Boris Kleber received his Master's of Science in Psychology from the University of Konstanz (Germany) and his Ph.D. (Dr. rerum naturalium) in Psychology/ Neuroscience from the University of Tübingen (Germany) under the supervision of Niels Birbaumer. Previously affiliated with the neurolinguistics group at the University of Konstanz and the Brain-computer interface (BCI) group at the University of Tübingen, his academic interests focus on the human singing, the neural mechanisms involved, as well as the neural foundations of performance anxiety. For the latter he investigated the effect of eeg-neurofeedback on emotion regulation and performance anxiety in musicians. His Ph.D. work explored motor imagery and experience dependent neuroplasticity in trained singers. He was also responsible for a large DFG-supported study involving neuroimaging of overt singing and EEG-neurofeedback at the Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology (University of Tübingen). His current work is designed to identify the relative contribution of auditory and proprioceptive modalities to sensorimotor integration in singing and how vocal training may change these systems.

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neurosciences and Music
• Experience dependent brain plasticity
• Bio- and Neurofeedback
• Musical performance anxiety
• The science of the singing voice

 

 

2009	Dr. rer. nat. (PhD). Dissertation: 'Neural networks underlying vocal control in experienced classical singers'.
2004-	Research associate. Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen (Prof. Dr. N. Birbaumer) Research projects: Project coordinator and associate investigator in the DFG Project 'Neuroplastic changes in solo vocalists' (BI 195/47-1 & BI 195/47-2). Brain-Computer-Interface.
2003-2004	Research associate. Department of Clinical Psychology (EEG laboratory) and the Department of Linguistics, University of Konstanz (Prof. Dr. C. Eulitz). EEG/MMN studies on vowel harmony violation.
2003	Research associate. Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Imperial College, London (Prof. Dr. J. Gruzelier), in collaboration with the Royal College of Music, London (Dr. A. Williamon). Studies on the effects of neurofeedback training on musical performance.
1995-2002	Masters in Psychology (M.A.) Clinical Psychologist with a focus on - Performance anxiety, Social  Phobia, and - functional (e.g. psychogenic) voice disorders.
	Thesis: "Evaluation of vocal quality in western classical singing?" Supervisors: Prof. Dr. R. Hübner, Prof. Dr. H. Reetz
1993 - 1995	Graduate diploma in Modern Dance & Improvisation. Tanzwerkstatt Konstanz, Germany.
1992	Abitur (university-entrance diploma). Music Gymnasium Michelbach an der Bilz (Germany).

Journal Publications

Kleber, B., Zeitouni, A.G., Friberg, A., Zatorre, R.J. (in press). Experience-dependent modulation of feedback integration during singing: role of the right anterior insula. J Neuroscience.

Kleber, B., Veit, R., Birbaumer,N., Gruzelier, J., & Lotze, M. (2009). The brain of opera singers: experience-dependent changes in functional activation. Cerebral Cortex. DOI:10.1093/cercor/bhp177

Kleber, B., Birbaumer, N., Veit, R., Trevorrow, T., Lotze, M. (2007). Overt and imagined singing of an Italian aria, NeuroImage, 36(3), 889-900

Kleber, B. & Birbaumer, N. (2005). Direct brain communication: neuroelectric and metabolic approaches at Tübingen. Cognitive Processing, 6, 65-74

Abstracts/ Proceedings

Kleber, B., Gruzelier, J., Bensch, Michael, Veit, R., Lotze M., Birbaumer, N. (2008). fMRI correlates of professional singing after neurofeedback training. The 3rd International Conference of Applied Neuroscience, Seville, Spain.

Kleber, B., Gruzelier, J., Bensch, Michael, Veit, R., Lotze M., Birbaumer, N. (2007). fMRI correlates of professional singing after neurofeedback training. Applied Neuroscience Conference, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Kleber, B., , Birbaumer, N., Veit, R., Lotze, M (2006). The brain in concert Activation during actual and imagined singing in professionals?. Organization for Human Brain Mapping (HBM), Florence & International Conference on Music Perception & Cognition (ICMPC), Bologna.

Kübler, A, Nijboer, F, Mellinger, J, Matuz, T, Kleber, B, Eitel-Braitsch, Y, Sellers, E, Vaughan, T, Wolpaw, J, & Birbaumer, N. Brain-computer interfaces - Communication with the P300 (2005). Journal of Psychophysiology, 19, 128-128.

Kleber, B., Birbaumer, N., Veit, R., Lotze, M. (2005). The professional singer: brain activity during executed and imagined singing. Society of Psychophysiological Research (SPR), Lisbon.

Kleber, B. (2004). Judging the vocal quality of classical singers: different findings for experts and naïve listeners. International Symposium Psychology and Music Education, Padova.

Kleber, B. (2004). TheAssessment of Vocal Quality in Classical Singing: Reliability of Experts and Naïve Listeners?. International Conference on Music Perception & Cognition (ICMPC) Chicago.

Invited talks

11.  April 2008:  Title: Singing in the Brain: Emotion regulation and Neuroimaging of Vocal Performers. 5^th                              Würzburg Brain & Behavior Days.

15. March 2007: Title: ?The neuroscience of singing?, Goldsmiths College, London (UK).

16. March 2007: Title: ?The neuroscience of singing?, The Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester (UK).

 

·         Member of the Society for Psychophysiological Research (SPR)

·         Member of the Society of Human Brain Mapping (HBM)

·         Member of the Society of Applied Neuroscience (SAN)

·         Member of the German Society for Music Psychology (DGM).

·         Member of the German Association on Physiology of Music and Performing Arts Medicine (DGfMM)

• Former member of the guitar ensemble "Gitarrenensemble Konstanz". Concerts in Germany and Switzerland.
• Vocal physiology, phoniatry and music acoustics.
• Opera, classical music and Jazz.

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