Arasch Mostauli

Clinician Scientist @Universitätsklinikum Hamburg Eppendorf

Hamburg, DE

Led an fMRI project within the Lifespan Research Group (Prof. Stefanie Brassen) exploring how insulin in the brain influences eating behavior. While earlier work had shown that insulin affects how we value tasty foods and can even predict diet success in older adults, my project asked whether insulin also helps with the cognitive control of food choices – in both adolescents and elderly participants. This work aims to better understand how brain insulin shapes decision-making across the lifespan (publication in preparation).Published as co-first author on the role of expectations in emotional processing. In this study, participants were told they had received an oxytocin nasal spray (in reality a placebo). This suggestion alone was enough to improve mood and reduce distraction by negative emotional cues – but only when people had enough attentional resources. The findings show that placebo effects depend on cognitive control and highlight how expectations can shape emotional experience in everyday life.

UCL

Visiting Research Trainee, Institute of Neurology, Functional Imaging Laboratory (FIL)

University of Hamburg

Doctor of Medicine - MD, Medicine