Univ.-Prof. Dr. Manuel Schabus
Department of Psychology

Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg

Tel.: +43 662 8044 5113
E-Mail:

Consultation hour : by appointment only
Twitter:  @ManuelSchabus
Research Group:  Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition, and Consciousness

Education :

• 2013-2018 Training in  „Attachment-based therapy for infants, children and parents“
• 2004-2011 Qualification in “Person-Centred Psychotherapy “ ( ÖGWG)
• 2009 Habilitation in Psychology (Univ.-Prof. Dr.) at the Department of Psychology at the University of Salzburg
• 2001-2004 Promotion at the Department of Psychology at the University of Salzburg
• 1998-1999 Study abroad in Psychology at the  University of Evansville (IN, USA) &  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA, USA)
• 1996-2004 Graduation with Doctor of Science (PhD) in Psychology (summa cum laude) at the University of Salzburg
• 1995-1996 Undergraduate study in Medicine at the  University of Innsbruck

Academic Experience:

• Since 2015 Full professor for “Consciousness and Cognition” at the University of Salzburg and head of the  EEG/Laboratory of Sleep at the  CCNS
• 2014-2015 Associate Professorship at the Department of Psychology at the University of Salzburg
• 2014 “START- Award of Excellence” from the  Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
• 2010-2014 Assistant Professorship at the Department of Psychology at the University of Salzburg
• 2005-2007 FWF „Erwin-Schrödinger“ fellow at the  Cyclotron Research Centre (Liege, Belgien)
• 2000-2005 Research assistant at the Department of Psychology at the University of Salzburg (W. Klimesch)
• 1999 Research assistant at the  Virginia Tech University (H. Crawford, USA)

Research:

I mainly use electrophysiological methods (hdEEG and MEG) to understand how the brain works in “altered states of awareness”. In particular, we address the question of what can be processed by the human mind in full absence of consciousness. We are particularly interested in information processing during sleep, during prenatal learning but also in levels of awareness in the newborn. One of the most exciting findings at current is that the brain can perform astonishingly complex tasks even in apparently fully “unconscious” states. Last but not least we are interested in translating our knowledge into practice and work on eHealth solutions for more healthy sleep in disturbed sleepers and insomnia patients.

Key publications:

• Florea, C., Topalidis, P., Hauser, T., Angerer, M., Kurapov, A., Leon, C. A. B., & Schabus, M. (2021). Sleep during COVID-19 lockdown: A cross-cultural study investigating job system relevance, Biochemical Pharmacology.
• Wielek, T., Del Giudice, R., Lang, A., Wislowska, M., Ott, P., & Schabus, M. (2019). On the development of sleep states in the first weeks of life. PLoS ONE, 14(10), [e0224521].
• Heib, D.P., Hoedlmoser, K., Anderer, P., Gruber, G., Zeitlhofer, J., Schabus, M. (2015). Oscillatory Theta Activity during Memory Formation and Its Impact on Overnight Consolidation: A Missing Link? Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 27 (8), 1648-1658.
• Schabus, M., Griessenberger, H., Gnjezda, M.-T., Heib, D. P. J., Wislowska, M., & Hoedlmoser, K. (2017). Better than sham? A double-blind placebo-controlled neurofeedback study in primary insomnia. BRAIN, 140 (2), 1-12.
• Schabus, M., Dang-Vu, T.T., Albouy, G., Balteau, E., Boly, M., Carrier, J., … & Maquet, P. (2007). Hemodynamic cerebral correlates of sleep spindles during human non-rapid eye movement sleep. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 104(32), 13164-13169.