PatiMon Patient Monitoring Pu

The Institute was founded in 1918/19, shortly after the reestablishment of Poland as an

independent country. It was based on three pre-existing laboratories affiliated with the

Scientific Society of Warsaw. Formation and development of the Institute was supported in part by a donation of Nadine Sieber-Shumova, a close co-worker of Marceli Nencki from Berne and St. Petersburg.

Over the next two decades the Institute grew to become the leading biological research

centre in Poland. The outbreak of World War II interrupted a period of its intensive expansion and achievement of scientific excellence in the field of experimental biology. After the turmoil of World War II, during which over a dozen of the Institute’s staff lost their lives,

and its premises (including most of its 30,000-volume library) were destroyed, the surviving

staff members (professors Jan Dembowski, Jerzy Konorski, and Włodzimierz Niemierko) re-established Nencki Institute. In 1952 the Institute was incorporated into the newly founded

Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Institute’s director, Prof. Dembowski, became the first

President of the Academy. During the period of 1953-55, a specially constructed building at

3 Pasteur Street in Warsaw became the new, and up-to-date, the final home of Nencki

Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology is the largest research centre in the field of biological sciences in Poland. The main focus of its research is neurobiology. An interdisciplinary approach to the mechanism of brain functioning from molecular to organismal level is one of the most important factors influencing the impact and quality of research in the Institute which are performed in five departments: Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Neurophysiology, Cellular Biochemistry, Muscle Biochemistry and Cell Biology. The Institute`s staff represents: biology, psychology, medicine, pharmacy, physics, chemistry as well as engineering. The Institute employs 148 researchers, among them 42 professors and associate professors, 54 assistant professors (post-doctoral fellows), 52 junior researchers. Additionally, 51 PhD students perform research work. The Nencki Institute has one of the youngest scientific staff within the Polish Academy of Sciences system.

The staff has proven expertise in wide range of issues in neurobiology including molecular and cellular mechanisms, neurophysiology and neuropsychology.

The Institute research teams participate in numerous research and educational project and initiatives (i.a. UNESCO, NATO, EU countries), co-operate with the leading EU laboratories mainly in France, Germany and Italy, UK, Sweden and the Netherlands as well as in USA and Israel. The efforts are made to develop further existing contacts with the East Central European Countries and New Independent States, mainly Ukraine and Russia.

The main strength of the neurobiological research in the Nencki Institute is its interdisciplinarity based on a wide range of disciplines practised in the Institute including molecular and cellular biology, neurophysiology and psychology. The scientific efforts are focused on understanding the neurobiological foundations of various brain dysfunctions including neurodegenerative diseases with an aim to bridge the gap between neuroscience and practice.

In 1990 the Institute was invited to become a member institution of the Global Network for Molecular and Cell Biology (MCBN) within UNESCO. Enjoying the status of the largest Polish non-university institution for basic research in biology, Nencki Institute is known for competitiveness in securing external funding for its research projects, as well as for the number and quality of its scientific publications. Recent success of its researchers in competitive European Community proposals is demonstrated by the formation of two European Centres of Excellence within the Institute: Centre of Excellence for Studies

on Neurodegeneration, supported by a PHARE Sci-Tech II grant, and the EU Centre of

Excellence in Neurobiology, currently supported by an EC-funded project BRAINS

mechanisms underlying neuronal cell death in order to establish new targets and approaches

for treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative disorders. This project has been

executed in collaboration with the Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of International

International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (all in Warsaw), the Institute of

Agricultural Medicine (Lublin), the Medical Academy of Lublin, and the Institute of Zoology of Jagiellonian University (Krakow).

BRAINS is a 3-year EC-funded project (2003-2005) with a total budget of 700 000 EUR. The main goal of the project is to fully integrate Nencki Institute into the European Research Area as a valuable partner in basic and applied research in neurobiology, serving the economic and social needs of integrated Europe. Therefore, the primary focus of project activities is on exchange of scientific expertise, know-how, and technology with a number of the Centre’s European partners. The activities of the Centre of Excellence are overseen by an 11-member international Advisory Board.

The activities of the BRAINS project have been structured into ten work packages (WPs):

4 Invited Experts “Spotlights on Neuroscience” Prof. A. Wróbel wrobel@nencki.gov.pl

9 Building Capacity for Integration into ERA Dr. Sc. J. Zagrodzka zagrodzk@nencki.gov.pl

SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS OF THE GROUPS INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT

Although the majority of the staff involved in the present project has its affiliation in NIEB, some reserchers are employees of other scientific institutions and are involved into PatiMon in the frame of formal agreement between NIEB and their employers. The scientific interests of researchers focus on the neurobiological mechanisms and principles underlying cognitive and emotional brain functions. Our approach is to combine various methodologies (behavioural, psychophysical, electrophysiological, clinical) to provide a wide perspective for understanding the mechanisms of the mind. Studying both normal subjects and subjects suffering from various brain disfunctions or disorders (e. g. dyslexics, neurological or neurochirurgical patients) enable us to identify specific brain regions involved in regulation of various functions. Specific interests of the project participants are as follows:

Lab of Psychophysiology, Nencki Institute, Warsaw, Poland (Prof. A. Grabowska, Dr. A. Nowicka, Dr. I. Szatkowska, Dr. D. Bednarek, K. Rymarczyk, M. Gut, C. Biele)

The research profile includes: 1/. neuronal architecture of various memory function. Investigation in brain damaged patients and healthy subjects revealed that discrete regions of the brain subserve different aspects of memory such as image based representation of objects and their spatial location (3); 2/. Brain asymmetry and hemispheric cooperation. Our data on the functional capacities of the two hemispheres allowed to formulate a new dynamic model in which hemispheric specialisation is conceptualised as a complex system of different asymmetrically represented modules tied by callosal pathways that serve to integrate the operations carried out by those modules. Left-handedness and sex are important features that modify cerebral organisation (1,2, 4,5); 3/. Studies of the neurobiological base of dyslexia . The research provides evidence that increased contrast sensitivity resulting from deficient functioning of the magnocellular channel is a factor contributing to the development of dyslexia (6).

1. Grabowska A., Nowicka A.; Visual-spatial model of cerebral asymmetry: A critical survey of behavioural and electrophysiologivcal studies. Psychol. Bull. 120: 434-449 (1996)

2. Ulatowska H., Sadowska M., Kadzielawa D., Kordys J., Rymarczyk K.; Linguistic and cognitive aspects of proverb processing in aphasia. Aphasiology 14: 227-250 (2000)

3. Szatkowska I., Grabowska A., Szymanska O.; Evidence for the involvement of the ventro- medial prefrontal cortex in a short-term storage of visual images. NeuroReport 12: 1187-1190 (2001)

4. Grabowska A., Nowicka A., Szymanska O., Szatkowska I.; Subjective contour illusion: sex- related effect of unilateral brain damage. NeuroReport 12: 2289-2292 (2001)

5. Nowicka A., Fersten E.; Sex-related differences in interhemispheric transmission time in the human brain. NeuroReport 12: 4171-4175 (2001)

6. Bednarek D., Grabowska A.; Luminance and chromatic contrast sensitivity in dyslexia: The magnocellular deficit hypothesis revisited. NeuroReport 13:2521-2525 (2002)

Department of Psychophysiology, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian Univesity, Krakow (Prof. J. Kaiser, Dr. M. Binder, Dr. E. Wronka)

Interests and experience of the research group includes:

Investigation of autonomic correlates of processing of irrelevant vs. relevant stimuli and emotional vs. neutral stimuli. Decelerative and acceletative components of phasic heart rate response are interpreted in terms of markers of cognitive load under different level of arousal. Investigation of central correlates of processing of emotional relevant stimuli. Timing of components of event related potentials and functional neuroimaging (fMRI) are interpreted in terms of brain mechanism underlying emotional functions. (5,6,7)

autonomic and central correlates of intelligence as well temperamental traits. (1,2,3)

Patients with amiotrofic lateral sclerosis (ALS) showed different pattern of evoked cardiac response to cognitive task related stimuli. This result reflects some aspects of central mechanism of accelerative component of heard rate response and can be consider as a promising step in defining new specific syndromes of ALS.(4)

1. Kaiser, J., Beauvale, A., Bener, J., Barry, R.J. (1996). The evoked cardiac response in subjects differing on intelligence measured by Standard Progressive Matrices, Polish Psychological Bulletin 27 (2).

2. Kaiser, J., Beauvale, A., Bener, J. (1997). The Evoked Cardiac Response as a function of Cognitive Load Differs Between Subjects Separated on the Main Personality Dimensions, Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 22

3. Kaiser, J., Beauvale, A. (1998) Evoked Cardiac Response and EPQ: Eysenck’s Concept of Psychoticism Revisited. International Journal of Psychophysiology. vol. 30.

4. Kaiser, J., Wronka, E., Barry, J.R., Szczudlik, A. (1999) Evoked cardiac response components in cognitive processing: differential effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis vol. 59

5. Wronka E., Kaiser J. (1998) The evoked cardiac response as a function of cognitive load in subjects differing on the performance of the divided task (DIVA). International Journal of Psychophysiology. vol. 30.

6. Kuniecki M., Wronka E., Kaiser J., Coenen A. Impact of emotional stimuli on evoked potentials and heart rate in humans. In press

7. Kuniecki M., Urbanik A., Sobiecka B., Kozub J., Binder M. Central control of HR changes during visual affective processing as revealed by fMRI. In press

and Department of Neurology, University of Luebeck, Luebeck, Germany (Prof. P. Jaskowski, P. Rusiak)

The main interest of the group is the relation between perception and action and the role of consciousness in mediation between input sensory information and action. To understand this relation we try to augment the methods used by experimental psychology by psychophysiological measurements, especially event-related potentials, electromiography, posturography and brain imaging by fMRI.

The researches are focused on following topics 1/ subliminal priming of motor response. Stimuli which are consciouslly perceived due to backward masking could affect preparation of motor response (2) . 2/ the role of consciousness in adjustment of motor action partially driven by unconscious input information. Our recent behavioral and electrophysiological (event-related potentials) data (1) suggest that consciousness tries to keep „off-line” the performance on the reasonable level. We are currently trying to support this hypothesis by brain imaging techniques (fMRI). 3/ perceptual and motor deficits in Parkinson disease. We try to answer how the relation between perception and action is impaired by the disease (3) and what perceptual and/or motor aspects of the disease could be improved/deteriorated due to surgical treatment of Parkinson's disease. 4/ perceptual and motor deficits in dyslexia. Dyslexics show different perceptual and motor deficits. Our data indicate a distinct deficit of dyslexics in mental rotation of letters.

1. Jaśkowski, P., Skalska, B. & Verleger, R. (in press). How the self controls its "automiatic pilot" when processing subliminal information. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 2. Jaśkowski, P., Van der Lubbe, R., Schlotterbeck, E. & Verleger, R. (2002). Traces left on visual selective attention by stimuli that are not consciously identified. Psychological Science 13, 48-54. 3. Wascher, E., Verleger, R., Vieregge, P., Jaśkowski, P., Koch, S. & Kömpf, D. (1997). Responses to cued signals in Parkinson's disease. Distinguishing between disorders of cognition and of activation. Brain 120, 1355-1375.

Institute of Psychophysiology, Bydgoszcz Medical Academy, Bydgoszcz, Poland (Prof. E. J. Gorzelańczyk)

The overall research interests of the team/group concern the basic studies in the field of neuroscience including mathematical model and computer simulation of the nervous structures, as well as clinical research among healthy people and patients with nervous system disorders, with special focus on Parkinson's disease.

The team is presently conducting research on a group of patients with Parkinson's disease (200 to 300 people per year) who undergo a surgery during which subcortical structures are damaged for therapeutic aims. Those patients undergo the following tests:

1/. psychological: the diagnosis of memory, visual perception, and the degree and structure of perception, the assessment of working memory and performatory functions;

2/. psychophysiological tests measuring perception of sequence and simultaneity of visual and auditory stimuli;

objective tests of tremors in patients with Parkinson's disease with the use of an electronic device - tablet

3/. The assessment of fractal dimensions and the degree of parallelism in drawn test preceding and following ablation procedure by a patient in figure test.

4/. phonetic and linguistic tests of speech production in patients with Parkinson's disease preceding and following ablation procedure

1.Gorzelańczyk E. J., Woźniak P. A. A dynamic model of the presynaptic terminal of the adrenergic synapse. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis, 52, 3, 1992.

2.Gorzelańczyk E. J., Chrząstowska H., Woźniak P. A. Investigating the correlations between the intelligence and the performance in repetitive learning tasks, European Journal of Neurology, 1998, 5, 207.

3. Woźniak P., Gorzelańczyk E. J. - Scheduling of repetitions in paired-associate learning. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis 52, 1992, 189.

4. Woźniak P. A., Gorzelańczyk E. J., Murakowski J. A. Two components of long-term memory. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis, 1995, 55, 301-305.

5. Woźniak P., Gorzelańczyk E. J. Modern hypermedia systems encompassing the ability to adapt to the properties of human memory and cognition. Gottodidactica, 1999, XXVII, 53-62

Prof. Anna Grabowska

Position: Professor at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, where she leads the Psychophysiology Group: Professor at the Jagiellonian University, Institute of Psychology, Krakow.

Address: Nencki Institute, 3 Pasteur St., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland.

Training: post-doc fellowship at Padua University (Italy) 1983-1984; visiting professor at Dept. of Psychology, University of Southern California (Los Angeles) 2000.

Local and international scientific standing: elected member of the Committee of the European Brain and Behaviour Society – term 1994 – 1997 and 2000-; elected member of Committee for Neurobiology of Polish Academy of Sciences; v-ce president of the Scientific Council of the Nencki Institute; editor Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis; member of editorial boards of Polish scientific journals: Studia Psychologiczne, Wiadomości Psychiatryczne; organizer (with S. Clarke and M. Regard) of international conference “Hemispheric specialisation and compensatory strategies in brain disorders”, Switzerland, 1999, EBBS meeting, Barcelona 2002.

Dr. Anna Nowicka

Education: 1982 - M.Sc. in theoretical physics, Technical University of Wrocław, Department of Physics; 1993 - Ph. D. degree in the field of neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Department of Neurophysiology.

Professional Experience & Training: 1982-1983 Lecturer in Physics at Technical University of Wrocław; 1984-1987 Research Assistant at Warsaw University, Department of Theoretical Physics; 1988-1992 Research Assistant in Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Department of Neurophysiology; 1994-1997 Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Rochester, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Rochester, NY, USA; 1988 up to now – Research Associate in Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Department of Neurophysiology

Fields of Interest: cooperation of the two hemispheres of the human brain, the role interhemispheric communication in the lateralization of cognitive functions as assessed by means of electrophysiological methods, memory

Born: 8 May 1967 Education: 2001- Ph. D. in neuropsychology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland. Dissertation on “The role of magnocellular system in dyslexia”; 1994 - M. Sc. in psychology, Institute of Psychology, Warsaw University;

Professional carrier: 1994 – up to-date research assistant, Laboratory of Psychophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland; 1993-1994 Child therapist in non-governmental psychological center and at the Psychiatric Hospital, Warsaw;

Training abroad: 2000 - Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Prof. Erik Vandenbussche, KU Leuven, Belgium; 1999 University Laboratory of Physiology, Prof. John Stein, Oxford, UK.

Education: 1986 M.Sc. in biology, Warsaw University, Department of Biology; 1996 - Ph. D. in the field of neurophysiology

Professional Experience & Training: 1986-1988 Lecturer at Department of Biology, Warsaw University; 1990-1996 Research Assistant in the Laboratory of Psychophysiology, Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute; 1997 up to date - Research Associate, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology; 1992-2000 cooperation with Neurosurgury Clinic, Warsaw Medical University

Fields of Interest: functional asymmetry of the human brain, visual perception and memory in normal and brain damaged subjects studied with divided visual field method, neuropsychological tests and event-related potentials

Current positions: since 1994 assistant in the Laboratory of Psychophysiology at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw

Cooperation: Prof. Hanna K. Ulatowska, Professor in Communication Disorders University of Texas at Dallas

Małgorzata Gut MS – PhD student

Born: 1976, 2 January, Poland

Education: 2000 - Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University; 2002 - Faculty of Psychology, Jagiellonian University

Current positions: doctoral studient at the Laboratory of Psychophysiology at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw

Cezary Biele MS - PhD student

Education: 2002 – present Ph. D. student, Institute of Psychology Polish Academy of Sciences/Warsaw School of Social Psychology, 2002 – M. Sc. in psychology, Departament of Psychology, Warsaw School of Social Psychology. Specialization: social psychology.

Proffesional career: 2001-2002 assistant therapist in Warsaw Society for Helping and Caring for Mentally Ill – Foundation “Health”
Fields of interest: emotional expression and face recognition in man and animals, non-verbal communication, evolutionary psychology.

Current position: professor of Jagiellonian Univ., head of Dept. of Psychophysiology

Office address: Jagiellonian Univ., Institute of Psychology, Dept. of Psychophysiology, Al. Mickiewicza 3, 31-120 Krakow., tel. (48 12) 634-13-05, e-mail: upkaiser@cyf-kr.edu.pl

Research fellowships: Univ. of Nijmegen, (The Netherlands), Univ. of Viena (Austria), Univ. of Uppsala (Sveden), Columbia Univ., Univ. of Illinois, The Scripps Research Inst., (USA), Univ of Wollongong (Austaria), Univ. of London (UK)

Born: 1 June 1972 Education: 2003- Ph. D. in psychology, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland; 1996 - M. Sc. in psychology, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University;

Professional carrier: 2003 – up-to-date research assistant, Department of Psychophysiology, Institute of Psychology, Cracow, Poland;

Dr. Eligiusz Wronka

Education: 2000 – Ph.D. in psychology, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland; 1995 – M.Sc. in psychology, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland

Professional carrier: 2001 – up to-date research assistant, Department of Psychophysiology, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland.

Training abroad: 2000 – Laboratory of Electrophysiology, Nijmegen Institute of Cognition and Information, KU Nijmegen, The Netherlands

1998 – Laboratory of Electrophysiology, Nijmegen Institute of Cognition and Information, KU Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Prof. Piotr Jaśkowski

Education: 1995 – habilitation, Medical University of Poznan, Poland; 1982 – Ph.D., Medical University of Poznan, Poland; 1980 – M.S. Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznan, Poland

Current positions and title: Head of Department, Department of Psychophysiology, Kazimierz Wielki University

of Bydgoszcz; Professor, Department of Psychophysiology, Kazimierz Wielki University of Bydgoszcz; Visiting

Past positions and fellowships: 1980-1998 Department of Biophysics, Medical University of Poznan, Poland; 1995-1996 Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, University of Luebeck, Germany; 1993 “Copernicus” Fellowship (European Community), University of Luebeck, Germany

Education: 2001 up to-date Ph.D study, University of Casimirus The Great in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Department of Psychophysiology; 2001- M.Sc. in psychology, University of Casimirus the Great in Bydgoszcz, Poland; specialization: educational psychology

Training abroad: 2002- a Guest Scientist in dr Thomas Lachmann research group at the University of Leipzig (Germany) sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Science and Art.

Prof. Edward Jacek Gorzelańczyk

Education: in 1987 graduated from Faculty of Medicine at Karol Marcinkowski Medical Academy in Poznan with an MD degree; in 1990 he graduted from the Department of Biology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan with an MSc degree in molecular biology; in 1991 doctoral disertation; in 2001 habilitation

Research training: 1989 at Rouen University in France; in 1990 at University British Columbia in Vancouver in Canada

Current position: since 2001 full professor at Bydgoszcz Academy in the Institute of Psychophysiology.

SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS OF THE GROUPS INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT

Lab of Psychophysiology, Nencki Institute, Warsaw, Poland (Prof. A. Grabowska, Dr. A. Nowicka, Dr. I. Szatkowska, Dr. D. Bednarek, K. Rymarczyk, M. Gut, C. Biele)

Department of Psychophysiology, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian Univesity, Krakow (Prof. J. Kaiser, Dr. M. Binder, Dr. E. Wronka)

Interests and experience of the research group includes:

Prof. Anna Grabowska

Position: Professor at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, where she leads the Psychophysiology Group: Professor at the Jagiellonian University, Institute of Psychology, Krakow.

Address: Nencki Institute, 3 Pasteur St., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland.

Training: post-doc fellowship at Padua University (Italy) 1983-1984; visiting professor at Dept. of Psychology, University of Southern California (Los Angeles) 2000.