Team members

• Dr.ⁱⁿ Carina S. Bichler Bsc Msc
• Dr.ⁱⁿ Julia Schneider
• Anupam Sah, PhD

Forschungsschwerpunkt

Der Forschungsschwerpunkt Stress, Hypoxie und Psychoneuroimmunologie befasst sich mit psychologischen und biologischen Aspekten von akutem und chronischem Stress, und wie diese die Entstehung von stressbedingten Störungen fördern (zum Beispiel Angststörungen) und zu Prävention und Behandlung eingesetzt werden können. Wir interessieren uns besonders für die Interaktionen zwischen Änderungen der Sauerstoffverfügbarkeit in der Umgebung (zum Beispiel in der Höhe/im Gebirge), Stress und Bewegung, die Auswirkungen auf physiologische und biologische Funktionen haben.

Research Focus

In research focused on stress, hypoxia, and psychoneuroimmunology, we investigate the psychological and biological aspects of acute and chronic stress. We are interested in how these parameters promote the development of stress-related disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders) and how they can be used for prevention and treatment. A central line of research examines oxygen uptake and the interaction between changes in environmental oxygen availability (e.g., at high altitudes or in the mountains) and stress, affecting physiological and biological functions.

What are we currently working on?

The availability and efficient utilization of oxygen, especially in the brain, are closely linked to psychological resilience and how we deal with stress (figure 1). We study the body's own protective responses to hypoxia and how their activation may protect against mental stress.

Figure 1. Regulation of stress responses by oxygen. From Burtscher et al., The interplay of hypoxic and mental stress: Implications for anxiety and depressive disorders. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2022.

Figure 2. Proposed mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of high-altitude illnesses such as acute mountain sickness (AMS). From Burtscher et al., Dexamethasone for prevention of AMS, HACE, and HAPE and for limiting impairment of performance after rapid ascent to high altitude: a narrative review. Mil Med Res. 2025.

Figure 3. Strengthening brain resilience through a healthy lifestyle or hypoxia-based therapy (top-down), or through targeted modulation of molecular processes (bottom-up). From Burtscher et al., Boosting mitochondrial health to counteract neurodegeneration. Prog Neurobiol. 2022.

Selected recent publications