How are experiences represented in the brain and transformed into memory traces? How do these experiences shape our personality? And how is memory affected by trauma, internal psychological conflicts and Alzheimer's dementia? In my group, we investigate the neuronal basis of memory functions and disorders using cognitive neuroscience methods: EEG, fMRI, simultaneous EEG/fMRI, fMRI at 7T, intracranial EEG. I am particularly interested in the processing of specific content by the brain and how the resulting stimulus-specific representations can be decoded using pattern classification algorithms. We investigate a broad spectrum of memory processes (working memory, long-term memory, memory consolidation at rest and during sleep, autobiographical memory, social memory, repression).

Since 2021: Associated PI
Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen

Since 2014: Full Professor (W3) for Neuropsychology
Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum

2014: Offer of a position as Chair
Department of Psychology, University of Birmingham (declined)

2014: Offer of a position as Group Leader
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn (connected to a W2 Professorship at the University of Bonn; declined)

2011 – 2014: Emmy Noether Group Leader
Department of Epileptology, University Bonn

2011 – 2014: Junior Research Group Leader (tenure track)
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn

2004 – 2011: Clinician Scientist
Department of Epileptology, University Bonn

2009: Habilitation and Venia legendi in „Cognitive Neuroscience“
Thesis: Memory processes in the medial temporal lobe

2005: Doctorate (Dr. med.)
Institute of Physiology Innovatinskolleg Theoretical Biology, Humboldt University Berlin, Thesis: Theoretische und experimentelle Studien zur präsynaptischen Modulation der GABAergen Übertragung (summa cum laude)

2004: Medical license (Approbation)
Humboldt University Berlin

1998: Intermediate examination in the Master's degree program in Philosophy
Free University Berlin

• Kobelt M, Waldhauser GT, Rupietta A, Heinen R, Rau EMB, Kessler H, Axmacher N (2024) The memory trace of an intrusive trauma-analog episode. Curr Biol 34(8): 1657-1669.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.005
   
• Kucewicz MT, Worrel GA, Axmacher N (2023) Direct electrical brain stimulation of human memory: lessons learnt and future perspectives. Brain 146(6):2214-2226. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awac435
   
• Ten Oever S, Sack AT, Oehrn CR, Axmacher N (2021) An engram of intentionally forgotten information. Nat Commun 12(1):6443. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26713-x
   
• Bierbrauer A, Fellner MC, Heinen R, Wolf OT, Axmacher N (2021) The memory trace of a stressful episode. Curr Biol 31(23):5204-5213.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.044
   
• Bierbrauer A, Kunz L, Gomes CA, Luhmann M, Deuker L, Getzmann S, Wascher E, Gajewski PD, Hengstler JG, Fernandez-Alvarez M, Atienza M, Cammisuli DM, Bonatti F, Pruneti C, Percesepe A, Bellaali Y, Hanseeuw B, Strange BA, CanteroJL, Axmacher N (2020) Unmasking selective path integration deficits in Alzheimer's disease risk carriers. Sci Adv 6(35):eaba1394. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba1394
   
• Lee H, Stirnberg R, Wu S, Wang X, Stöcker T, Jung S, Montag C, Axmacher N (2020) Genetic Alzheimer's disease risk affects the neural mechanisms of pattern separation in hippocampal subfields. Curr Biol 30(21):4201-4212.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.042
   
• Fellner MC, Waldhauser GT, Axmacher N (2020) Tracking selective rehearsal and active inhibition of memory traces in directed forgetting. Curr Biol 30(13):2638-2644.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.091
   
• Kunz L, Wang L, Lachner-Piza D, Zhang H, Brandt A, Dümpelmann M, Reinacher PC, Coenen VA, Chen D, Wang WX, Zhou W, Liang S, Grewe P, Bien CG, Bierbrauer A, Navarro Schröder T, Schulze-Bonhage A, Axmacher N (2019) Hippocampal theta phases organize the reactivation of large-scale electropysiological representations during goal-directed navigation. Sci Adv 5(7):eaav8192. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav8192
   
• Kunz L, Maidenbaum S, Chen D, Wang L, Jacobs J, Axmacher N (2019) Mesoscopic neural representations in spatial navigation. Trends Cogn Sci 23(7):615-630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2019.04.011
   
• Kunz L, Schröder TN, Lee H, Montag C, Lachmann B, Sariyska R, Reuter M, Stirnberg R, Stöcker T, Messing-Floeter PC, Fell J, Doeller CF, Axmacher N (2015) Reduced grid-cell-like representations in adults at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease. Science 350(6259):430-433. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac8128

• 2023-2026: DFG
  The impact of cartographic cues on neural representations of space
• 2022-2023: Mercator Research Center Ruhr
  Laminare Ultrahochfeldbildgebung im menschlichen Hippocampus
• 2021-2023: DFG
  Neuronal basis, functional role, and pathological relevance of grid cell-like representations in the human brain
• 2020-2025: ERC Consolidator Grant
  Neural mechanisms, functional roles, and pathophysiological relevance of human grid cell-like representations
• 2019-2025: DFG, FOR 2812, project P08
  Modification of episodic memories due to integration with a self-model
• 2019-2023: DFG (ORA)
  Hidden brain states underlying efficient representations in working memory
• 2019-2022: GIF
  Enhancing early memory consolidation via theta EEG, neurofeedback, and stimulation
• 2018-2022: DFG, SFB 874, project B11
  Shaping of object representations by cognitive and emotional factors
• 2018-2022: DFG, SFB 874, project A11
  The relationship between implicit and explicit visuomotor task learning  in hippocampus and parietal cortex
• 2018-2025: DFG, SFB 1280, project F02
  Focus Group Neuroimaging: Extinction network connectivity across learning paradigms
• 2017-2025: DFG, SFB 1280, project A02
  Neural mechanisms of context generalization

• 2019: Best Teaching Award, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• 2017-2018: Head of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum
• 2014: Elected Member, Memory Disorders Research Society (MDRS) 
• 2014: Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (connected to an offer in Birmingham; declined)
• 2000: Best Presentation Award (Annual Meeting of the International Computer Science Society)

• Since 2021: Wellcome Trust (UK), Panel member
• Since 2016: BRAIN Initiative (NIH), Panel member
• Since 2014: Research Council of Norway, Panel member
• Since 2014: Associate Editor, Cognitive Neuroscience
• 2013: Special Topic Guest Editor, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
• Since 2004: Reviewer for >50 Scientific Journals (e.g. Science, Nat Neurosci, Neuron, Nat Commun, PNAS, PLOS Biol, Curr Biol, Trends Cogn Sci)
• Since 2008: Reviewer for >10 national and international organizations (z.B. DFG, ERC, NIH, NSF, MRC, ANR, BBSRC)