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 Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig (Germany) and received my PhD from the University of Potsdam (Germany). I conducted postdoctoral research at the MPI in Leipzig, as a Research Associate at the University of Manchester (UK), and as a Researcher at Maastricht University (Netherlands). Since 2018, I am Assistant Professor (UD2/UD1) at Maastricht University.
Research
Predictive adaptation to a dynamic environment
My work focuses on the functional and neural mechanisms underlying 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 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 timing network. I use EEG to investigate the modulation of several electrophysiological markers (ERPs, oscillatory activity) by timing manipulations, as well as structural MRI and lesion-mapping techniques in patient populations to differentiate the contribution of specific brain structures to sensorimotor timing mechanisms. A main goal of this research is to derive markers of dysfunction and to optimize function by timing.
Teaching
University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) certificate (Basis Kwalificatie Onderwijs (BKO) certificaat, 2020)
My teaching activities relate to Bachelor and Master courses on Neurobehavioural Functioning, Behavioural Disorders, Brain Damage, Ageing, Executive Function, History and Foundations of Psychology, as well as skills training in Academic Writing, Functional Neuroanatomy, Human Neuroimaging, and Research Practicals. Past and present supervisions cover Bachelor, Master, MPhil and PhD student levels (~40).
Internship positions
I coordinate the Research Internships for the UM FPN Neuropsychology Master tracks. If you would like to offer an internship to UM students and for more information see here.
Students interested in conducting timing, auditory or audiomotor behavioral and/or (mobile) EEG research during an internship can contact me directly via michael.schwartze at maastrichtuniversity.nl (for some of the currently available internship/elective projects see also here).
Current (co*)supervision
since 2023 Laetitia Flammang, Bachelor Student
since 2021 Hanna Honcamp*, PhD Student
since 2020 Antonio Criscuolo*, PhD Student
since 2020 Pia Brinkmann*, PhD Student
since 2017 Xanthate Duggirala*, PhD Student
since 2017 Lisa Goller*, PhD Student
Professional Experience
Associate Editor: Cortex – A Journal devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior (since 2018)
Review Editor: Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience (2017-2019)
Reviewer: > 40 International Journals and Conferences, Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), European Research Council (ERC)
Member: Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience EEG Committee
Appointed Examiner: University College Maastricht
since 2021
Assistant Professor (UD1), Maastricht University, Netherlands
2018-2021
Assistant Professor (UD2), Maastricht University, Netherlands
2015-2018
Researcher, Maastricht University, Netherlands
2013-2015
Research Associate, University of Manchester, UK
2012-2013
Postdoctoral Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
2012
PhD (Dr. phil., summa cum laude, Cognitive Science), University of Potsdam, Germany
2007-2012
PhD candidate, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
2007
Magister (M.A., German Linguistics, Rehabilitation Pedagogics), Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
2006
Student Intern, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
2005
Student Intern, Neurological Clinic for the Treatment of Parkinson´s Disease, Bernburg, Germany
2004
Student Intern, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
BAND Lab 