PD Dr. rer. nat. Lara Schlaffke

MSc. Biology
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Main research

Using quantitative imaging techniques I investigate leg muscles of patients with neuromuscular disorders. My main focus is on the establishment of biomarkers to evaluate disease state and progression as well as novel therapeutic approaches.


Methods and Research Interests

• quantitative imaging methods
• Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI - cortex and muscles)
• Voxel based Morphometrie (VBM)


Curriculum vitae

07/2022
Habilitation (venia legendi for experimental neurology)

since 01/2020
Research group leader quantitative muscleimaging

since 01/2018
PostDoc in the Neuroimaging Research Group Neuroplasticity/Learning at the University Clinic Bergmannsheil.

01/2017-12/2017
Research School Plus Gateway Fellow at the University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands

05/2016-12/2016
PostDoc in the Neuroimaging Research Group Neuroplasticity/Learning at the University Clinic Bergmannsheil.

04/2016
Promotion (Dr.rer.nat., summa cum laude) in Biology. Thesis "Cortical plasticity when learning Morse Code-Investigations of the transition between perceptual and
semantic learning in the human brain"

10/2012-04/2016
PhD-Student in the Neuroimaging Research Group Neuroplasticity/Learning at the University Clinic Bergmannsheil.

10/2011 - 10/2012
M.Sc. Biology at the Ruhr-University Bochum
Topic: Cortical correlates of “theory of mind” comparing long-distance athletes and martial artists


Publications

Enax-Krumova E, Forsting J, Rohm M, Schwenkreis P, Tegenthoff M, Meyer-Frießem CH, Schlaffke L. Quantitative muscle magnetic resonance imaging depicts microstructural abnormalities but no signs of inflammation or dystrophy in post-COVID-19 condition. Eur J Neurol. 2023 Apr;30(4):970-981. doi: 10.1111/ene.15709. Epub 2023 Feb 15. PMID: 36693812.

Forsting J, Rohm M, Froeling M, Güttsches AK, Südkamp N, Roos A, Vorgerd M, Schlaffke L, Rehmann R. Quantitative muscle MRI captures early muscle degeneration in calpainopathy. Sci Rep. 2022 Nov 16;12(1):19676. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-23972-6. PMID: 36385624; PMCID: PMC9669006.

Forsting J, Rehmann R, Rohm M, Güttsches AK, Froeling M, Kan HE, Tegenthoff M, Vorgerd M, Schlaffke L. Robustness and stability of volume-based tractography in a multicenter setting. NMR Biomed. 2022 Jul;35(7):e4707. doi: 10.1002/nbm.4707. Epub 2022 Feb 18. PMID: 35102637.

Rohm M, Markmann M, Forsting J, Rehmann R, Froeling M, Schlaffke L. 3D Automated Segmentation of Lower Leg Muscles Using Machine Learning on a Heterogeneous Dataset. Diagnostics (Basel). 2021 Sep 23;11(10):1747. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics11101747. PMID: 34679445; PMCID: PMC8534967.

Forsting J, Rohm M, Froeling M, Güttsches AK, Vorgerd M, Schlaffke L Rehmann R. High Inter-Rater Reliability of Manual Segmentation and Volume-Based Tractography in Healthy and Dystrophic Human Calf Muscle. Diagnostics (Basel). 2021 Aug 24;11(9):1521. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics11091521. PMID: 34573863; PMCID: PMC8466691.

Tabrik S, Behroozi M, Schlaffke L, Heba S, Lenz M, Lissek S, Güntürkün O, Dinse HR, Tegenthoff M. Visual and Tactile Sensory Systems Share Common Features in Object Recognition. eNeuro. 2021 Oct 4;8(5):ENEURO.0101-21.2021. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0101-21.2021. PMID: 34544756; PMCID: PMC8493885.

Rehmann R, Schneider-Gold C, Froeling M, Güttsches AK, Rohm M, Forsting J, Vorgerd M, Schlaffke L. Diffusion Tensor Imaging Shows Differences Between Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 and Type 2. J Neuromuscul Dis. 2021;8(6):949-962. doi: 10.3233/JND-210660. PMID: 34180419.

Güttsches AK, Rehmann R, Schreiner A, Rohm M, Forsting J, Froeling M, Tegenthoff M, Vorgerd M, Schlaffke, L.. Quantitative Muscle-MRI Correlates with Histopathology in Skeletal Muscle Biopsies. J Neuromuscul Dis. 2021;8(4):669-678. doi: 10.3233/JND-210641. PMID: 33814461.

Junker, F. B., Schlaffke, L., Axmacher, N., & Schmidt-Wilcke, T. (2021). Impact of multisensory learning on perceptual and lexical processing of unisensory Morse code. Brain Research, 1755, 147259

Bettmann JH, Meyer-Frießem CH, Schweizer LM, Schlaffke L, Zahn PK, Tegenthoff M, Höffken O. Transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation shows no effect on paired stimulation suppression of the somatosensory cortex. Sci Rep. 2020 Dec 15;10(1):22010

Forsting J, Rehmann R, Froeling M, Schlaffke L. Evaluation of interrater reliability of different muscle segmentation techniques in diffusion tensor imaging. NMR Biomed. 2020 e4430:1-11

Stouge A, Khan KS, Kristensen AG, Tankisi H, Schlaffke L, Froeling M, Væggemose M, Andersen H. MRI of Skeletal Muscles in Participants with Type 2 Diabetes with or without Diabetic Polyneuropathy. Radiology. 2020 Dec;297(3):608-619

Junker FB, Schlaffke L, Bellebaum C, Ghio M, Brühl S, Axmacher N, Schmidt-Wilcke T. Transition From Sublexical to Lexico-Semantic Stimulus Processing. Front Syst Neurosci. 2020 Oct 30;14:522384

Queiroz de Paiva JP, Magalhães SC, Moura LM, Sato JR, Amaro E, Sterr A, Schlaffke L, Eckeli AL, Fernandes do Prado G, Conforto AB (2020): Sensorimotor white matter projections and disease severity in primary Restless Legs Syndrome/ Willis-Ekbom Disease: a multimodal DTI analysis. Sleep Med. 2020;73:106–16 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2020.05.040.

Rehmann R, Froeling M, Rohm M, Forsting J, Kley RA, Schmidt-Wilcke T, Karabul N, Tegenthoff M, Vorgerd M, Schlaffke L (2020): Muscle Diffusion tensor imaging reveals changes in non-fat infiltrated muscles in late-onset Pompe disease. Muscle and Nerve 2020;62:541-549

Otto LAM, van den Pol L, Schlaffke L, Wijngaarde CA, Stam M, Wadmann R, Cuppen I, van Eijk R, Asselman F-L, Bartels B, van der Woude D, Hendrikse J, Froeling M (2020): Quantitative MRI of skeletal muscle in a cross-sectional cohort of Spinal Muscular Atrophy patients type 2-3. NMR Biomed 2020;33:e4357

Wang BA, Schlaffke L, Pleger B (2020): Modulations of insular projections by prior belief mediate the precision of prediction error during tactile learning. J Neurosci 40:3827–3837.

Forsting J, Rehmann R, Froeling M, Vorgerd M, Tegenthoff M, Schlaffke L (2020): Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Human Thigh: Consideration of DTI-based fiber tracking stop criteria. MAGMA 33:343–355.

Schlaffke L, Friedrich S, Tegenthoff M, Güntürkün O, Genc E, Ocklenburg S (2020): Boom Chack Boom - A multimethod investigation of motor inhibition in professional drummers. Brain Behav 10:e01490.

De Luca A, Schlaffke L, Siero J, Froeling M, Leemans A (2019): On the sensitivity of the diffusion MRI signal to brain activity in response to a motor cortex paradigm. Hum Brain Mapp:1–14.

Schlaffke L, Rehmann R, Rohm M, Otto L, De Luca A, Burakiewicz J, Baligand C, Monte J, den Harder C, Hooijmans MT, Nederveen AJ, Schlaeger S, Weidlich D, Karampinos DC, Stouge A, Vaeggemose M, D’Angelo M, Arrigoni F, Kan HE, Froeling M (2019): Multicenter evaluation of stability and reproducibility of quantitative MRI measures in healthy calf muscles. NMR Biomed:1–14.

Ocklenburg S, Anderson C, Gerding WM, Fraenz C, Schlüter C, Friedrich P, Raane M, Mädler B, Schlaffke L, Arning L, Epplen JT, Güntürkün O, Beste C, Genç E (2018) Myelin Water Fraction Imaging Reveals Hemispheric Asymmetries in Human White Matter That Are Associated with Genetic Variation in PLP1. Mol Neurobiol.

Rehmann R*, Schlaffke L*, Froeling M, Kley RA, Kühnle E, De Mareés M, Forsting J, Rohm M, Tegenthoff M, Schmidt-wilcke T, Vorgerd M (2018): Muscle diffusion tensor imaging in Glycogen storage disease V (McArdle disease). Eur Radiol 29:3224–3232.

Schlaffke L, Leemans A, Schweizer LM, Ocklenburg S, Schmidt-Wilcke T (2017). Learning Morse Code Alters Microstructural Properties in the Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus: A DTI Study. Front Hum Neurosci 11: 383.

Schlaffke, L.*, Rehmann, R.*, Froeling, M., Kley, R., Tegenthoff, M., Vorgerd, M., & Schmidt-Wilcke, T. (2017). Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Human Calf : Variation of Inter- and Intramuscle-Specific Diffusion Parameters. J Magn Reson Imaging, 1–12. doi:10.1002/jmri.25650

Schlaffke, L., Schweizer, L., Rüther, N. N., Luerding, R., Tegenthoff, M., Bellebaum, C., & Schmidt-Wilcke, T. (2016). Dynamic changes of resting state connectivity related to the acquisition of a lexico-semantic skill. NeuroImage. doi:10.1016/j.msea.2016.06.054

Schlaffke, L.*, Golisch, A.*, Haag, L. M.*, Lenz, M., Heba, S., Lissek, S., … Tegenthoff, M. (2015). The Brain’s Dress Code: How The Dress allows to decode the neuronal pathway of an optical illusion. Cortex, 73, 271–275.

Schlaffke L, Rüther NN, Heba S, Haag LM, Schultz T, Rosengarth K, Tegenthoff M, Bellebaum C, Schmidt-Wilcke T (2015b) From perceptual to lexico-semantic analysis-cortical plasticity enabling new levels of processing. Hum Brain Mapp

Schlaffke, L., Lissek, S., Lenz, M., Juckel, G., Schultz, T., Tegenthoff, M., Schmidt-Wilcke, T., Brüne, M. (2014): Shared and non-shared neural networks of cognitive and affective theory-of-mind: a neuroimaging study using cartoon picture stories. Human Brain Mapping, in press.

Ocklenburg S, Schlaffke L, Hugdahl K, Westerhausen R (2014) From structure to function in the lateralized brain: How structural properties of the arcuate and uncinate fasciculus are associated with dichotic listening performance. Neurosci Lett 580:32–36.

Lissek S, Vallana GS, Schlaffke L, Lenz M, Dinse HR, Tegenthoff M (2014) Opposing effects of dopamine antagonism in a motor sequence task - tiapride increases cortical excitability and impairs motor learning. Front Behav Neurosci 8

Gerber P*, Schlaffke L*, Heba S, Greenlee MW, Schultz T, Schmidt-Wilcke T (2014) Juggling revisited - A voxel-based morphometry study with expert jugglers. Neuroimage 95:320–325.

Schlaffke L, Lissek S, Lenz M, Brüne M, Juckel G, Hinrichs T, Platen P, Tegenthoff M, Schmidt-Wilcke T (2014) Sports and brain morphology - a voxel based morphometry study with endurance athletes and martial artists. Neuroscience 259:35–42.

Wiens V, Schlaffke L, Schmidt-Wilcke T, Schultz T (2014) Visualizing Uncertainty in HARDI Tractography Using Superquadric Streamtubes. EuroVis:1–6.

Schultz T, Schlaffke L, Schölkopf B, Schmidt-Wilcke T (2013) HiFiVE: A Hilbert Space Embedding of Fiber Variability Estimates for Uncertainty Modeling and Visualization. Comput Graph Forum 32:121–130.