Maria Bierlein completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Trier (Germany) in 2021, followed by a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Basel (Switzerland) in 2023. Her Master’s thesis focused on investigating brain structural correlates of disorder-specific empathy deficits in youths with autism spectrum disorder and conduct disorder.

In 2024, Maria joined the Translational Psychiatry Research Group under the supervision of Prof. Philipp Sterzer at the University Psychiatric Hospital, Basel. She was awarded a Doc.CH grant by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) to pursue her PhD in Psychology and Neuroscience. Her doctoral research explores the potential of Bayesian Predictive Processing frameworks to explain the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying hallucinatory experiences along the continuum from healthy to clinical populations.

Using state-of-the-art behavioral and neuroscientific methodologies, Maria seeks to understand how information processing during perceptual decisions is altered across the brain’s hierarchical structures. By examining the interaction between cognitive mechanisms and neurobiological abnormalities, her goal is to establish causal links that can lead to more accurate quantitative assessments and optimized therapeutic interventions.

In addition to advancing clinical understanding, Maria is committed to reshaping social perceptions of hallucinations. By linking psychiatric phenomena to traits distributed across the general population, she hopes to promote a more nuanced view of these experiences and contribute to their destigmatization.

M Sc Maria Beate Bierlein

Teaching Bachelor/Master