Working Group 4
Brainstem Function (overview & experimental paradigms brainstem function - humans & animals)
Key objectives of the Working Group
a) provide an overview of the current insights into human brainstem function, including underexplored functions (e.g. autonomic-central nervous system interactions), also based on meta-analyses,
b) assess the reliability of functional brainstem activations in large and multisite datasets, explore functional networks of brainstem structures,
c) establish a consensus on experimental set-ups for investigating brainstem functions including functional localizers,
d) establish cross-species paradigms.
WG Meetings:
Regular meetings: First Wednesday of every month
First meeting: 4 March 2026
Time: 13:00–14:00 CET
Meeting link: will be sent separately by email to all WG members
Main focus: advancing understanding of brainstem function, especially arousal and sleep mechanisms, while promoting collaborative research, shared methodologies, and translational links between human and preclinical studies.
More Information regarding your WG can be found on the Actions folder.
Members of the Working Group
Fatma Ebru Algul
Member
Institution affiliation:
İnönü University
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
César Caballero-Gaudes
Member
Institution affiliation:
Bcbl Basque Center On Cognition Brain And Language
Country of affiliation:
Spain (ES)
Giovanni d'Avossa
Member
Institution affiliation:
Bangor University
Country of affiliation:
United Kingdom (UK)
Herberto Dhanis
Member
Institution affiliation:
University College London
Country of affiliation:
United Kingdom (UK)
Abdulsamet Efdal
Member
Institution affiliation:
Hitit University
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Aurora Gasparello
Member
Institution affiliation:
Université de Liège
Country of affiliation:
Belgium (BE)
Filippo Sean Giorgi
Member
Institution affiliation:
Universita Di Pisa
Country of affiliation:
Italy (IT)
Evrim GOZ
Member
Institution affiliation:
TARSUS UNIVERSITY
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Dorothea Hämmerer
Action Chair
Institution affiliation:
Universitaet Innsbruck
Country of affiliation:
Austria (AT)
Heidi Jacobs
Member
Institution affiliation:
Massachusetts General Hospital
Country of affiliation:
United States (US)
David Meder
MC Member
Institution affiliation:
Copenhagen University Hospital Amager Hvidovre
Country of affiliation:
Denmark (DK)
Huden Nese
Member
Institution affiliation:
Bogazici University
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Claire O'Callaghan
Member
Institution affiliation:
The University Of Sydney
Country of affiliation:
Australia (AU)
Igor Petrusic
MC Member
Institution affiliation:
Faculty of Physical Chemistry, University of Belgrade
Country of affiliation:
Serbia (RS)
Hristina Popovska
Member
Institution affiliation:
University Clinic of Neurology, UKIM,Skopje
Country of affiliation:
North Macedonia (MK)
Abdurrahman Sonmezler
Member
Institution affiliation:
Gaziantep Sehir Hastanesi
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Burak TASCI
Member
Institution affiliation:
Fırat Üniversitesi
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Aylin Toplu
Member
Institution affiliation:
Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Gilles Vandewalle
Member
Institution affiliation:
Université de Liège
Country of affiliation:
Belgium (BE)
Elma Zanaj
MC Member
Institution affiliation:
Polytechnic University of Tirana
Country of affiliation:
Albania (AL)
Derya ÖZTÜRK SÖYLEMEZ
Member
Institution affiliation:
Sinop Universitesi
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Sirin Yagmur Abaci
Member
Institution affiliation:
Bogazici University
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Maximilian Ernst Boll
Grant Holder Manager, Member
Institution affiliation:
Universitaet Innsbruck
Country of affiliation:
Austria (AT)
Joana Cabral
Member
Institution affiliation:
University of Minho
Country of affiliation:
Portugal (PT)
Lewis Crawford
Member
Institution affiliation:
The University Of Sydney
Country of affiliation:
Australia (AU)
Martin J. Dahl
Member
Institution affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Country of affiliation:
Germany (DE)
Kübra Eren
Member
Institution affiliation:
Bogazici University
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Josephine Groot
Member
Institution affiliation:
Universitetet I Tromsoe - Norges Arktiske Universitet
Country of affiliation:
Norway (NO)
Maria Guidi
Member
Institution affiliation:
Museo Storico Della Fisica E Centro Studi E Ricerche Enrico Fermi
Country of affiliation:
Italy (IT)
Şahi Nur KALKIŞIM
Member
Institution affiliation:
Karadeniz Teknik Universitesi
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Timothy Lawn
Member
Institution affiliation:
Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging
Country of affiliation:
United States (US)
Sabrina Lenzoni
Member
Institution affiliation:
Universitaet Innsbruck
Country of affiliation:
Austria (AT)
Mareike Ludwig
Member
Institution affiliation:
University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
Country of affiliation:
Germany (DE)
Mara Mather
Member
Institution affiliation:
University Of Southern California
Country of affiliation:
United States (US)
Sarah Meissner
Member
Institution affiliation:
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
Country of affiliation:
Switzerland (CH)
Kyriaki Mikellidou
MC Member
Institution affiliation:
University of Limassol
Country of affiliation:
Cyprus (CY)
Valeria Oliva
Member
Institution affiliation:
Istituto Superiore di Sanità (National Institute of Health)
Country of affiliation:
Italy (IT)
Lucia Penalba Sánchez
Member
Institution affiliation:
OTTO-VON-GUERICKE UNIVERSITAET MAGDEBURG
Country of affiliation:
Germany (DE)
Matthias Prigge
Member
Institution affiliation:
Humboldt University of Berlin
Country of affiliation:
Germany (DE)
Roberta Sclocco
Member
Institution affiliation:
Harvard Medical School
Country of affiliation:
United States (US)
Nicholas John Simos
Member
Institution affiliation:
Université de Liège
Country of affiliation:
Belgium (BE)
Büşra Zencirci
Member
Institution affiliation:
Adiyaman University
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Neşe Ayşit
Member
Institution affiliation:
Istanbul Medipol University
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Elif Can Yildirim
Member
Institution affiliation:
Universiteit Maastricht
Country of affiliation:
Netherlands (NL)
Safa Mete Dagdas
Member
Institution affiliation:
Sağlık Bilimleri Universty
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Oxana Eschenko
MC Member
Institution affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics
Country of affiliation:
Germany (DE)
Mansoureh Fahimi
Member
Institution affiliation:
Boston Scientific Limited
Country of affiliation:
Ireland (IE)
Patrícia Figueiredo
MC Member
Institution affiliation:
Instituto Superior Técnico
Country of affiliation:
Portugal (PT)
Jan Fousek
Member
Institution affiliation:
Masaryk University - CEITEC – Central European Institute of Technology
Country of affiliation:
Czech Republic (CZ)
Pinar Gencpinar
Member
Institution affiliation:
Izmir Biyotip Ve Genom Merkezi
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Leen HAKKI
Member
Institution affiliation:
Bogazici University
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Ömer Kartal
Member
Institution affiliation:
University of Health Sciences, Umraniye Training and Research Hospital
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Paul Mullins
Member
Institution affiliation:
Bangor University
Country of affiliation:
United Kingdom (UK)
Veronica Mäki-Marttunen
MC Member
Institution affiliation:
Oslo Universitetssykehus Hf
Country of affiliation:
Norway (NO)
Ruben Nechifor
MC Member
Institution affiliation:
Babes-Bolyai University
Country of affiliation:
Romania (RO)
Pinar Ozbay
WG2 Lead, MC Core Member
Institution affiliation:
Bogazici University
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Joana Pinto
Member
Institution affiliation:
Siemens Healthineers AG
Country of affiliation:
Germany (DE)
Irena Rektorova
MC Member
Institution affiliation:
Masaryk University - CEITEC – Central European Institute of Technology
Country of affiliation:
Czech Republic (CZ)
Burcu Talu
Member
Institution affiliation:
Inonu University
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Mohsin Zafar
Member
Institution affiliation:
Universita Degli Studi Di Foggia
Country of affiliation:
Italy (IT)
Maryam Ziaei
MC Member
Institution affiliation:
Norwegian University of Science and Technology - Kavli institute for systems neuroscience
Country of affiliation:
Norway (NO)
RUKİYE ÇİFTÇİ
Member
Institution affiliation:
GAZİANTEP İSLAM BİLİM VE TEKNOLOJİ ÜNİVERSİTESİ
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Mazhar ÖZKAN
Member
Institution affiliation:
Tekirdag Namik Kemal Universitesi
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)
Pinar Ozbay
WG4 Lead, MC Core Member
Institution affiliation:
Bogazici University
Country of affiliation:
Türkiye (TR)