The developing individual and brain are key in understanding mental health and its trajectories. Identifying early deviations from a ”healthy developmental trajectory’ allows for intervention before undesirable outcomes have occurred. Understanding the causes of individual differences in development forms the basis for the targeted, early promotion of mental health, and potentially the prevention of mental illness. The identification of ‘critical periods’ but also factors and mechanisms to promote neuroplastic and behavioural change across the lifespan offers more precise knowledge for targeted intervention to promote mental health.

J. Gallinat, S. Kühn, U. Lindenberger, B. Röder, and I. Hanganu-Opatz focus on investigating (a) how brain and behaviour change over time, including the fetal period and (b) how they are influenced by lifestyle and environmental factors such as physical exercise, habitual behaviour (e.g. daily routines), exploration, environmental enrichment vs. deprivation, and other factors. We are commited to transferring this knowledge to the next step: designing targeted interventions to foster neuroplasticity to promote desirable changes or outcomes.

For example, S. Kühn, J. Gallinat and U. Lindenberger employ custom-made video games to foster neuroplasticity in different brain areas in order to enhance cognitive functions; e.g. inhibition (impulse control), spatial navigation skills, memory function, and emotion regulation. According behavioural and neuronal changes are measured and linked to one another.

Within the context of the prospective PRINCE birth cohort, currently involving more than 750 mothers, lead by P. Arck, the MH-TRN focus group is collaborating in order to further study developmental brain trajectories related to cognitive function. Insights from this project will be highly valuable in identifying risk and protective factors in brain development and related mental health or illness.

Thorough investigation of brain development requires according methodological expertise. This is provided by A. Engel, who pioneered data-driven approaches for the analysis of brain connectivity. He is a leading expert in computational modeling  and analyses of cortical network dynamics. U. Lindenberger contributes with his expertise concerning longitudinal (lifetime) brain imaging (incl. methods and computational models), which is crucial in order to be able to identify how different factors, including ageing, influence neuroplastic change.