About me
I studied German Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, and Rehabilitation Pedagogics with a focus on speech and language pathology at the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg (Germany). Afterwards, I was a PhD candidate at the Neuropsychology Department of the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig (Germany). I received my PhD in Cognitive Sciences from the University of Potsdam (Germany). I have pursued my research and teaching interests as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the MPI in Leipzig, as a Research Associate at the University of Manchester (UK), as a Researcher and later as Assistant Professor at Maastricht University (Netherlands). Since 2023, I am Associate Professor at Maastricht University.
Research
Predictive adaptation to a dynamic environment
My work focuses on the functional and neural mechanisms that underlie the ability to predictively adapt motor and non-motor cognitive behavior to a dynamic environment. Within this broader context, I am particularly interested in the role and the interplay of classical motor brain structures such as the cerebellum, the basal ganglia, and the supplementary motor area in auditory timing and the optimal allocation of attention in time. Human and comparative research in different animal species aims to define the structural and functional components of the brain’s sensorimotor timing network. I use (mobile)EEG to investigate electrophysiological markers (event-related potentials, oscillatory activity) recorded at rest, during sleep or during task performance and their modulation by timing manipulations. I use structural MRI and lesion-mapping techniques in patient populations to differentiate the contribution of specific brain structures to sensorimotor timing. A main goal of this research is to derive markers of dysfunction and to optimize neurocognitive function using personalized timing and training strategies.
Teaching and Supervision
My teaching activities relate to Bachelor and Master courses on Behavioural Disorders, Neurobehavioural Functioning, Brain Damage, Ageing, Executive Function, Psychological Perspectives, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking, History and Foundations of Psychology, as well as mentoring and skills training in Functional Neuroanatomy, Academic Writing, Professional and Life Skills, Human Neuroimaging, and Research Practicals at UM and at University College Maastricht.
Ius promovendi (2024); University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) certificate (Basis Kwalificatie Onderwijs (BKO) certificaat, 2020)
Master Thesis Research Project positions UM Neuropsychology master tracks
I coordinate the Master Thesis Research Projects (MTRP) for the Maastricht University Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience 1-year and 2-year Neuropsychology Master tracks. If you would like to offer a research project position to UM Neuropsychology students please get into contact via michael.schwartze at maastrichtuniversity.nl.
Students interested in conducting timing, auditory or audiomotor behavioral and/or (mobile)EEG research during a MTRP can also contact me directly via michael.schwartze at maastrichtuniversity.nl (for some of the currently available projects see also here).
(Co*)supervisior
My past and present supervisions cover Bachelor, Master, MPhil, and PhD student levels (~50 in total).
since 2025 Tom Rösgen, Master Student (EEG signatures of thalamic auditory processing)
since 2025 Annamaria Krivdová*, Master Student (Neuropsychological battery (re-)testing)
since 2025 Flynn Herrmans*, Master Student (Body-brain interaction)
since 2024 Tongxin Liu, PhD Student (Body-brain influence on cognition)
Professional Experience
Associate Editor: Cortex – A Journal devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior (2018-2025)
Review Editor: Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience (2017-2019)
Reviewer: > 50 International Journals and Conferences; Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), European Commission (EC)/European Research Council (ERC), Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
Member: UM Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience EEG Committee
Appointed Examiner: University College Maastricht (UCM); UM Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML)
since 2023
Associate Professor (UHD2), Dpt. of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Netherlands
2021-2023
Assistant Professor (UD1), Dpt. of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Netherlands
2018-2021
Assistant Professor (UD2), Dpt. of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Netherlands
2015-2018
Researcher, Dpt. of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Netherlands
2013-2015
Research Associate, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, UK
2012-2013
Postdoctoral Researcher, Dpt. of Neuropsychology and Minerva Research Group Neurocognition of Rhythm in Communication, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
2012
PhD (Dr. phil., distinction summa cum laude, Cognitive Sciences), University of Potsdam, Germany
2007-2012
PhD candidate, Dpt. of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
2007
Magister Artium (M.A., German Linguistics, Rehabilitation Pedagogics), Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
2006
Student Intern, Dpt. of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
2005
Student Intern, Waldklinik Bernburg Neurological Clinic for the Treatment of Parkinson´s Disease, Bernburg, Germany
2004
Student Intern, Dpt. of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
BAND Lab 