Peer-Reviewed Journals

• Akan, O., Chandreswaran, V., Soldan, H.D., Bierbrauer, A., Axmacher, N., Wolf, O.T., Merz, C.J. (2026) Cortisol treatment impairs path integration and alters grid-like representations in the male human entorhinal cortex. PLoS Biology. 24, e3003661
• Meier, M., Merz, C.J., Rüttgens, T., Wolf, O.T. & Pruessner, J.C. (2026). The influence of glucose administration on stress reactivity and long-term memory in adult men and women. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 185, 107741.
• Wolsink, L.N., Wolf, O.T., Merz, C.J., Jentsch, V.L. (2026). The effects of pre-extinction stress vs. physical exercise on contextual retrieval and generalization. Psycho-neuroendocrinology. 187, 107783 
• Sperl, M.F.J., Hartmann, H., Born, J., Güntürkün, O., Hamm, A.O., Hartwigsen, G., Kirsch, P., Netter, P., Stockhorst, U., Alexander, N., Lonsdorf, T.B. & Merz, C.J. (2026). Vier Jahrzehnte Fachgruppe Biologische Psychologie und Neuropsychologie in der DGPs – Eine Zeitreise zum Jubiläum. Psychologische Rundschau, 77, 30-34.
• Gomes, C.A., Bach, D., Razi, A., Batsikadze, G., Elsenbruch, S., Engler, H., Ernst, E., Fellner, M.C., Fraenz, C., Genc, E., Klass, A., Labrenz, F., Lissek, S., Merz, C.J., Metzen, D., Nostadt, A., Pawlik, R.J., Schneider, J.E,, Tegenthoff, M., Thieme, A., Wolf, O.T., Güntürkün, O., Quick, H., Kumsta, R., Timmann, D., Spisak, T. & Axmacher, N. (in press). Predicting individual differences of fear and cognitive learning and extinction. Nature Communications.
• Sperl, M.F.J., Hartmann, H., Born, J., Güntürkün, O., Hamm, A.O., Hartwigsen, G., Kirsch, P., Netter, P., Stockhorst, U., Alexander, N., Lonsdorf, T.B. & Merz, C.J. (2026). Vier Jahrzehnte Fachgruppe Biologische Psychologie und Neuropsychologie in der DGPs – Eine Zeitreise zum Jubiläum. Psychologische Rundschau, 77, 1-5.
• Soldan, H.D., Zoellner, C., Herweg, N.A., Genc, N., Wolf, O.T., Merz, C.J. (2026). Encoding of semantic structure shapes temporal order memory for visual object stimuli. Psychological Research. 90, 18.
• Zoellner, C., Heinen, R., Klein, N., Herweg, N.A., Merz, C.J. & Wolf, O.T. (2025). A toaster in the bathroom: Neural correlates of semantic construction during episodic memory recall. Human Brain Mapping, 46, e70389.
• Doubliez, A., Köster, K.*, Müntefering, L.*, Nio, E., Diekmann, N., Thieme, A., Albayrak, B., Nicksirat, S.A., Erdlenbruch, F., Batsikadze, G., Ernst, T.M., Cheng, S., Merz, C.J. & Timmann, D. (2025). Dopaminergic drugs modulate fear extinction related processes in humans, but effects are mild. Brain Communications, 7, fcaf333.
• Fraenz, C., Metzen, D., Merz, C.J., Selpien, H., Friedrich, P., Ocklenburg, S., Axmacher, N. & Genç, E. (2025). Fear learning sculpts functional brain connectivity at rest beyond the traditional fear network. Behavioral Brain Research, 495, 115764.
• Radua, J., Savage, H.S., Vilajosana, E., Jamieson, A., Abler, B., Åhs, F., Beckers, T., Cardoner, N., Cisler, J., Diniz, J.B., Bach, D.R., Elsenbruch, S., Greening, S.G., Holt, D.J., Kaczkurkin, A.N., Keil, A., Kindt, M., Koch, K., LaBar, K.S., Lam, C.L., Larson, C., Lonsdorf, T.B., Merz, C.J., McLaughlin, K.A., Neria, Y., Pine, D., van Reekum, C.M., Shackman, A.J., Soriano-Mas, C., Spoormaker, V.I., Stout, D.M., Straube, B., Straube, T., Tuominen, L., Visser, R.M., Ahumada, L., Arolt, V., Batistuzzo, M.C., Bazán, P.R., Biggs, E.E., Cano, M., Chavarría-Elizondo, P., Cooper, S.E., Dannlowski, U., de la Peña-Arteaga, V., DeCross, S.N., Domschke, K., Ehlers, M.R., Graner, J.L., Hamm, A.O., Herrmann, M.J., Huggins, A.A., Icenhour, A., Juaneda-Seguí, A., Junghoefer, M., Kircher, T., Koelkebeck, K., Kuhn, M., Labrenz, F., Lissek, S.M., Lotze, M., Lueken, U., Margraf, J., Martínez-Zalacaín, I., Moeck, R., Morriss, J., Ortuño, M., Pittig, A., Porta-Casteras, D., Richter, J., Ridderbusch, I.C., Rief, W., Roesmann, K., Rosén, J., Rußmann, A.N., Sjouwerman, R., Spohrs, J., Ströhle, A., Suarez-Jimenez, B., Ulrich, M., Wittchen, H.-U., Zhu, X., Waller, L., Walter, H., Thompson, P.M., Bas-Hoogendam, J.M., Groenewold, N.A., Stein, D.J., Van der Wee, N.J., Dunsmoor, J., Marquand, A.F., Harrison, B.J. & Fullana, M.A. (2025). Neural correlates of human fear conditioning and sources of variability in 2199 individuals. Nature Communications, 16, 7869.
• Berg, M., Suchotzki, K., Zimmermann, J., Merz, C.J., Szota, K., Brandt, H., Hartwigsen, G., Lincoln, T.M., Mokros, A., Gade, M., Niessen, C., Rauthmann, J., Höhl, S., Kubiak, T., Franke, T., Frischlich, L., Degner, J., Matthies, E., Sparfeldt, J., Rief, W., Haberkamp, A. & the PsyChange Network (2025). A hitchhiker’s guide to translation. Ideas for fostering and disseminating (clinical) translational psychology. European Psychologist, 30, 219-241.
• Thomas, T.A., Schmid, A.M., Erdal, N.K., Blümel, S., Müller, S.M., Merz, C.J., Wolf, O.T., Brand, M., Steins-Loeber, S. & Müller, A. (2025). High cortisol stress responsivity facilitates transfer from goal-directed behavior to stimulus-response habits in persons with risky buying-shopping behavior. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 14. 1326-1342.
• Nio, E., Pais Pereira, P., Diekmann, N., Petrenko, M., Doubliez, A., Ernst, T.M., Batsikadze, G., Maderwald, S., Deuschl, C., Üngör, M., Cheng, S., Merz, C.J., Quick, H.H. & Timmann, D. (2025). Human cerebellum and ventral tegmental area interact during extinction of learned fear. eLife, 14, RP105399.
• Sperl, M.F.J., Hartmann, H., Alexander, N., Merz, C.J. & Lonsdorf, T.B. (2025). Bio- und Neuropsychologische Methoden im Fokus - Anforderungen und Chancen für die Promotionskultur. Psychologische Rundschau, 76, 193-195.
• Müller, A., Joshi,M., Kessling, A., Erdal, N., Tilk, K., Merz, C.J., Wolf, O.T., Wegmann, E., Brand, M. (2025). Effects of acute stress on cue reactivity and implicit cognitions in online compulsive buying-shopping disorder. Journal of Behavioral Addictions. 14, 537-547.
• Kessling, A., Müller, A., Wolf, O.T., Merz, C.J., Brand, M., Wegmann, E. (2025). Effects of acute psychosocial stress on cue-reactivity, attentional bias, and implicit associations in women with problematic social network use: An experimental study. Addiction,120, 2067-2079.
• Klein, N., Zöllner, C., Otto, T., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2025). Cortisol modulates hippocampus activation during scenario substitution in men. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 219, 108049.
• Langer, L., Wolf, O.T., Merz, C.J. & Jentsch, V.L. (2025). The effects of stress hormones on cognitive emotion regulation: A systematic review and integrative model. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 170, 106040.
• Müller, A., Joshi, M., Kessling, A., Erdal, N., Müller, S.M., Tilk, K., Merz, C.J., Wolf, O.T., Wegmann, E. & Brand, M. (2025). Effects of acute stress on cue reactivity and implicit cognitive mechanisms in compulsive buying-shopping disorder. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 14, 534-547.
• Petrenko, M., Coenen, L., Doubliez, A., Ernst, T.M., Nio, E., Diekmann, N., Uengoer, M., Cheng, S., Merz, C.J., Timmann, D. & Batsikadze, G. (2025). Appetitive and aversive classical conditioning: Self-reports and physiological responses. Behavioral Brain Research, 484, 115509.
• Heyers, K., Pfeifer, L.S., Merz, C.J., Stockhorst, U., Güntürkün, O., Wolf, O.T. & Ocklenburg, S. (2025). TSST-OL: Comparison between online and laboratory application and effects on empathy. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 171, 107211.
• Kaczmarczyk, M., Deuter, C.E., Deus, H., Kallidou, A., Merz, C.J., Hellmann-Regen, J., Otte, C. & Wingenfeld, K. (2024). Effects of separate and combined estradiol and progesterone administration on fear extinction in healthy pre-menopausal women. Translational Psychiatry, 14, 449.
• Schmid, A.M., Thomas, T.A., Blümel, S., Erdal, N., Müller, S.M., Merz, C.J., Wolf, O.T., Brand, M., Müller, A. & Steins-Loeber, S. (2024). Transfer from goal-directed behavior to stimulus-response habits and its modulation by acute stress in individuals with risky gaming behavior. Scientific Reports, 14, 26015.
• Pan, D., Hoid, D., Wolf, O.T., Merz, C.J. & Li, X. (2024). Conflict dynamics of post-retrieval extinction: a comparative analysis of unconditional and conditional reminders using skin conductance responses and EEG. Brain Topography, 37, 834-848.
• Pfeifer, L.S., Heyers, K., Wolf, O.T., Stockhorst, U., Güntürkün, O., Merz, C.J. & Ocklenburg, S. (2024). Using the online version of the Trier Social Stress Test to investigate the effect of acute stress on functional lateralization. Scientific Reports, 14, 20826.
• Pötzl, L., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2024). The influence of time of day on memory recognition for faces. Hormones and Behavior, 165, 105633.
• Nostadt, A., Schlaffke, L., Merz, C.J., Wolf, O.T., Nitsche, M.A, Tegenthoff, M. & Lissek, S. (2024). Microstructural differences in the cingulum and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus are associated with (extinction) learning. BMC Psychology, 12, 324.
• Pfeifer, L.S., Zöllner, C., Wolf, O.T., Domes, G. & Merz, C.J. (2024). Prior exposure to a sensorimotor game in virtual reality does not enhance stress reactivity towards the OpenTSST VR. Stress, 27, 2361237.
• Rüttgens, T., Suchan, B., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2024). Acute stress does not moderate selective attention in a composite letters task. Stress, 27, 2330704.
• Merz, C.J. (2023). How different factors in combination change fear extinction learning: the case of sex and stress hormones. In M.R. Milad & S.D. Norrholm (Eds.), Fear extinction - From basic neuroscience to clinical implications. Cham: Springer.
• Schellen, S., Zeidan, P., Ernst, T.M., Thieme, A., Nicksirat, A., Merz, C.J., Nitsche, M.A., Yavari, F., Timmann, D. & Batsikadze, G. (2024). Absence of modulatory effects of 6HZ cerebellar transcranial alternating current stimulation on fear learning in men. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 17, 1328283.
• Batsikadze, G.*, Pakusch, J.*, Klein, M., Ernst, T.M., Thieme, A.G., Nicksirat, S.A., Steiner, K.M., Nio, E., Genc, E., Maderwald, S., Deuschl, C., Merz, C.J., Quick, H.H., Mark, M.D. & Timmann, D. (2024). Mild deficits in fear learning: Evidence from humans and mice with cerebellar cortical degeneration, eNeuro, 11, doi: https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0365-23.2023.
• Schmidt, K.*, Schlitt. F.*, Wiech, K., Merz, C.J., Kleine-Borgmann, J., Wolf, O.T., Engler, H., Forkmann, K., Elsenbruch, S. & Bingel, U. (2024). Hydrocortisone differentially affects reinstatement of pain-related responses in patients with chronic back pain and healthy volunteers. Journal of Pain, 25, 1082-1093.
• Nostadt, A., Merz, C.J., Wolf, O.T., Tegenthoff, M. & Lissek, S. (2023). Cortisol decreases activation in extinction related brain areas resulting in an impaired recall of context-dependent extinction memory. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 205, 107844.
• Nebe, S., Reutter, M., Baker, D.H., Bölte, J., Domes, G., Gamer, M., Gärtner, A., Gießing, C., Gurr née Mann, C., Hilger, K., Jawinski, P., Kulke, L., Lischke, A., Markett, S., Meier, M., Merz, C.J., Popov, T., Puhlmann, L.M.C., Quintana, D.S., Schäfer, T., Schubert, A.-L., Sperl, M.F.J., Antonia Vehlen, A., Lonsdorf, T.B. & Feld, G.B. (2023). Enhancing precision in human neuroscience. eLife, 12:e85980.
• Diers, E., Zomorodpoosh, S., Labrenz, F., Merz, C.J., Pacharra, M. & Otto, T. (2023). DatabaseApp v2.0 (v2.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8039273.
• Jentsch, V.L., Wolf, O.T., Otto, T. & Merz, C.J. (2023). The impact of physical exercise on the consolidation of fear extinction memories. Psychophysiology, e14373.
• Zomorodpoosh, S., Diers, E., Linn, S., Merz, C.J., Pacharra, M. & Otto, T. (2023). MetaDataApp v2.0 (v2.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8040229 .
• Labrenz, F., Merz, C.J. & Icenhour, A. (2023). Connecting dots in disorders of gut-brain interactions: The interplay of stress and sex hormones in shaping visceral pain. Frontiers in Psychiatry, section Psychological Therapy and Psychosomatics. 14, 1204136.
• Pan, D., Jentsch, V.L., Langer, K., Hagedorn, B., Höffken, O., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2023). What a difference timing makes: Cortisol effects on neural underpinnings of emotion regulation. Neurobiology of Stress, 25, 100544.
• Otto, T., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2023). EDA-Analysis App (5.11). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7965376.
• Diers, E., Pacharra, M., Merz, C.J., Ernst, T.M., & Otto, T. (2023). Subject Code Generator v1.1 (v1.1). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7634563.
• Raeder, F., Merz, C.J., Tegenthoff, M., Dere, E., Wolf, O.T., Margraf, J., Schneider, S. & Zlomuzica, A. (2023). Do oral contraceptives modulate the effects of stress induction on one-session exposure session efficacy and generalization in women? Psychopharmacology, 240, 1075-1089.
• Bach, D.R., Sporrer, J., Abend, R., Beckers, T., Dunsmoor, J.E., Fullana, M.A., Gamer, M., Gee, D.G., Hamm, A., Hartley, C.A., Herringa, R.J., Jovanovic, T., Kalisch, R., Knight, D.C., Lissek, S., Lonsdorf, T.B., Merz, C.J., Milad, M.R., Morriss, J., Phelps, E.A., Pine, D.S., Olsson, A., van Reekum, C.M. & Schiller, D. (2023). Consensus design of a calibration experiment for human fear conditioning. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 148, 105146.
• Pötzl, L., Wolf, O.T., Merz, C.J. (2023). Rapid and delayed stress effects on recognition of female and male faces. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 150, 106043.
• Pacharra, M., Winter, N.O.C., Kumsta, R., Uengoer, M., Caviola, J.K., Ernst, T.M., Reichert, R., Yavari, F., Merz, C.J., Cheng, S., Linn, S., Wolf, O.T., Güntürkün, O. & Otto, T.. (2022). Research Data Management Policy of the collaborative research centre SFB 1280 "Extinction Learning" (v1.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8004432 .
• Beck, K., Meir Drexler, S., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2022). Stress effects on memory retrieval of aversive and appetitive instrumental counterconditioning in men. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 196, 107697.
• Merz, C.J. & Wolf, O.T. (2022). How stress hormones shape memories of fear and anxiety in humans. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 142, 104901.
• Batsikadze, G., Diekmann, N., Ernst, T.E., Klein, M., Maderwald, S., Deuschl, C., Merz, C.J., Cheng, S., Quick, H.H. & Timmann, D. (2022). The cerebellum contributes to context-effects during fear extinction learning: a 7T fMRI study. Neuroimage, 253, 119080.
• Hagedorn, B., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2022). Cortisol before extinction generalization alters its neural correlates during retrieval. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 105607.
• Lonsdorf, T.B., Hartwigsen, G., Kübler, A., Merz, C.J., Schmidt, B., Sperl, M.F.J. & Feld, G.B. (2022). Mehr als nur fragwürdig: Reproduzierbarkeit und Open Science in der Lehre aus Sicht der Biologischen Psychologie und Neuropsychologie. Psychologische Rundschau, 73, 30-33.
• Jentsch, V.L., Pötzl, L., Wolf, O.T.* & Merz, C.J.* (2022). Hormonal contraceptive usage influence stress hormone effects on cognition and emotion. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 67, 101012.
• Schlitt, F., Schmidt, K., Merz, C.J., Wolf, O.T., Kleine-Borgmann, J., Elsenbruch, S., Wiech, K., Forkmann, K. & Bingel, U. (2022). Impaired pain-related threat and safety learning in patients with chronic back pain. Pain, 163, 1560-1570.
• Sobanski, E.*, Hammerle, F.*, Dixius, A., Möhler, E., Koudela-Hamila, S., Ebner-Priemer, U., Merz, C.J., In-Albon, T., Pollit, B., Christiansen, H., Kolar, D., Ocker, S., Fischer, N., Burghaus, I., Huss, M. (2021). START Adolescents: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of a low-threshold group treatment program in traumatized adolescent refugees. BMJ Open, 11, e057968.
• Icenhour, A. Petrakova, L., Hazzan, N., Theysohn, N., Merz, C.J. & Elsenbruch, S. (2021). When gut feelings teach the brain to fear pain: Context-dependent activation of the central fear network in a novel interoceptive conditioning paradigm. Neuroimage. 238, 118229.
• Hagedorn, B., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2021). Stimulus-based extinction generalization – neural correlates and disruption by cortisol. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 24, 354-365.
• Inoue, L., Ernst, T.M., Ferber, I.I., Merz, C.J., Timmann, D. & Batsikadze, G. (2020). Interaction of fear conditioning with eyeblink conditioning supports the sensory gating hypothesis of the amygdala. eNeuro, 7, 1-15.
• Meir Drexler, S., Merz, C.J., Jentsch, V.L. & Wolf, O.T. (2020). Stress modulation of fear and extinction in psychopathology and treatment. Neuroforum, 26, 133-141.
• Zlomuzica, A., Schneider, S., Wolf, O.T., Merz, C.J., Konrad, C., Raeder, F. & Margraf, J. (2020). Against the return of fear: novel ways to treat anxiety. Neuroforum, 26, 143-149.
• Raeder, F., Merz, C.J., Margraf, J. & Zlomuzica, A. (2020). The association between fear extinction, the ability to accomplish exposure and exposure therapy outcome in specific phobia. Scientific Reports, 10, 4288.
• Merz, C.J., Eichholtz, A. & Wolf, O.T. (2020). Acute stress reduces out-group related safety signaling during fear reinstatement in women. Scientific Reports, 10, 2092.
• Hermann, A., Stark, R., Müller, E.A., Kruse, O., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2020). Multiple extinction contexts modulate the neural correlates of context-dependent extinction learning and retrieval. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 168, 107150.
• Lonsdorf, T.B., Klingelhöfer-Jens, M., Andreatta, M., Beckers, T., Chalkia, A., Gerlicher, A., Jentsch, V.L., Meir Drexler, S., Mertens, G., Richter, J., Sjouwerman, R., Wendt, J. & Merz, C.J. (2020). Navigating the garden of forking paths for data exclusions in fear conditioning research. eLife, e52465.
• Jentsch, V.L., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2020). Temporal dynamics of conditioned skin conductance and pupillary responses during fear acquisition and extinction. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 147, 93-99.
• Meir Drexler, S., Merz, C.J., Lissek, S., Tegenthoff, M. & Wolf, O.T. (2019). Reactivation of the unconditioned stimulus inhibits the return of fear independent of cortisol. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 13, 254.
• Haaker, J., Maren, S., Andreatta, M., Merz, C.J., Richter, J., Richter, S.H., Meir Drexler, S., Lange, M.D., Jüngling, K., Seidenbecher, T., Nees, F., Fullana, M.A., Wotjak, C.T. & Lonsdorf, T.B. (2019). Making translation work: Harmonizing cross-species methodology in the behavioural neuroscience of Pavlovian fear conditioning. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 107, 329-345.
• Ernst, T.M., Brol, A., Gratz, M., Ritter, C., Bingel, U., Schlamann, M., Maderwald, S., Quick, H.H., Merz, C.J.* & Timmann, D.* (2019). The cerebellum is involved in processing of predictions and predicition errors in a fear conditioning paradigm. eLife, 8, e46831.
• Jentsch, V.L., Merz, C.J. & Wolf, O.T. (2019). Restoring emotional stability: cortisol effects on the neural networks of cognitive emotion regulation. Behavioural Brain Research, 374, 111880.
• Merz, C.J., Hagedorn, B. & Wolf, O.T. (2019). An oral presentation causes stress and memory impairments. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 104, 1-6.
• Lonsdorf, T.B., Merz, C.J. & Fullana, M.A. (2019). Fear extinction retention - is it what we think it is? Biological Psychiatry, 85, 1074-1082.
• Meir Drexler, S., Merz, C.J., Jentsch, V.L. & Wolf, O.T. (2019). How stress and glucocorticoids timing-dependently affect extinction and relapse. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 98, 145-153.
• Merz, C.J. & Wolf, O.T. (2019). The immediate extinction deficit occurs in a non-emotional learning paradigm. Learning and Memory, 26, 39-45.
• Merz, C.J. & Lonsdorf, T.B. (2020). Methodische Anmerkungen und Anwendungsbereiche der Furchtkonditionierung in verschiedenen psychologischen Disziplinen. Psychologische Rundschau, 71, 273-287.
• Raeder, F., Merz, C.J., Tegenthoff, M., Wolf, O.T., Margraf, J. & Zlomuzica, A. (2019). Post-exposure cortisol administration does not augment the success of exposure therapy: a randomized placebo-controlled study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 99, 174-182.
• Stock, L.-M. & Merz, C.J. (2018). Memory retrieval of everyday information under stress. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 152, 32-38.
• Kinner, V.L., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2018). Cortisol increases the return of fear by strengthening amygdala signaling in men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 91, 79-85.
• Meir Drexler, S., Merz, C.J. & Wolf, O.T. (2018). Pre-extinction stress prevents context-related renewal of fear. Behavior Therapy, 49, 1008-1019.
• Merz, C.J., Kinner, V.L., & Wolf, O.T. (2018). Let’s talk about sex … differences in human fear conditioning. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 23, 7-12.
• Merz, C.J., Hamacher-Dang, T.C., Stark, R., Wolf, O.T. & Hermann, A. (2018). Neural underpinnings of cortisol effects on fear extinction and extinction retrieval. Neuropsychopharmacology, 43, 384-392.
• Lonsdorf, T.B. & Merz, C.J. (2017). More than just noise: Individual differences in fear acquisition, extinction and return of fear in humans - Biological, experiential, temperamental factors, and methodological pitfalls. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 80, 703-728.
• Merz, C.J. (2017). Contribution of stress and sex hormones to memory encoding. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 82, 51-58.
• Hermann, A., Stark, R., Blecker, C.R., Milad, M.R. & Merz, C.J. (2017). Brain structural connectivity and context-dependent extinction memory. Hippocampus, 27, 883-889.
• Lonsdorf, T.B., Menz, M., Andreatta, M., Fullana, M., Golkar, A., Haaker, J., Heitland, I., Hermann, A., Kuhn, M., Kruse, O., Meir Drexler, S., Meulders, A., Nees, F., Pittig, A., Richter, J., Römer, S., Shiban, Y., Schmitz, A., Straube, B., Vervliet, B., Wendt, J., Baas, J.M.P.* & Merz, C.J.* (2017). Don’t fear ‘fear conditioning’: Methodological considerations for the design and analysis of studies on human fear acquisition, extinction, and return of fear. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 77, 247-285.
• Kinner, V.L., Kuchinke, L., Dierolf, A.M., Merz, C.J., Otto, T. & Wolf, O.T. (2017). What our eyes tell us about feelings: Tracking pupillary responses during emotion regulation processes. Psychophysiology, 54, 508-518.
• Merz, C.J., Dietsch, F. & Schneider, M. (2016). The impact of psychosocial stress on conceptual knowledge retrieval. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 134, 392-399.
• Merz, C.J. & Wolf, O.T. (2017). Sex differences in stress effects on emotional learning. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 95, 93-105.
• Kinner, V.L., Wolf, O.T. & Merz, C.J. (2016). Cortisol alters reward processing in the human brain. Hormones and Behavior, 84, 74-83.
• Biehl, S., Merz C.J., Dresler, T., Heupel, J., Reichert, S., Jacob, C.P., Deckert, J. & Herrmann, M.J. (2016). Increase or decrease of fMRI activity in adult attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder – does it depend on task difficulty? International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 19, 1-10.
• Meir Drexler, S., Merz, C.J., Hamacher-Dang, T.C. & Wolf, O.T. (2016). Cortisol effects on fear memory reconsolidation in women. Psychopharmacology, 233, 2687-2697.
• Hermann, A., Stark, R., Milad M.R. & Merz, C.J. (2016). Renewal of conditioned fear in a novel context is associated with hippocampal activation and connectivity. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11, 1411-1421.
• Kinner, V.L., Merz, C.J., Lissek, S. & Wolf, O.T. (2016). Cortisol disrupts the neural correlates of extinction recall. NeuroImage, 133, 233-243.
• Merz, C.J.*, Hamacher-Dang, T.C.*, Wolf, O.T. (2016). Immediate extinction promotes the return of fear. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 131, 109-116.
• Meir Drexler, S., Merz, C.J., Hamacher-Dang, T.C., Tegenthoff, M. & Wolf, O.T. (2015). Effects of cortisol on reconsolidation of reactivated fear memories. Neuropsychopharmacology, 40, 3036-3043.
• Icenhour, A., Kattoor, J., Benson, S., Boekstegers, A., Schlamann, M., Merz, C.J., Forsting, M., Elsenbruch, S. (2015). Neural circuitry underlying effects of context on human pain-related fear extinction in a renewal paradigm. Hum Brain Mapp, 36, 3179-3193.
• Merz, C.J., Wolf, O.T. (2015). Examination of cortisol and state anxiety at an academic setting with and without oral presentation. Stress, 18, 138-142.
• Utz, A., Thürling, M., Ernst, T.M., Hermann, A., Stark, R., Wolf, O.T., Timmann, D., Merz, C.J. (2015). Cerebellar vermis contributes to the extinction of conditioned fear. Neurosci Lett, 604, 173-177.
• Hamacher-Dang, T.C.*, Merz, C.J.*, Wolf, O.T. (2015). Stress following extinction learning leads to a context-dependent return of fear. Psychophysiology, 52, 489-498.
• Mosig, C., Merz C.J., Mohr, C., Adolph, D., Wolf, O.T., Schneider, S., Margraf, J., & Zlomuzica, A. (2014). Enhanced discriminative fear learning of phobia-irrelevant stimuli in spider-fearful individuals. Front Behav Neurosci, 8, 328.
• Meir Drexler, S., Merz, C.J., Hamacher-Dang, T.C., Marquardt, V., Fritsch, N. & Wolf, O.T. (2014). Effects of post-retrieval extinction learning on return of contextual-controlled cued fear. Beh Neurosci, 128, 474–481.
• Merz, C.J.*, Hamacher-Dang, T.C.* & Wolf, O.T. (2014). Exposure to stress attenuates fear retrieval in healthy men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 41, 89-96.
• Merz, C.J., Hermann, A., Stark, R. & Wolf, O.T. (2014). Cortisol modifies extinction learning of recently acquired fear in men. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci, 9, 1426-1434.
• Schweckendiek, J., Klucken, T., Merz, C. J., Kagerer, S., Walter, B., Vaitl, D. & Stark, R. (2013). Learning to like disgust: Neuronal correlates of counterconditioning. Front Hum Neurosci, 7, 346.
• Merz, C. J., Wolf, O. T., Schweckendiek, J., Klucken, T., Vaitl, D. & Stark, R. (2013). Stress differentially affects fear conditioning in men and women. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38, 2529-2541.
• Baioui, A., Pilgramm, J., Merz, C.J., Walter, B., Vaitl, D. & Stark, R. (2013). Neural response in obsessive-compulsive washers depends on individual fit of triggers. Front Hum Neurosci, 7, 134.
• Klucken, T., Schweckendiek, J., Merz, C. J., Vaitl, D. & Stark, R. (2013). Dissociation of neuronal electrodermal, and evaluative responses in disgust extinction. Beh Neurosci, 127, 380-386.
• Merz, C. J., Tabbert, K., Schweckendiek, J., Klucken, T., Vaitl, D., Stark, R. & Wolf, O. T. (2012). Oral contraceptive usage alters the effects of cortisol on implicit fear learning. Horm Behav, 62, 531-538.
• Klucken, T., Wehrum, S., Schweckendiek, J., Merz, C. J., Hennig, J., Vaitl, D. & Stark, R. (2013). The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is associated with altered hemodynamic responses during appetitive conditioning. Hum Brain Mapp, 34, 2549-2560.
• Merz, C. J., Stark, R., Vaitl, D., Tabbert, K. & Wolf, O. T. (2013). Stress hormones are associated with the neuronal correlates of instructed fear conditioning. Biol Psychol, 92, 82-89.
• Klucken, T., Alexander, N., Schweckendiek, J., Merz, C. J., Kagerer, S., Osinsky, R., Walter, B., Vaitl, D., Hennig, J. & Stark, R. (2013). Individual differences in neural correlates of fear conditioning as a function of 5-HTTLPR and stressful life events. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci, 8, 315-321.
• Klucken, T., Schweckendiek, J., Koppe, G., Merz, C. J., Kagerer, S., Walter, B., Sammer, G., Vaitl, D. & Stark, R. (2012). Neural correlates of disgust- and fear-conditioned responses. Neuroscience, 201, 209-218.
• Merz, C. J., Tabbert, K., Schweckendiek, J., Klucken, T., Vaitl, D., Stark, R. & Wolf, O. T. (2012). Neuronal correlates of extinction learning are modulated by sex hormones. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci, 7, 819-830.
• Schwabe, L., Merz, C. J., Walter, B., Vaitl, D., Wolf, O. T. & Stark, R. (2011). Emotional modulation of the attentional blink: The neural structures involved in capturing and holding attention. Neuropsychologia. 49, 416-425.
• Stark, R., Bauer, E., Merz, C. J., Zimmermann, M., Reuter, M., Plichta, M. M., Kirsch, P., Lesch, K.-P., Fallgatter, A. J., Vaitl, D. & Hermann, M. (2011). ADHD related behaviors are associated with brain activation in the reward system. Neuropsychologia. 49, 426-434.
• Tabbert, K., Merz, C. J., Klucken, T., Schweckendiek, J., Vaitl, D., Wolf, O. T. & Stark, R. (2010). Cortisol enhances neural differentiation during fear acquisition and extinction in contingency aware young women. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 94, 392-401.
• Schweckendiek, J., Klucken, T., Merz, C. J., Tabbert, K., Walter, B., Ambach, W., Vaitl, D. & Stark, R. (2011). Weaving the (neuronal) web: Fear learning in spider phobia. Neuroimage. 54, 681-688.
• Tabbert, K., Merz, C. J., Klucken, T., Schweckendiek, J., Vaitl, D., Wolf, O. T. & Stark, R. (2011). Influence of contingency awareness on neural, electrodermal, and evaluative responses during fear conditioning. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 6, 495-506.
• Merz, C. J., Wolf, O. T. & Hennig, J. (2010). Stress impairs retrieval of socially relevant information. Beh Neurosci. 124, 288-293.
• Merz, C. J., Tabbert, K., Schweckendiek, J., Klucken, T., Vaitl, D., Stark, R. & Wolf, O. T. (2010). Investigating the impact of sex and cortisol on implicit fear conditioning with fMRI. Psychoneuroendocrinology 35, 33-46.
• Klucken, T., Schweckendiek J., Merz, C. J., Tabbert, K., Kagerer, S., Walter, B., Vaitl, D. & Stark, R. (2009). Neural activations of the acquisition of conditioned sexual arousal: Effects of contingency awareness and sex. J Sex Med. 6, 3071-3085.
• Klucken, T., Tabbert, K., Schweckendiek, J., Merz, C.J., Kagerer, S., Vaitl, D., & Stark, R. (2009). Contingency learning in human fear conditioning involves the ventral striatum. Hum Brain Mapp. 30, 3636-3644.

* shared authorship

Book Chapters:

• Merz, C.J. (in press). How different factors in combination change fear extinction learning: the case of sex and stress hormones. In M. Milad & S. Norrholm (Hrsg.), Fear extinction - From basic neuroscience to clinical implications. Berlin: Springer.
• Merz, C.J. & Wolf, O.T. (2022). Lernen und Gedächtnis. In A. Schütz, M. Brand & S. Steins-Löber (Eds.), Psychologie (6., rev. edition). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
• Merz, C.J., Elzinga, B.M. & Schwabe, L. (2016). Stress, fear, and memory in healthy individuals. In J.D. Bremner (Hrsg.), Post-traumatic stress disorder: From neurobiology to treatment. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Merz, C.J., Wolf, O.T. (2015). Stress and emotional learning in humans: Evidence for sex differences. In R. Shansky (Hrsg.), Sex Differences in the Central Nervous System. London, San Diego, Waltham, Oxford: Academic Press.

• 2026: DFG Research Grant, Subproject of SFB 1280 “Extinction Learning”
  “Improving stress hormone effects on extinction learning and retrieval”, Joint Application with V. L. Jentsch & O. T. Wolf
• 2025: Teaching Award (Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum)
  Golden Synapse for the Best Lecture in B.Sc. Psychology
• 2021: DFG Research Grant, Subproject of SFB 1280 “Extinction Learning”
  “Stress hormone effects on contextualized extinction memories”, Joint Application with V. L. Jentsch & O. T. Wolf
• 2020: International Scientific Event Grant (DFG, ME 3831/6-1)
  to organize the “12th European Meeting on Human Fear Conditioning (EMHFC) 2020" in Bochum
• 2019: DFG Research Grant (ME3831/5-1)
  “Genomic and non-genomic cortisol effects on memory retrieval dependent on sex hormone status”
• 2018: Scholarship for Conference Participation (DAAD)
  „30th Winter Conference on Neural Plasticity“, Curaçao
• 2017: DFG Research Grant, Subproject of SFB 1280 “Extinction Learning”
  “The impact of stress and stress hormones on extinction, renewal, reinstatement and reconsolidation”, Joint Application with O. T. Wolf
• 2017: Project Funds, eLearning Contest 5x5000 (Center for Teaching and Learning, Ruhr University Bochum)
  „RightCite: Richtiges Zitieren und Umgang mit Plagiaten“, Joint Application with S. Brandhorst, S. Hahn, M. Krause, K. Lucht-Roussel, M. Luhmann, C. Peifer, J. Rose, A. Schüffler & M. Theile
• 2016: Research Grant, Mercator Research Center Ruhr (MERCUR)
  “The influence of stress on retrieval of socially relevant fear memories”
• 2016: Teaching Award (Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum)
  Best Seminar in M.Sc. Psychology
• 2015: Teaching Award (Students Representatives, Faculty of Psychology, Trier University)
  Best Lecture and Best Seminar in B.Sc. Psychology
• 2015: Event Award (Ruhr University Bochum)
  to organize the “7th European Meeting on Human Fear Conditioning“
• 2015: DFG Research Grant (LO 1980/2-1)
  “Research network for the (European) Interdisciplinary study of Fear and Extinction Learning as well as the Return of Fear (EIFEL-ROF)“, Joint Application with T. Lonsdorf; 2020: Commendation from the Society for Improving Psychological Science; SIPS
• 2014: Scholarship for Conference Participation (DAAD)
  “44th annual ISPNE conference", Montreal
• 2013: DFG Research Grant, Subproject of FOR 1581 "Extinction Learning: Neural Mechanisms, Behavioural Manifestations, and Clinical Implications" (WO733/13-2)
  "Effects of the stress hormone cortisol on extinction retrieval: In search of the neural correlates", Joint Application with O.T. Wolf
• 2012: DFG Research Grant (ME 3831/4-1)
  “Neurobiology of context-dependent extinction learning: Modulation by multiple extinction contexts and cortisol”, Joint Application with A. Hermann
• 2012: Scholarship for Conference Participation (DAAD)
  "Neuroscience 2012", New Orleans
• 2012: Research Grant (Justus Liebig University Giessen)
  Neuronal basis of generalization of extinction learning“, Joint Application with A. Hermann
• 2011: Young Investigator Award (International Society for Psychoneuroendocrinology)
• 2011: Scholarship for participation at the Spring School (DGPA)
  "Genes, brain, and behavior: From personality to psychopathology", St. Goar
• 2009: Research Grant (Women’s Representative of the Justus Liebig University Giessen)
  “Neurobiological bases of social anxiety in women”, Joint Application with A. Hermann

German Psychological Society (DGPs)

• since 2016: Member of the Ethics Committee
• Section General Psychology
• Section Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
• Section Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology (since 2021: Committee Member of the Board and Treasurer)
• Interest Group Biopsychology and Neurosciences in Clinical Psychology
• Interest Group Open and Reproducible Research in the Section Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology (Founding Member)

German Society for Psychophysiology and its Applications (DGPA)

• 2015-2016: Committee Member of the Board and Speaker of the Young Scientists

International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE)

Research Funding Programs

• Austrian Science Fund (Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF)
• European Research Council (ERC)
• German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)
• German Research Foundation (DFG)
• German-American Fulbright Commission
• Israel Science Foundation (ISF)
• Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
• Research Foundation Flanders (FWO)
• Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
• 2025-2028 member of the FWO Review College

Consulting Editor

• Biological Psychology

Peer-Reviewed Journals

Acta Neuropsychiatrica; Acta Psychologica; American Journal of Psychiatry; Behavioural Brain Research; Behavioral Neuroscience; Behavior Research Methods; Behaviour Research and Therapy; Biological Psychiatry; Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging; Biological Psychology; BMC Women’s Health; Brain Imaging and Behavior; Brain Sciences; Clinical Psychological Science; Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience; Communications Biology; Communications Psychology; Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology; Contraception; Depression and Anxiety; European Neuropsychopharmacology; Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience; Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology; Hormones and Behavior; Human Brain Mapping; International Journal of Psychophysiology; Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry; Journal of Experimental Psychology; Journal of Individual Differences; Journal of Psychiatric Research; Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience; Journal of Neuroscience; Journal of Neuroscience Research; Journal of Vision; Learning and Memory; Memory; Memory & Cognition; Molecular Psychiatry; Motivation and Emotion; Nature Communications; Nature Protocols; Neural Networks; Neurobiology of Learning and Memory; Neurobiology of Stress; NeuroImage; Neuropsychobiology; Neuropsychologia; Neuropsychopharmacology; Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews; Physiology and Behavior; PLOS Biology; PLOS ONE; Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry; Psychological Bulletin; Psychological Medicine; Psychological Reports; Psychological Science; Psychoneuroendocrinology; Psychopathology Review; Psychopharmacology; Psychophysiology; Science Advances; Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience; Social Neuroscience; Stress; The Cerebellum; Thinking & Reasoning; Translational Psychiatry; Zeitschrift für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie

Current Teaching Activities:

• Lecture "Cognition II: Language, Thinking, Problem Solving"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Discourse “Neurobiology of Mental Disorders”
  M.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Seminar "Master Project Seminar"
  M.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
   

Past Teaching Activities:

• Seminar "Stress and Cognition"
  M.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Seminar "Cognition I: Cognition I: Perception, Attention, Memory"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Lecture  "Cognition I: Perception, Attention, Memory"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Lecture "Stress"
  M.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Lecture "Cognition and Brain"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Lecture "Stress"
  M.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Seminar "Cognition II: Language, Thinking, Problem Solving"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Practical Course in Experimental Psychology "Context and Memory"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Practical Course in Experimental Psychology "Stress and Memory"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Seminar "Learning and Memory Processes under Stress I + II"
  B.Sc./M.Sc. Psychology, Trier University
• Lecture "Biopsychology I"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Trier University
• Lecture "Biopsychology II"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Trier University
• Colloquium "Biological and Clinical Psychology"
  B.Sc./M.Sc. Psychology, Trier University
• Seminar "Focus in Basics: Biopsychology"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Trier University
• Seminar "Selected Problems: Neurobiology of Mental Disorders"
  M.Sc. Psychology, Trier University
• Seminar "Research-Oriented Focus: Neurobiology of Mental Disorders"
  M.Sc. Psychology, Trier University
• Seminar "Hormonal Aspects of Mental Disorders"
  M.Sc. Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen
• Practical Course "Professional Field"
  M.Sc. Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen
• Seminar "Stress and Memory"
  M.Sc. Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen
• Seminar "Obsessive-Compulsive Disordes"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen
• Teaching Research Project
  M.Sc. Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen
• Seminar "Cognitive Neurosciences: Emotional Learning"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Seminar "Biological Psychology"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen
• Seminar "Psychoneuroendocrinology, Hormones and Behavior"
  M.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
• Seminar "Conditioning Processes in Cognitive Neurosciences"
  B.Sc. Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum