Predicting Mental Health Development in Children

Webpage of the Emmy-Noether Research Group (PI: Dr. Nico Bast) dedicated to improving children’s mental health

Current projects

An overview on the research projects of MIND-CHILD

LOCUS-MENTAL

brainstem functioning as predictor of mental health in preschoolers

DYNAMIC

Dynamic network approach of mental health

SEGA

Sensory processing and gating in autism spectrum conditions

Recent publications

Full publication list is found on Google Scholar

Lemler et al. (2025). Autism Research

Lemler, C., Kleber, S.K., Polzer, L., Raji, N., Kitzerow-Cleven, J., Kim, Z., Platte, S., Freitag, C.M. and Bast, N. (2025), Semi-Automated Multi-Label Classification of Autistic Mannerisms by Machine Learning on Post Hoc Skeletal Tracking. Autism Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70020

Polzer et al. (2024). Scientific Reports

Polzer, L., Schenk, M., Raji, N., Kleber, S., Lemler, C., . . . Bast, N. (2024). Temporal progression of pupil dilation and gaze behavior to emotion expressions in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. Sci. Rep., 14(1), 7843. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58480-2

Bast & Boxhoorn et al. (2023). Biological Psychiatry: CNNI

Bast, N., Boxhoorn, S., Supér, H., Helfer, B., Polzer, L., . . . Freitag, C. M. (2023). Atypical Arousal Regulation in Children With Autism but Not With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as Indicated by Pupillometric Measures of Locus Coeruleus Activity. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging, 8(1), 11. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.04.010

Bast et al. (2023). Molecular Autism

Bast, N., Mason, L., Ecker, C., Baumeister, S., Banaschewski, T., . . . the, E. U. A. L. G. (2023). Sensory salience processing moderates attenuated gazes on faces in autism spectrum disorder: a case–control study. Molecular Autism, 14(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-023-00537-6

Polzer et al. (2022). Autism Research

Polzer, L., Freitag, C. M., & Bast, N. (2022). Pupillometric measures of altered stimulus‐evoked locus coeruleus‐norepinephrine activity explain attenuated social attention in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res., 15(11), 2167. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2818

Bast et al. (2021). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

Bast, N., Mason, L., Freitag, C. M., Smith, T., Portugal, A. M., . . . Group, E. A. L. (2021). Saccade dysmetria indicates attenuated visual exploration in autism spectrum disorder. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 62(2), 149. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13267

Boxhoorn & Bast et al. (2020). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

Boxhoorn, S., Bast, N., Super, H., Polzer, L., Cholemkery, H., . . . Freitag, C. M. (2020). Pupil dilation during visuospatial orienting differentiates between autism spectrum disorder and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 61(5), 614. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13179

Research funding

We thank all funding partners that support our research

German Research Foundation:

Daimler and Benz Foundation:

Johanna Quandt Young Academy:

  • member science funding

Polytechnic Foundation of Frankfurt am Main

  • Main-Campus-Educator (post-doc funding)

“The biology of mind bridges the sciences – concerned with the natural world – and the humanities – concerned with the meaning of human experience.”

Eric Kandel

neuroscientist, psychiatrist