23.04.2026 Special issue of ´Der Nervenarzt´ focussing on the SFB/TRR 393

It´s released! A special issue focussing on the research of the SFB/TRR 393 has been published in March in ´Der Nervenarzt´.

Special issue of ´Der Nervenarzt´ focussing on the research of the SFB/TRR 393.

Taking into account the significance of our approach, this special issue brings together five articles that collectively present our ambitious and methodologically sophisticated research program addressing critical gaps in affective disorder research. Moreover, it`s not just a collection of research articles—it provides a blueprint for the future of affective disorder research while representing a paradigm shift toward longitudinal, mechanism-based psychiatry. 

Understanding affective disorders has long been hindered by static, cross-sectional approaches that fail to capture the dynamic nature of depression and bipolar disorder. By combining rigorous longitudinal methodology spanning many years, a deep mechanistic understanding of disease processes, and targeted interventions, the SFB/TRR 393 offers hope for more effective, personalized treatments that could fundamentally improve outcomes for patients.

At its core, the SFB/TRR 393 recognizes that individual illness trajectories are highly unpredictable, and that traditional group-level analyses have so far failed to identify robust biomarkers suitable for clinical application. In response, the consortium has established the German Mental Health Cohort (GEMCO), a large-scale longitudinal study involving 1,500 participants with an unprecedented depth of phenotyping, designed to capture the complex, dynamic nature of mental health conditions over time. 

• Kircher, T., Alexander, N., Bauer, M., Dannlowski, U., Ebner-Priemer, U.W., Kanske, P., Wöhr, M., and Pfennig, A. The SFB/TRR 393 Collaborative Research Centre: trajectories of affective disorders.
• Dannlowski, U., Pfennig, A., Ebner-Priemer, U.W., Stein, F., Müller-Pfefferkorn, R., Smolka, M.N., Jansen, A., Hahn, T., Jamalabadi, H., Straube, B., Falkenberg, I., Kircher, T., and Alexander, N. Trajectories of affective disorders—the central structures of CRC/TRR 393.
• Ebner-Priemer, U., Alferink, J., Bauer, M., Dannlowski, U., Falkenberg, I., Forstner, A.J., Hahn, T., Junghöfer, M., Kircher, T., Klotz, L., Martini, J., Mennigen, E., Nenadić, I., Pariante, C., Pfennig, A., Ziller, M., and Meinert, S. Trajectories of affective disorders: neurobiological mechanisms during symptom change.
• Kanske, P., Alexander, N., Bernhardt, N., Ehrlich, S., Groß, J., Culmsee, C., Leehr, E.J., Jansen, A., Jüngling, K., Ritter, P., Straube, B., Wessing, I., Kircher, T., and Wöhr, M. Key mechanisms of affective disorders.
• Leehr, E.J., Groß, J., Hofmann, S.G., Kanske, P., Kircher, T., Nenadić, I., Rief, W., Ritter, P., Young, A., and Förster, K. What to target? Interventions to modulate key mechanisms underlying the trajectories of affective disorders in the transregional Collaborative Research Center 393.