Janina Neufeld

Janina Neufeld

Senior Forskare | Docent
E-postadress: janina.neufeld@ki.se
Telefon: +46852482874
Besöksadress: Gävlegatan 22B, plan 8, 11330 STOCKHOLM
Postadress: K6 Kvinnors och barns hälsa, K6 Neuropsykiatri Bölte Neufeld, 171 77 Stockholm
Del av:

Om mig

  • I studied Biology with a main focus on Neurobiology, conducting my PhD and
    postdoctoral studies in the field of Human Neuroscience. Methodologically my
    core interests are Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Eye-Tracking, Electromyography
    and Psychophysics.
    Currently, I am Assistant Professor (FoAss) at the Center of
    Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND).
    Post-doctoral training 2014-2018, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders
    at Karolinska Institutet (KIND) at the Department of Women's and
    Children's Health (KBH), K6
    Post-doctoral training 2012-2014, Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and
    Neurodynamics (CINN) / School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences,
    University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
    PhD 2008-2012, Center for Systems Neuroscience Hannover (ZSN) / Hannover
    Medical School (MHH), Clinic of Psychiatry, Socialpsychiatry and
    Psychotherapy, Hanover, Germany

Forskningsbeskrivning

  • My research focuses mainly on brain connectivity and sensory processing in
    individuals with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and in relation to
    ASC-related symptoms. My second main research focus area is synesthesia, a
    non-pathological sensory condition where specific sensory inputs like sounds,
    letters, weekdays, smells etc. automatically lead to additional sensations,
    such as colors or shapes.
    Since 2019, I am running a research project on the link between synesthesia
    and ASC (primarily funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond [1]). Synesthesia
    occurs more commonly in people with ASC, but the reason for this is unknown.
    In a large twin cohort from The Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden
    (CATSS [2]) and in collaboration with Paul Lichtenstein’s group [3] at
    Karolinska Institutet, I am investigating the genetic and environmental
    contributions to synesthesia and its association with ASC. My group is
    further investigating brain connectivity and sensory processing in people
    synesthesia and people with ASC in order to identify similarities and
    differences between the two conditions within these domains. Importantly,
    synesthesia has been shown to have beneficial effects on memory and might
    play a role in the etiology of extraordinary talents (savant skills) in
    people with ASC. Hence, studying the two conditions in conjunction might also
    help us to understand more about how extraordinary talents develop in people
    with ASC.
    Additionally, I am involved in the Roots of Autism and ADHD Twin Study in
    Sweden (RATSS [4]), which aims to identify reliable biomarkers and correlates
    of ASC. Within RATSS, I am focusing mainly on brain connectivity [5] and
    sensory processing including globally vs locally directed attention in visual
    processing [6] and hyper- and hyposensitivity to sensory input and am further
    contributing to research on brain structure [7], social cognition [8], gut
    microbiota and inflammation markers in cerebrospinal fluid.
    [1] https://www.rj.se/en/anslag/2018/where-is-the-link-between-synesthesia-and-autism-a-twin-study-on-shared-neural-mechanisms-and-their-causes/
    [2] https://ki.se/en/meb/the-child-and-adolescent-twin-study-in-sweden-catss
    [3] https://medarbetare.ki.se/people/paulic?_ga=2.70361296.1943881195.1569852893-1864271054.1551105273
    [4] https://ki.se/en/kind/the-project-ratss
    [5] https://www.nature.com/articles/mp2017160
    [6] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcpp.13120
    [7] https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/29/3/1342/5253193
    [8] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-019-04001-4

Artiklar

Alla övriga publikationer

Anställningar

  • Senior Forskare, Kvinnors och barns hälsa, Karolinska Institutet, 2022-2025

Examina och utbildning

  • Docent, Psykologi, Karolinska Institutet, 2024
  • PhD, Hannover Medical School, 2012

Uppdrag

  • Treasurer for Junior Faculty, Karolinska Institute, 2022-
  • Forskargruppsledare, Team Neufeld, Karolinska Institute, 2022-

Handledare

  • Yating Huang, 2023
  • Karl Lundin Remnélius, Female autism phenotypes : sex/gender differences in functioning, camouflaging, and eating problems, http://hdl.handle.net/10616/48554
  • Hjalmar Nobel

Uppdrag i kommitté

  • Medlem, Junior Faculty Steering Group, Karolinska Institute, 2022-

Gästforskning och resestipendier

  • Postdoc, University of Reading

Redaktör för vetenskaplig tidskrift

  • Scientific Reports, Gästredaktör, 2022

Nyheter från KI

Kalenderhändelser från KI