Assoc. Prof André SCHULZ

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Summary

André Schulz holds the position of an Associate Professor in Psychology in the Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, Head of Research Group “Brain-Body Interaction” and Head of the “Clinical Psychophysiology Laboratory” (CLIPSLAB). Furthermore, he is member of the Faculty Council of FHSE and the Ethics Review Panel of the University of Luxembourg.

• Interoception
• the psychobiology of stress
• mental disorders associated with physical symptoms (e.g., somatic symptom disorders)
• mental health in chronic conditions (e.g., gastrointestinal, respiratory or cardiovascular conditions)
• psychophysiological research methods

Dr Schulz has published 97 articles in high-ranked, international peer-reviewed journals, such as JAMA Psychiatry (IF: 16.6), Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (IF: 6.2), Resuscitation (IF: 5.2) or Psychoneuroendocrinology (IF: 4.9). Moreover, he is Associate Editor of the renowned journal Biological Psychology (IF: 3.2).
His teaching activities include courses in psychophysiology (Bachelor of Science in Psychology), health psychology (Master in Psychological Intervention), as well as in the Doctoral School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Currently, he supervises 8 PhD students (14 former PhD students successfully completed their studies).
André Schulz studied Psychology at the University of Trier (Diplom, MSc equiv., 2007), where he also completed his PhD in Psychobiology (2009) as member of the International Research Training Group “Psychoneuroendocrinology of Stress” (Trier-Leiden/NL), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). After his first postdoc period at the University of Trier, Division of Clinical Psychophysiology, he joined the University of Luxembourg in 2012.

Projects

Interoception in medically unexplained symptoms (INMEDEX) – funded by: University of Luxembourg Research Fund (PUL). Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are highly prevalent in Western societies. However, psychobiological processes underlying MUS remain unclear. Interoception, the perception of bodily processes, may play an important role in the generation of physical symptoms in MUS. Stress contributes to the development and maintenance of MUS and may also affect interoception. Therefore, in the project the relationships between interoception, stress and MUS are investigated.

Interoception and chronic stress (INSTRESS) – funded by: University of Luxembourg Research Fund (PUL). Chronic stress affects the perception of internal bodily states, i.e. interoception, thereby contributing to the generation of physical symptoms and subsequently the development of mental disorders in which physical symptoms play an important role (e.g. panic disorder, somatoform disorders, depression). The psychobiological processes underlying the generation of physical symptoms under conditions of chronic stress, however, are yet unclear. The current project will investigate alterations in interoception and physiological stress responses in schoolteachers with high and low in chronic stress, as the teaching profession represents a highly stressful occupation due to its enduring work-related demands.

Stress effects on interoceptive learning and memory as a mechanism of somatic symptom generation (INMEMO) – funded by Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR). Somatic symptom disorders (SSD) are characterized by enduring physical symptoms without a sufficient medical explanation; they have a high lifetime prevalence of 4.4-12.9% and are associated with a significant impairment of quality of life. Although altered interoception, the processing of internal bodily signals, is observed in SSD, the psychobiology underlying symptom generation remains, however, unclear. Learning and memory associated with physical symptoms (i.e. interoceptive learning) may represent one key mechanism to explain symptom generation. As post-learning stress may facilitate (mainly declarative) learning and memory, this project aims at investigating stress facilitation effects on interoceptive learning and memory.

Interoception of bodily sensations across organ domains and its relevance for somatic symptoms (INBODY) – co-funded by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) and the Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR). Functional somatic syndromes (FSS) are characterized by chronic, disabling symptoms that do not correspond to observable organic dysfunction, and come at great individual and societal costs. Treatment options for FSS are limited, which is largely due to insufficient knowledge about the mechanisms underlying these symptoms. Disturbed interoception, the ability to process and perceive sensory signals from within the body, is believed to be crucially involved. Therefore, the present project aims to examine several important aspects of interoception in healthy individuals and patients with FSS. Specifically, we investigate whether interoception is a general ability that shares neural processing characteristics across multiple organ domains and that predicts affective responses. Moreover, we will test whether altered interoceptive processing of bodily signals from different organs can explain the heterogeneity of somatic symptoms, especially in FSS, and how this can be modified by new treatment approaches.

Shared Underlying Mechanisms of Long-COvid and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – A psychoneuroendocrinological and psychoimmunological perspective (SUMCO) – funded by the Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Luxembourg. At least 10 % of patients recovering from Covid-19 develop persistent health consequences such as fatigue, myalgia, or post-exertional malaise. “Long-Covid” is one of the many terms used to describe the occurrence of respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, and/or gastrointestinal symptoms weeks after the initial infection is resolved. Although some symptoms seem to be unique to Long-Covid, there is a large symptom overlap with the condition of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). ME/CFS is a complex, multisystem condition affecting 0.89 % of the global population. Different factors have been hypothesized to be involved in the aetiology of ME/CFS, including immune system dysregulation, metabolic alteration, autonomic nervous system (ANS) and limbic system dysfunction, as well as abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We aim to elucidate how these processes translate into severity of fatigue, as the relationship between these alterations and actual symptom distress remains yet unclear. Furthermore, we aim at developing novel intervention strategies to normalize ANS, HPA axis and immune dysfunction based on neuromodulation.

Deploying a mobile interoceptive training app to reduce somatic symptom distress (DEPLOY) – funded by the Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR). Somatic symptoms have a particularly high prevalence in modern societies and can feed, if persistent and debilitating, into a so-called ‘somatic symptom disorder’ (SSD). Impaired interoception, the processing and perception of signals from inside the body, is discussed as one mechanism behind somatic symptom generation. Accordingly, first studies showed that SSD patients report reduced somatic symptom severity after an interoceptive training, based on heartbeat perception. The aim of the current project is to develop a mobile app based on heartbeat perception training (HBPT) and to test its efficacy in reducing symptom severity in individuals reporting somatic symptoms. Hence, this project may provide a novel, mobile intervention based on HBPT to reduce somatic symptoms. Furthermore, as it is based on physiological processes (i.e. assessment and perception of heartbeats), concerned individuals may show a higher acceptance of this intervention.