Prof. Dr. Martina Manns
Ruhr-University Bochum
Fakultät für Psychologie
AE Biopsychologie
D-44780 Bochum, Germany
Room: GAFO 05/604
Phone: +49 234 32-24634
Fax: +49 234 32-14377
Email: Martina.Manns@rub.de
Office hours: Best to reach by email
Curriculum Vitae
| 1964 | born in Dortmund |
| 1984 | Abitur |
| 1984-1991 | Biology student in Bochum and Bielefeld |
| 1991 | 1991 Diploma thesis: "Influence of lithium and retinoic acid onto the morphogenesis and differentiation of the nervous and sensory system of Xenopus laevis: effects of anterior suppression" Prof. Dr. B. Fritzsch, Univ. Bielefeld |
| 1992-1998 | Dissertation in Konstanz and Bochum |
| 1992-1995 | Scholarship of the Boehringer-Ingelheim Fonds |
| 1997 | Holder of a "Wiedereinstiegsstipendium" des Hochschulsonderprogramms II, Ruhr-Universität Bochum |
| 1998 | Dissertation: "Ontogeny of visual lateralization in pigeons: development and plasticity of the system" Prof. Dr. O. Güntürkün, Univ. Bochum |
| 1998-1999 | PhD scholarship of the Graduiertenkolleg "KOGNET" of the Ruhr-University Bochum |
| 2000-2001 | Research assistent at the Dep. Molecular Neurobiochem., Prof. Dr. R. Heumann, RUB |
| 2002-2008 | Research assistent at Biopsychologie, Prof. Dr. O. Güntürkün, RUB |
| 2007 | Habilitation for "Cognitive Neuroscience" at the Ruhr-University Bochum |
| 2008-2009 | Coordinator of the DAAD PHD programme „Neurocognition: Foundations and clinical processes“ |
| 2009 | Acting professor for Biological & General Psychology at the University of Wuppertal |
| 2010 | DFG project “Influences of inter- and intrahemispheric interactions onto the development and dynamics of visual lateralization in pigeons“ |
| 04/2013 | Ernennung zur Außerplanmäßigen Professorin an der Fakultät für Psychologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum |
Research Interests
Functional organization of visual lateralization in pigeons:
The visual system of pigeons serves as a model system to understand the functional architecture of lateralized information processing and its development.
a) Structural organization of the visual system
We investigate the structural organization of the visual pathways by means of tract-tracing and immunohistochemical techniques in order to unravel the visual architecture as a prerequisite for an understanding of asymmetrical visual processing.
b) Development of visual lateralization in pigeons
We examine the developing visual system by means of neuroanatomical and biochemical methods and investigate morphological and behavioural consequences of modulations in developmental light experience to understand the neuronal mechanisms which mediate asymmetry formation.
c) Hemispheric specific processing and its ontogenetic foundations
We investigate which aspects of visual processing are lateralized and how the hemispheres integrate information by adopting tasks requiring higher cognitive functions like spatial orientation or categorization to understand the dynamic aspects of interhemispheric interactions. Moreover, we want to know how these interactions are influenced by the ontogenetic experiences.
Publications
Journals:
- M. Manns, B. Fitzsch (1991) The eye in the brain: Retinoic acid effects morphogenesis of the eye and pathway selection but not differentiation of the retina in Xenopus l. Neurosci. Letters 127: 150-154.
- M. Manns, B. Fitzsch (1992) Retinoic acid affects the organization of reticulospinal neurons in developing Xenopus. Neurosci. Letters 139: 253-256.
- M. Manns, O. Güntürkün (1997) Development of the retino-tectal system in the pigeon: A cytoarchitectonic and Choleratoxin study. J. Anat. Embryol. 195: 539-555.
- M. Manns, O. Güntürkün (1999a) Monocular deprivation alters the direction of functional and morphological asymmetries in the pigeon's visual system. Behav. Neurosi. 113: 1257-1266.
- M. Manns, O. Güntürkün (1999b) 'Natural' and artificial monocular deprivation effects on thalamic soma sizes in pigeons. NeuroReport 10: 3223-3228.
- O. Güntürkün, B. Diekamp, M. Manns, F. Nottelmann, H. Prior, A. Schwarz, M. Skiba (2000) Asymmetry pays: visual lateralization improves discrimination success in pigeons. Curr Biol. 10: 1079-1081.
- B. Hellmann, M. Manns, O. Güntürkün (2001) Nucleus isthmi, pars semilunaris as a key component of the tectofugal visual system in pigeons. J. Comp. Neurol. 436: 153 - 166.
- M. Manns, Güntürkün O. (2003) Light experience induces differential asymmetry pattern of GABA- and parvalbumin-positive cells in the pigeon's visual midbrain. J. Chem. Neuroanat. 25: 249-259.
- B. Hellmann, O. Güntürkün, M. Manns (2004) The Organization of the descending tectal projections in comparison to the ascending tectofugal pathway in the pigeon, J. Comp. Neurol. 472: 395-410.
- H. Prior, B. Diekamp, O. Güntürkün and M. Manns (2004). Posthatch activity-dependent modulation of visual asymmetry formation in pigeons. NeuroReport 15:1311-1314.
- M. Manns (2005) The riddle of nature and nurture - lateralization has an epigenetic trait, commentary on Vallortigara, G. and Rogers, L. J., Survival with an asymmetrical brain: Advantages and disadvantages of cerebral lateralization, Behav. Brain Sci. 28: 602-603.
- M. Manns, O. Güntürkün, R. Heumann, A. Blöchl (2005) Photic inhibition of TrkB/Ras activity in the pigeon's tectum during development: impact on brain asymmetry formation. Eur. J. Neurosci. 22: 2180-2186.
- M. Manns, O. Güntürkün (2005) Differential effects of ocular BDNF-injections onto the development of tectal cells characterized by calcium-binding proteins in pigeons. Brain Res. Bull. 66: 475-478.
- M. Schulte, B. Diekamp, M. Manns, A. Schwarz, C. Valencia-Alfonso, J. Kirsch, O. Güntürkün, K. Folta (2006). Visual responses and afferent connections of the n. ventrolateralis thalami (VLT) in the pigeon (Columba livia). Brain Res. Bull. 68: 285-292.
- J.-U. Buschmann, M. Manns, O. Güntürkün (2006) "Let there be light!" Pigeon eggs are naturally exposed to light during breeding. Behav. Processes 73: 62-67.
- M. Manns, N. Freund, N. Patzke, O. Güntürkün (2007) Organization of telencephalotectal projections in pigeons: Impact for lateralized top-down control. Neuroscience 144: 645 - 653.
- D. Heyers, M. Manns, H. Luksch, O. Güntürkün, H. Mouritsen (2007) A visual pathway links brain structures active during magnetic compass orientation in migratory birds. PloS One 9: e937.
- M. Manns, N. Freund, O. Güntürkün (2008) Development of the diencephalic relay structures of the visual thalamofugal system in pigeons. Brain Res Bull 75: 424-427.
- N. Freund, M. Manns, O. Güntürkün (2008) A morphological study of the nucleus subpretectalis of the pigeon. Brain res Bull 75: 491-493.
- D. Heyers, M. Manns, H. Luksch, O. Güntürkün, H. Mouritsen (2008) Calcium-binding proteins label functional streams of the visual system in a songbird. Brain Res Bull 75: 348-355.
- M. Manns, N. Freund, O. Leske, O. Güntürkün (2008) Breaking the balance: Ocular BDNF-injections induce visual asymmetry in pigeons. Developmental Neurobiology 68: 1123-1134.
- N. Patzke, S. Ocklenburg, F.J. van der Staay, O. Güntürkün, M. Manns (2009) Consequences of different housing conditions onto brain morphology of laying hens. J. Chem. Neuroanat.37: 141-148.
- M. Manns, O. Güntürkün (2009) Dual Coding of Visual Asymmetries in the Pigeon Brain – the Interaction of Bottom-up and Top-down Systems. Exp Brain Res. 199: 323-332.
- N. Freund, M. Manns, J. Rose (2010) A method for the evaluation of intracranial Tetrodotoxin injections. J Neurosci Methods 186: 25-28.
- N. Patzke, M. Manns, O. Güntürkün, P. Ioale, A. Gagliardo (2010) Navigation induced ZENK expression in the olfactory system of pigeons (Columba livia). Europ J Neurosci 31: 2062-2072.
- M. Manns, Z. Bichler, O. Leske, R. Heumann (2010) Neuronal Ras activation inhibits adult hippocampal progenitor cell division and impairs spatial short term memory. Genes, Brain & Behav 9: 525-536.
- M. Manns, O. Leske, S. Gottfried, Z. Bichler, P. Lafenetre, P. Wahle, R. Heumann (2011). Role of neuronal Ras activity in adult hippocampal neurogenesis and cognition. Front. Neurosci. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2011.00018.
- N. Patzke, M. Manns, O. Güntürkün (2011). Telencephalic organization of the olfactory system in homing pigeons (Columba livia). Neuroscience 194C: 53-61.
- M. Manns, J. Römling (2012). The impact of asymmetrical light input on cerebral hemispheric specialization and interhemispheric cooperation. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/ncomms1699.
- J. Verhaal, J. Kirsch, I. Vlachos, M. Manns, O. Güntürkün (2012). Lateralized Reward-Related Visual Discrimination in the Avian Entopallium. Eur J Neurosci 35: 1337-43.
- F. Ströckens, N. Freund, M. Manns, S. Ocklenburg, O. Güntürkün (2012). Visual asymmetries and the ascending thalamofugal pathway in pigeons. Brain Struct Funct, Sep 29. [Epub ahead of print].
Book chapters:
- Manns M (2006). The Epigenetic Control of Asymmetry Formation - Lessons From the Avian Visual System. In: Malashichev Y, Deckel W. (eds.) Behavioral and Morphological Asymmetries in Vertebrates. Landes Bioscience, Georgetown; pp: 13-23
- O. Güntürkün, M. Manns (2010). The Embryonic Development of Visual Asymmetry in the Pigeon. In: Hugdahl K, Westerhausen R (eds.) The two halves of the brain - Information Processing in the Cerebral Hemispheres. MIT Press, Cambridge; pp: 121-142