. For this, we determined four stereotypic characters exemplified in con...

Background Former child soldiers are at high risk of developing mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, their comprehensive mental health has yet to be examined. Aims This study looks at the prevalence of PTSD, depression and associated risk factors such as disturbed self-esteem among former child soldiers of the s...

Objective: Chronic pain disorder (CPD) has been associated with brain changes, especially in limbic circuits. However, in the majority of patients with chronic pain, depression or anxiety are common comorbidities. In this exploratory and naturalistic study, we investigated brain cortical thickness differences between patients with CPD and healthy...

Objectives: Quality Indicators (QI) are becoming an increasingly important tool in the operational reality of a functioning quality management. This raises the question of whether, and if so, in which contexts QI within Psychotherapeutic Medicine (PM) have been developed, or at least are under discussion. Methods: QI were identified using a selecti...

Chronic pain is a major problem of public health, and patients seek manifold forms of help to find relief. Here we present and discuss the case of a middle-aged woman suffering from mental disorders who treated her headache with the self-application of bee stings on her back.

Following the severe attacks by the so-called “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” on the Yazidi population, which started in summer 2014, the state government of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, funded a Special-Quota Project to bring 1,000 very ill or left-behind women and children who were being held hostage to 22 cities and towns in Baden-Württemberg t...

In recent years, Islamic terrorism has manifested itself with an unexpectedly destructive force. Despite the fact that Islamic terrorism commences locally in most cases, it has spread its terror worldwide. In August 2014, when troops of the self-proclaimed 'Islamic State' conquered areas of northern Iraq, they turned on the long-established religio...

Das grafische Programmiersystem LabVIEW findet zusehends Einsatz in den klinischen und experimentellen Neurowissenschaften. Anhand einer selektiven Literaturübersicht soll die gegenwärtige Einsatzbreite von LabVIEW in einem zeitkritischen Umfeld dargestellt werden, welches nicht eine ureigene Domäne von Softwareentwicklern ist und zum Teil von ande...

PLOS and the PLOS ONE team would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of you who lent us your valuable time and expertise as an academic editor, as a guest editor, or as a peer reviewer in 2016. We are fully dependent on your voluntary efforts to publish PLOS ONE for the larger academic community, and we could not carry forward our mission...

Background: In many Western countries, after a motor vehicle collision, those involved seek health care for the assessment of injuries and for insurance documentation purposes. In contrast, in many less wealthy countries, there may be limited access to care and no insurance or compensation system. Objective: The purpose of this infodemiology study...

The ICD-10 offers the possibility of double coding of diagnoses in functional disorders on the one hand, somatoform disorders on the other side. The current S3 guideline for "dealing with patients with non-specific, functional and somatoform physical complaints" states that "[...] in most cases, the specialty of the (initial) examiner and not the c...

Background Successful social interaction relies on the ability to attribute mental states to other people. Previous functional neuroimaging studies have shown that this process, described as Theory of Mind (ToM) or mentalization, is reliably associated with activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, this study presents a novel and...

In 1968, the word „hysteria“ in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) has been removed, so a straight neurobiological research of contemporary coinage lost a reference point. Until today there is a lack of an convincing, consistent and universally accepted model of hysterical phenomenology. Current imaging findings relate...

Successful social interaction relies on the ability to attribute mental states to other people. Previous functional neuroimaging studies have shown that this process, described as Theory of Mind (ToM) or mentalization, is reliably associated with activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, this study presents a novel and surprising...

Zu Beginn der sog. PEPP-Optionsphase im Januar 2013 bestand nicht nur für optierende Häuser, sondern bei allen dem Geltungsbereich des §17d KHG zugehörenden Einrichtungen der Bedarf, sich mit dieser Thematik zu befassen. Ein mitunter nicht einfaches Unterfangen war bzw. ist die mit der Einführungsphase einhergehende Auseinandersetzung mit einer in...

Seit über 50 Jahren praktizieren ´Ärzte´ im deutschen Fernsehen. Die Entwicklung aufwändiger, realitätsnaher und authen-tischer, aber auch mit Comedystilmitteln produzierter Serienformate begann hauptsächlich in den USA mit den Staffeln von „EmergencyRoom“,„Scrubs“ und „Grey‘sAnatomy“. Beim deutschen Publikum sind deren Quoten in der konsumaffinen...

Immer wieder gibt es Perioden, in denen bestimmte Krankheitsbilder en vogue sind, so z.B. die „Hysterie“ oder die „Neurasthenie“ in der neueren Geschichte oder ganz aktuell ADHS oder Burn-out. Der geringere Teil solcher „neuen Phänomene“ verschwindet wieder aus der Wahrnehmung von Patient und Arzt, andere entwickeln sich zu wahren „Epidemien“ in de...

Arzt- und Krankenhaus-Geschichten erfreuen sich beim Fernsehpublikum ungebrochener Beliebtheit - erst recht seit dem Aufkommen teuer produzierter Serien aus den USA in den 1990er-Jahren. Die Frage stellt sich, ob die TV-Bilder, in denen fähige Ärzte zumeist attraktiv dargestellt werden, das Arztbild der Deutschen inzwischen mitprägen. Unsere Pilots...

Das vorliegende Handbuch liefert einen konzisen Überblick und eine verlässliche Orientierungshilfe bei ethischen und rechtlichen Entscheidungsprozessen in der Forschung am Menschen. Es dient dabei einerseits als eine Dokumentation des Status quo, andererseits aber auch als Diskussionsgrundlage für zukünftige Entwicklungen. An dem Handbuch haben Pra...

Einleitung: Somatoforme Störungen sind eine in sich heterogene Gruppe. Schmerzen stellen dabei eine sehr häufige Symptomatik dar. Das Wissen über neurobiologische Korrelate somatoformer Schmerzen ist enorm gewachsen. Methodik: Mittels einer selektiven Literaturanalyse werden aktuelle Erkenntnisse zum Zusammenhang von somatoformen Schmerzen und zwis...

Zusammenfassung Einleitung: Somatoforme Störungen sind eine in sich heterogene Gruppe. Schmerzen stellen dabei eine sehr häufige Symptomatik dar. Das Wissen über neurobiologische Korrelate somatoformer Schmerzen ist enorm gewachsen. Methodik: Mittels einer selektiven Literaturanalyse werden aktuelle Erkenntnisse zum Zusammenhang von somatoformen Sc...

Mit der Aufnahme des §17d in das Krankenhausfinanzierungsetz (KHG) wurde bereits 2009 im Psych-Bereich der Weg hin zu einem pauschalierenden Entgeltsystem eingeschlagen und dem vom InEK entwickelten leistungsbezogenen Vergütungssystem Ende 2012 Rechtsgültigkeit verliehen. Zu Beginn der sog. PEPP-Optionsphase im Januar 2013 bestand daher nicht nur f...

Central serous chorioretinitis serosa is repeatedly brought into aetiological considerations with a rather unspecific concept of distress. Depressive disorder represents a specific stressor, which is known in cardiology or diabetology as a significant risk factor. In the present case report, the clinical correlation between a central serous chorior...

In contemporary U.S. doctor's series, the characters are usually represented by good-looking or typical character actors. The aim of our pilot study was to investigate whether the long-term impact of this format on German television viewers could have an influence on the choice of doctor in Germany. Two different groups of people anticipating TV co...

Background Clinically relevant posttraumatic stress disorders are almost always associated with physical symptoms, which are, on the one hand, classified as somatoform and, on the other hand, may also present as somatic comorbidities. The psychological, neurobiological, endocrinological and immunological correlations are only now beginning to be un...

In zeitgemäßen US-Ärzteserien werden die Charaktere meist durch attraktive oder charaktertypische Schauspieler dargestellt. Das Ziel unserer Pilotstudie war es, zu untersuchen, ob die langjährige Prägung der deutschen Zuschauer durch dieses Fernsehformat einen Einfluss auf die Arztwahl in Deutschland haben könnte. Hierzu wurden in Antizipation der...

Clinically relevant posttraumatic stress disorders are almost always associated with physical symptoms, which are, on the one hand, classified as somatoform and, on the other hand, may also present as somatic comorbidities. The psychological, neurobiological, endocrinological and immunological correlations are only now beginning to be understood. T...

A commentary on The third wave of biological psychiatry by Walter, H. (2013). Front. Psychol. 4:582. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00582

Hintergrund: Eine anhaltende somatoformen Schmerzstörung (ICD-10 F45.40) bedeutet für die betroffenen Patienten eine enorme Belastung und ist mit einer Lebenszeitprävalenz von 12,3% eine häufige Diagnose. Frauen sind mit einer 12-Monats-Prävalenz von 4,9% deutlich häufiger betroffen als Männer (1,7%). Als potentielle Auslöser dieser Störung wurden...

Die ICD-10 bietet eine Möglichkeit der Doppelverschlüsselung von somatischen und psychischen Diagnosen bei den sog. funktionellen Störungen auf der einen, den somatoformen Störungen auf der anderen Seite. Anhand von Abrechnungsdaten einer Gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung wurden die Abrechnungshäufigkeiten entsprechender Diagnosen für die Jahre 2008...

After a motor vehicle collision, in many Western countries, vehicle occupants seek health care for assessment of injuries, and for insurance documentation purposes. In contrast, in many less wealthy countries, there may be limited access to care, and no insurance/ compensation system. The pattern of evolving internet usage in countries with and wit...

Neurobiologisch zeigen Patienten mit schmerzdominierten multisomatoformen Störungen bemerkenswerte Auffälligkeiten in der funktionellen kernspintomographischen Bildgebung. So konnte jüngst gezeigt werden, dass die neurale Schmerzprozessierung bei diesbezüglich Erkrankten hinsichtlich der BOLD-Signale räumliche und zeitliche Auffälligkeiten sowohl i...

Psychosocial stressors can modulate the different stages of neoplastic events. It is established that there is activation of 2 well-known stress axes under stress, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and sympatho-adrenal-medullary axis, where especially the proliferating promoting effects on the malignant tumor events are known to depend on β-a...

Introduction: Somatoform disorders are a heterogeneous and controversial group of mental disorders where pain is a very common symptom. The knowledge of neurobiological correlates of somatoform pain has grown enormously in the recent past. Methods: By means of a selective literature analysis we present fundamental findings focusing on the relations...

Posttraumatische Belastungsstörungen (PTSD) treten in der Allgemeinbevölkerung am häufigsten nach Verkehrsunfällen auf und betreffen bis zu 15 % der Unfallbeteiligten. Psychische Vorschädigungen und körperliche Begleiterkrankungen bzw. Verletzungen können die Entwicklung einer Traumafolgestörung bahnen, jedoch spielt auch das Ausmaß an sozialer Unt...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) occurs most frequently in the general population after traffic accidents and affects up to 15 % of those involved. Mental and physical comorbidity, preliminary damage or injury can herald the development of PTSD, but the scope of social support after the accident plays a crucial role in whether and to what exte...

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) plays an important role in a substantial number of patients with stress-related mental disorders, such as anxiety disorders and depression. CRH has been shown to increase neuronal excitability in the hippocampus, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The effects of CRH on neuronal excitability we...

Patients with chronic and disabling pain which cannot be fully explained by underlying organic pathology are common in all levels of health care and are often found difficult to treat by physicians as well as mental health specialists. Moreover the neurobiology of somatoform pain disorder is still not entirely understood. However, insights from psy...

The German graduate medical education system is going through an important phase of changes. Besides the ongoing reform of the national guidelines for graduate medical education (Musterweiterbildungsordnung), other factors like societal and demographic changes, health and research policy reforms also play a central role for the future and competiti...

The German graduate medical education system is going through an important phase of changes. Besides the ongoing reform of the national guidelines for graduate medical education (Musterweiterbildungsordnung), other factors like societal and demographic changes, health and research policy reforms also play a central role for the future and competiti...

Somatisch nicht hinreichend erklärte Körperbeschwerden sind der Anlass für rund 20% aller Arztbesuche. Je nach Schwere des Verlaufs und je nach fachlichem Hintergrund des Behandlers werden sie als "nicht-spezifisch", "funktionell" oder "somatoform" bezeichnet. Diese Parallelklassifikation birgt die Gefahr einer "Scheuklappendiagnostik", bei der ein...

When the predominant complaint of a patient is physically perceived pain lasting longer than six months, which cannot be fully explained by a physiological process or somatic disorder and causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning, chronic pain disorder as subtype of somatof...

Mit ´Google Insights for Search´ (http://www.google.com/ insights/search/#) steht seit 2008 ein leicht zugängliches Werkzeug im Internet zur Verfügung, mit welchem anhand suchmaschinenanalytischer Prozeduren Ausbrüche bestimmter Infektionskrankheiten und deren -ausbreitungsmuster beinahe in „Echtzeit“ verfolgt werden können. Indem man neben biologi...

rztliche Psychotherapie 2013; 8: 39–46 Q ualitätsmanagement (QM) bezeichnet gemäß Curricu-lum "Ärztliches Qualitätsmanagement" der Bundes-ärztekammer (BÄK) "aufeinander abgestimmte Tätigkeiten zum Leiten und Lenken einer Organisation bezüglich Qua-lität, die üblicherweise das Festlegen der Qualitätspolitik und der Qualitätsziele, die Qualitätsplanu...

Im klinischen Alltag stehen bei chronischen Schmerzkranken neben den Schmerzen oftmals Verluste von Körper- bzw. Bewegungsfunktionen sowie psychische und soziale Konsequenzen des anhaltenden Schmerzerlebens im Vordergrund. Die Wiederherstellung der Funktionsfähigkeit (functional restoration) ist ein Grundprinzip der multimodalen Schmerztherapie und...

Without stimulation, the human brain spontaneously produces highly organized, low-frequency fluctuations of neural activity in intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs). Furthermore, without adequate explanatory peripheral input, patients with somatoform pain disorder suffer from pain symptoms, thus implicating a central dysregulation of pain homeosta...