During my keynote at diss:kurs 2022, I discussed the role of distractors in improving working memory as a smartphone training in elderly adults.

Research focus

My research focuses on the development of cognitive interventions and their investigation using behavioral and neuroimaging methods. During my PhD and early postdoctoral research, I developed a training paradigm for working memory in the presence of distraction. Both, working memory and the ability to filter out distractions naturally decrease with increasing age and can further be impaired in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). While our developed training in the form of the smartphone application SmartBrain showed improved working memory after a three week training in healthy older adults, we are currently investigating if this training paradigm could also be translated into a rehabilitative intervention for people that experience cognitive impairment, as it is the case for some people with MS.

With my research, I aim to develop cognitive interventions that can sustainably be implemented in clinical care. By that, I aim to improve cognition, a brain function that - if impaired - can have a major impact on our daily lives.

Publications

Extensive scientific output via my ORCID profile.

Selected publications:

  • Geiter, E., Mazreku, G., Foresti, M., Magon, S., de Quervain, D. J-F., Zuber., P. (2024). Distractor filtering and task load in working memory training in healthy older adults. Scientific Reports, (14), 24583. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76376-z

  • *Wueest, A., *Zuber, P., Coslovsky, M., Rommers, N., Rodondi, N., Gencer, B., Moschovitis, G., De Perna, M. L., Beer, J. H., Reichlin, T., Krisai, P., Springer, A., Conen, D., Stuber, A., Mueller, A., Paladini, R. E., Kuehne, M., Osswald, S., Monsch, A. U., Bonati, L. H. (2023). Mid-term Changes in Cognitive Functions in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Swiss-AF Cohort. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, (10), 1212587. *equally contributing first authors. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1212587

  • Sabouhi, S., Vaezi, A., Sharbafchi, M., Aerni, A., Bentz, D., Coynel, D., de Quervain, D. J.-F., Fehlmann, B., Freytag, V., Gerhards, C., Papassotiropoulos, A., Schicktanz, N., Schlitt, T., Zimmer, A., Zuber, P., Amini, E. (2022). The Iranian Corona Stress Study. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, (13), 129.

  • Zuber, P., Gaetano, L., Griffa, A., Huerbin, M., Pedullà, L., Bonzano, L., Altermatt, A., Tsagkas, C., Hagmann, P., Wuerfel, J., Kappos, L., Sprenger, T., Sporns, O., Magon, S. (2021). Additive and interaction effects of working memory and motor sequence training on brain functional connectivity. Scientific Reports, (11), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02492-9 

  • Zuber, P. (2021). Brain Plasticity Induced by Motor and Cognitive Interventions in Health and Pathology. Cummulative dissertation. University of Basel, Faculty of Psychology. https://edoc.unibas.ch/83921/

  • Zuber, P., Geiter, E., de Quervain, D. J.-F., Magon, S. (2021). Development of a Model-based Working Memory Training and Investigation of its Comparative Efficacy: A Randomized, Double-blind Study on Healthy Adults. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, (13), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2021.682474

  • Zuber, P., Tsagkas, C., Papadopoulou, A., Huerbin, M., Gaetano, L., Geiter, E., Altermatt, A., Parmar, K., Ettlin, T., Schuster-Amft, C., Suica, Z., Alrasheed, H., Wuerfel, J., Kesselring, J., Kappos, L., Sprenger, T., Magon, S. (2020) Efficacy of inpatient multidisciplinary rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis: behavioural and fMRI results. Journal of Neurology, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-020-09768-6

Outreach