My research aims at exploring the dynamic behavioral and neural mechanisms of affective and motivational processes, how these processes become dysregulated in mental disorders and can be modulated by neuropeptides (e.g. oxytocin, renin-angiotensin) or closed-loop modulation. To this end my research utilizes an entire array of cognitive neuroscience methods, particularly advanced neuroimaging in combination with machine learning based neural decoding and computational modeling as well as pharmacological and real-time fMRI-informed neuromodulation.