Professor for Biological and Clinical Psychology
Psychotherapist (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

Head of the Psychotherapy Outpatient Clinic for Stress, Social Interaction and Behavioral Medicine

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• Neurobiological basis of social cognition
• Impairments in social cognition in psychiatric conditions and developmental disorders
• Interaction of cognition and emotion in personality disorders
• Neurobiological mechanisms in psychological stress and stress management

See [→Pubmed] or [→GoogleScholar]

Domes, G., Croyé, M.-A., Freilinger, P., Bohlscheid, A., Willinek, W., & Meyer, J. (2025). Brain structure in triple x syndrome: Regional gray matter volume and cortical  thickness in adult women with 47,XXX. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 17, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s11689-025-09608-6

Linnig, K., Seel, S., Von Dawans, B., Standard, W., Zielasko, D., Weyers, B., & Domes, G. (2025). Open TSST VR: Psychobiological reactions to an open version of the Trier Social Stress Test in virtual reality. Behavior Research Methods, 57(5), 147. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-025-02662-x

Domes, G., Linnig, K., & Von Dawans, B. (2024). Gonads under stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of acute psychosocial stress on gonadal steroids secretion in humans. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 164, 107004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107004

Strojny, J., von Dawans, B., Schächinger, H., & Domes, G. (2024). Hydrocortisone reduces altruistic punishment in healthy men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 165, 107027. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107027

Press, S. A., Biehl, S. C., Domes, G., & Svaldi, J. (2023). Increased insula and amygdala activity during selective attention for negatively valenced body parts in binge eating disorder. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 132(1), 63–77. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000788

Vehlen, A., Spenthof, I., Tönsing, D., Heinrichs, M., & Domes, G. (2021). Evaluation of an eye tracking setup for studying visual attention in face-to-face conversations. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 2661. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81987-x

von Dawans, B., Strojny, J., & Domes, G. (2021). The effects of acute stress and stress hormones on social cognition and behavior: Current state of research and future directions. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 121, 75–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.026

Stächele, T., Domes, G., Wekenborg, M., Penz, M., Kirschbaum, C., & Heinrichs, M. (2020). Effects of a 6-Week Internet-Based Stress Management Program on Perceived Stress, Subjective Coping Skills, and Sleep Quality. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 463. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00463

Domes, G., Ower, N., Dawans, B. von, Spengler, F. B., Dziobek, I., Bohus, M., … Heinrichs, M. (2019). Effects of intranasal oxytocin administration on empathy and approach motivation in women with borderline personality disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Translational Psychiatry, 9(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-019-0658-4

Kanat, M., Spenthof, I., Riedel, A., van Elst, L.T., Heinrichs, M., & Domes, G. (2017). Restoring effects of oxytocin on the attentional preference for faces in autism. Translational Psychiatry, 7, e1097; doi:10.1038/tp.2017.67

Domes, G., Marx, L., Spenthof, I., & Heinrichs, M. (2016). The German version of the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS): reliability and validity. PLOS ONE, 11(3), e0150807; doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0150807

Kanat, M., Heinrichs, M., Mader, I., Van Elst, L. T., & Domes, G. (2015). Oxytocin modulates amygdala reactivity to masked fearful eyes. Neuropsychopharmacology, 40(11), 2632–2638.

Kanat, M., Heinrichs, M., Schwarzwald, R., & Domes, G. (2015). Oxytocin attenuates neural reactivity to masked threat cues from the eyes. Neuropsychopharmacology, 40(2), 287–295.

Matzke, B., Herpertz, S. C., Berger, C., Fleischer, M., & Domes, G. (2014). Facial reactions during emotion recognition in borderline personality disorder: A facial electromyography study. Psychopathology, 47(2), 101–110

Domes, G., Kumbier, E., Heinrichs, M., & Herpertz, S. C. (2014). Oxytocin promotes facial emotion recognition and amygdala reactivity in adults with asperger syndrome. Neuropsychopharmacology, 39(3), 698–706.

Professor of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier
Director, University Outpatient Clinic for Stress, Social Interaction and Behavioral Medicine
Co-founder, Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (ICAN Trier)

Prof. Dr. Gregor Domes has been Professor of Biological and Clinical Psychology at the University of Trier since 2016, where he leads the department and the associated University Outpatient Clinic for Stress, Social Interaction and Behavioral Medicine. He is also a co-founder of the Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (ICAN Trier).

He studied psychology at the Universities of Trier and Tübingen (1993–1999) and obtained his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Tübingen in 2002. Following his doctorate, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University Medical Center Rostock (2003–2007) and as a research fellow at the University of Zurich (2007–2008). From 2008 to 2016, he held a senior academic position at the University of Freiburg, where he completed his habilitation in 2012 and obtained licensure as a psychological psychotherapist in 2014. In 2016, he was appointed to his current position at the University of Trier.

Prof. Domes’s research focuses on the neurobiological and psychophysiological mechanisms of social cognition, stress, and emotion regulation. His work aims to understand how social interaction, gaze behavior, and social anxietyinfluence neural and hormonal systems, and how these mechanisms are altered in mental disorders. A particular focus lies on the interplay between stress and social behavior, investigated using paradigms such as the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and its virtual-reality adaptations to assess stress reactivity and resilience under ecologically valid conditions.

His research combines hormonal and psychophysiological assessments (e.g., cortisol, heart rate variability) with eye tracking, neuroimaging, and experimental approaches to social perception and interaction. Through his clinical background and leadership of the university outpatient clinic, Prof. Domes integrates basic experimental research and clinical application, bridging biological mechanisms with therapeutic practice — particularly in the areas of personality disorders, social anxiety, and stress-related psychopathology.