Ingo Helmich

Ingo Helmich, Assistant Professor of Exercise & Sport Studies, received his M.S. (/Diplom) degree in exercise science from the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany and his Ph.D. degree at the Department of Neurology, Psychosomatic Medicine, and Psychiatry of the German Sport University Cologne (Germany). He worked as a postdoc at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, Montreal, Canada and pursued his Habilitation at the German Sport University Cologne to become a professor at the university level.

Before coming to Smith, Ingo Helmich was appointed as an assistant professor for “Motor Behavior in Sports” at the German Sport University Cologne studying the effects of sport related concussion on (brain) health. He further worked as a substitute professor at the University of Goettingen, Department of Training and Movement Science, Institute of Sport Sciences, Germany.

His scientific work focuses on human movement neuroscience by the combination of neuropsychology, motor cognition, and neuroimaging (e.g., functional Near InfraRed Spectroscopy (fNIRS)) to investigate healthy individuals, athletes, and patient groups. He is the director of the Motor Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Laboratory (MNN Lab), which addresses the understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying motor control and movement. The research of the MNN Lab therefore focuses on the interrelationship of movement and brain functions, both in health and disease such as athletes with mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI).

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Adams Y, Augenstein M, Furley P, Krieg A, Born P, Helmich I (2025) Female athletes explicitly gesture in emotional situations. Frontiers in psychology 15, 1526542. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1526542.

Helmich I, Chang YY, Gemmerich R, Rodrigo L, Funken J, Arun KM, Van de Vliet P (2024) Neurobehavioral consequences of repetitive head impacts in para swimming: a case report. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (JSAMS), 27, 1, 16-19. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2023.10.015.

Helmich I, Gemmerich R (2024) Neuronal control of posture in blind individuals. Brain topography, 37(5):783-795. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-024-01041-7.

Helmich I, Schepmann J (2023) Nonverbal hand movements serve self-related functions in blind individuals. Behavioural Brain Research, 53(2023), 114629, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114629.

Neumann N, Drewes V, Konstantinidis I, Reinecke K, Lausberg H, Helmich I (2022) Neuropsychological functions of nonverbal hand movements and gestures during sports. Journal of Cognitive Psychology. 34, 3. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2021.1998075.

Helmich I, Meyer C, Voelk M, Coenen J, Mueller S, Schepmann J, Lausberg H (2022) The pantomime of mental rotation: Left-handers are less lateralized. Neuropsychologia, 176 (2022), 108385, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108385.

Helmich I, Voelk M, Coenen J, Xu L, Reinhardt J, Mueller S, Schepmann J, Lausberg H (2021) Hemispheric specialization for nonverbal gestures depicting motion and space. Brain and Cognition, 151 (2021), 105736, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105736.

Huemmer K, Coenen JA, Konstantinidis I, Lausberg H, Helmich I (2021) Impaired recognition of gestural expressions of emotions in depressed individuals, Psychiatry Research. 302, 114031. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114031.

Helmich I, Coenen J, Henckert S, Pardalis E, Schupp S, Lausberg H (2020). Reduced frontopolar brain activation characterizes concussed athletes with balance deficits. Neuroimage: Clinical, 25(2):102164. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102164.

Helmich I, Lausberg H (2019). Nonverbal hand movement durations indicate post-concussion symptoms of athletes. Journal of Neurotrauma, 36(20). doi: 10.1089/neu.2019.6385.

Helmich I, Berger A, Lausberg H (2016). Neural control of posture in individuals with a post-concussion syndrome. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 48(12):2362-2369. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001028.

Helmich I, Skomroch H, Lausberg H (2014). Neuropsychological functions of hand movements and gestures change in the presence or absence of speech. Journal of Cognitive Psychology. 26, 7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2014.961925.

Invited Review

Hack L, Singh B, Binkofski F, Helmich I (2024) Repetitive Subconcussive Head Impacts in Sports and Their Impact on Brain Anatomy and Function: A Systematic Review. Int J Sports Med. 2024 Jul 19. doi: 10.1055/a-2342-3604.