Curriculum Vitae - Dr. rer. nat. Maria McDonald (ehem. Bretzke)

Professional Experience

Since 2018	PhD Student / Research Assistent Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus at the TU Dresden, Germany
2014-2018	Student Assistant Adaptive Behavior and Cognition (ABC) Prof. Dr. Gerd Gigerenzer Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin
2016-2018	Student Assistant Max Planck Research Group „iSearch“ Information Search, Ecological and Active Learning Research with Children Prof. Dr. Azzurra Ruggeri Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin Final year thesis: “Active control of study leads to improved word learning in children”
2015-2018	Cooperation Research Group Psychosomatic Rehabilitation Prof. Dr. Michael Linden Charité University Medicine, Berlin
07/2013-10/2013	Internship Dr. Ebel Fachkliniken Heinrich-Heine-Klinik Potsdam Neu Fahrland Center for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy

Education & Training

Since 2019	Clinical training in child and adolescent psychotherapy Academy for Psychotherapy and Intervention Research, University of Potsdam
2018-2023	PhD in Psychology TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany Title of the Thesis: Neural reward and loss processing in adolescents and its alterations in early-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder
2015-2018	M. Sc. Psychology: Cognitive Neuroscience Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg
2012-2015	B. Sc. Psychology University of Potsdam, Germany
2008-2012	B. A. German Studies University of Leipzig and University of Jena, Germany

Research Interests

Social learning and cognition in children
Language development in children
Developmental and psychological disorders in children and adolescents
Neurophysiological basis of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Publications

McDonald M & Linden M : Increasing the therapeutic dosage by combining cognitive behavior group therapy with a monitored self-help group. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 2023 (in press).
McDonald M, Vetter NC, Kohls G, Wahl H, Roessner V, Plichta MM, Buse J: Is loss avoidance differentially rewarding in adolescents versus adults? Differences in ventral striatum and anterior insula activation during the anticipation of potential monetary losses. Cogn Neurosci, doi: 10.1080/17588928.2022.2038555, 2023.
Rempel S, Backhausen LL, McDonald M, Roessner V, Vetter NC, Beste C, Wolff N: App-Based Mindfulness Meditation Training and an Audiobook Intervention Reduce Symptom Severity but Do Not Modify Backward Inhibition in Adolescent Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Evidence from an EEG Study. J Clin Med. 12(7):2486. doi: 10.3390/jcm12072486, 2023.
Weniger M, Beesdo-Baum K, Ernst J, Siegmund CB, Porst PT, McDonald M, Roessner V, Knappe S: Indikative Präventionsprogramme zur Förderung der seelischen Gesundheit im Vor- und Grundschulalter: Teilnahmebereitschaft von Kinderärzt*innen und Familien an einer innovativen Versorgungskette [Indicative prevention programs for mental health promotion in preschool and primary school age: Willingness of pediatricians and families to participate in an innovative care chain]. Bundesgesundheitsbl. doi: 10.1007/s00103-023-03787-0, 2023.
Bretzke M, Wahl H, Plichta M M, Wolff N, Roessner V., Vetter N C & Buse J: Ventral Striatal Activation During Reward Anticipation of Different Reward Probabilities in Adolescents and Adults. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 15, 187, 2021.
Ruggeri A, Markant DB, Gureckis TM, Bretzke M, & Xu F: Memory enhancements from active control of learning emerge across development. Cognition, 186, 82-94, 2019.
Linden M, Bretzke M & Pritschow F:
Selbsthilfegruppen in Kombination mit therapeuten-geleiteten Psychotherapiegruppen. In: Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft Selbsthilfegruppen (Hrsg.): Selbsthilfegruppenjahrbuch 2018. Eigenverlag, Gießen 2018, S. 107-112, 2018.

Peer-reviewed conference proceedings

Bridgers S, Gweon H, Bretzke M, & Ruggeri A: How you learned matters: The process by which others’ learn informs young children’s decisions about whom to ask for help. Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, 2018.

Current Responsibilities

REDO - Dopaminergic modulation of processing rewards and losses in children and adolescents with obsessive compulsive disorder
PROMPt - Primärindikative und optimierte Zuweisung zu gezielten Maßnahmen bei emotionalen und Verhaltensauffälligkeiten bei Kindern

Contact

Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus
Technische Universität Dresden
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
Fetscherstraße 74, 01307 Dresden