Fredrik Ullén

Fredrik Ullén is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institutet's Department of Neuroscience since 2012. He currently serves as Director of the Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. His previous roles at Karolinska include Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience (2010-2011), University Lecturer (2009-2010), Senior Researcher (2006-2009), and Assistant Professor (2001-2005) in the Department of Women's and Children's Health.

• Karolinska Institutet: Professor, Senior Researcher, Assistant Professor
• Max Planck Institute: Director

Research Interests: Ullén's work spans cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology, and creativity, with a focus on skill learning, genetic influences on expert performance, and brain mechanisms underlying creative cognition. He investigates how genetic factors interact with environmental variables to shape cognitive abilities and explores neural networks associated with flow states, improvisation, and individual differences in creative potential.

Scientific Awards:

• Lifetime Fellow of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music (2007)
• Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society (2021)
• Member of Academia Europaea (1999)
• Award of Excellence (2001)

Article Trends: Ullén’s recent publications examine creativity through genetic and neuroimaging lenses, linking polygenic risk scores for psychiatric disorders to creative traits. Earlier work investigates neural plasticity in musicians, functional connectivity in improvisation, and dopamine's role in implicit learning and flow experiences. His studies frequently employ interdisciplinary approaches combining cognitive psychology, genetics, and neuroimaging.