Christian Otte appointed Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at NYU

Professor Christian Otte from the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin has been appointed Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University (NYU).

Why do some people develop post-traumatic stress disorder after traumatic stress and others don´t? Which risk factors and resilience factors play a key role? Which mechanisms make traumatic stress go “under the skin”? These and other questions are currently being examined at the NYU in extensive studies in which Professor Otte is involved. The background of this collaboration is a long term cooperation with the chair of the department of psychiatry at NYU, Professor Charles Marmar, a leading scientist in the field of posttraumatic stress disorder.

In the past, Professor Otte could show that trauma during childhood leads to an increased release of stress hormones in response to new stressors in adulthood. This leads to a stronger consolidation in traumatic memories and greater fear conditioning – the two main mechanisms in the formation of posttraumatic stress disorder.

With the appointment the two research groups of the Charité and NYU aim for an intensified collaboration with the perspective of an exchange of researchers.

For further information on the NYU Department of Psychiatry please click here and for more information on the mentioned studies please see here:

http://policestressandhealth.med.nyu.edu/

http://ptsdresearch.nyumc.org/

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