Waltereit Lab - Cognitive Developmental Neurobiology
Psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents, such as ADHD, autism, oppositional-defiant and conduct disorder, anxiety disorder, depression and psychosis, can be associated with either disturbance of brain or psychosocial development, or both. Such disorders do not appear suddenly, but develop during the course of development, i.e. either before birth, or during childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.
We are interested in three main questions:
- Do disturbances of the mTOR signaling pathway affect the development of the brain and do they play a role for developmental disorders such as autism, ADHD and schizophrenia?
- Which unconventional approaches contribute to a better understanding and further development of diagnostics in child and adolescent psychiatry?
- Which new approaches contribute to a better understanding of the course of psychiatric disorders and the implications for optimal health care of adolescents?
Current projects
Autism and other disorders in children and adolescents and their relation to molecular dysregulation of mTOR
- Molecular neurobiology, behavioral analysis and experimental pharmacology in the Tsc2 +/- animal model
- Empowerment of families, destigmatization of tuberous sclerosis-associated neuropsychiatric manifestations (TAND), development of international clinical guidelines for TAND and a mobile app available for patients world-wide.
- Development of mTOR as a protein biomarker for neurodevelopmental disorders
Diagnostic methods and developmental psychopathology
- Operationalized family and development histories of ADHD, ODD/CD, ASD, depression and anorexia nervosa
- ICD-10 / DSM-V criteria of ADHD in primary school certificates: semantic analysis
- ICD-10 / DSM-V criteria of ADHD in primary school certificates: analysis by artificial intelligence
- Early childhood movement patterns in TSC compared to other syndromes
Adolescent and Transition Psychiatry
- Observational study on guanfacine in affective dysregulation
- Development of an observational study on ECT in adolescent depression
- Development of a school leaving cohort
Collaborations
Prof. Dr. Peter Marschik, Göttingen/Graz
Dr. Martin Schulte-Rüther, Göttingen
PD Dr. David Zilles-Wegner, Göttingen
Prof. Dr. Petrus de Vries, Cape Town, South Africa
Prof. Dr. Kathrin Thedieck, Innsbruck, Austria
Prof. Dr. Veit Roessner, Dresden, Germany
Selected publications
Waltereit R, Feucht M, de Vries M, Huemer J, Roessner V, de Vries P. Neuropsychiatrische Manifestationen bei Tuberöse Sklerose (TSC): Diagnostische Leitlinien, TAND-Konzept und Therapie mit mTOR-Inhibitoren. Z Kinder Jugendpsychiatr Psychother (2019) 47(2):139-153. Epub 2018 Aug 6.
Waltereit R, Kühne M, Waltereit J, Roessner V. Ablehnung von Geschlossener Unterbringung in der Jugendhilfe: zwei Fallberichte und Diskussion von Bedarfslage und Wirksamkeit. Z Kinder Jugendpsychiatr Psychother (2019) 47(6):547-553. doi: 10.1024/1422-4917/a000685. Epub 2019 Aug 26.
Waltereit J, Haas F, Ehrlich S, Roessner V, Waltereit R. Family and developmental history of ADHD patients: standardized clinical routine interview shows significant profiles and content validity of the technique. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci (2020) 270(8):1047-1061. doi: 10.1007/s00406-019-01047-4. Epub 2019 Aug 9.
Kutna V, Uttl L, Waltereit R, Kristofikova Z, Kaping D, Petrasek T, Ovsepian S. Tuberous Sclerosis (tsc2+/-) Model Eker Rats Reveael Extensive Neuronal Loss with Microglial Invasion and Vascular Remodeling Related to Brain Neoplasia. Neurotherapeutics (2020) 17(1):329-339. doi: 10.1007/s13311-019-00812-6.
Waltereit R, Uhlmann A, Ehrlich S, Roessner V. What happened to the concept of adolescence crisis? Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry (2020) Oct 10. doi: 10.1007/s00787-020-01660-y. Online ahead of print.
Petrásek T, Vojtěchová I, Tučková K, Klovrza O, Vejmola C, Rak J, Kaping D, Bernhardt N, de Vries PJ, Otáhal J, Waltereit R. mTOR inhibitor improves autistic-like behaviors related to Tsc2 haploinsufficiency but not following developmental status epilepticus. J Neurodev Disord(2021) 13(1):14. doi: 10.1186/s11689-021-09357-2.
Waltereit R, Beaure d’Augères G, Jancic J, Kingswood JC, Koleva M, Marques R, Villanueva V, Auvin S. Involvement of mental health professionals in the treatment of tuberous sclerosis complex–associated neuropsychiatric disorders (TAND): Results of a multinational European electronic survey. Orphan J Rare Disease (2021) 16(1):216. doi: 10.1186/s13023-021-01800-w.
Waltereit J, Czieschnek C, Albertowski K, Roessner V, Waltereit R. Family and Developmental History of Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Importance of the Clinical Diagnostic Interview for Diagnosis in Adolescents. An Explorative Study. Front Psychiatry (2021) doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.763367