Stefan Maderwald

Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, University of Duisburg-Essen

Papers

Total Citations

212

H-Index

About

Stefan Maderwald is a pioneering researcher in social neuroscience, best known for his groundbreaking work on the neural underpinnings of human-robot interaction. His key research areas include empathy, affective neuroscience, and the cognitive processing of artificial agents. Maderwald’s major contribution lies in demonstrating, through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), that humans exhibit neural empathy responses not only toward other humans but also toward robots. In his most cited study (2014, 156 citations), he showed that violent treatment of a robot activates similar brain regions—such as the anterior cingulate cortex and insula—as violent treatment of a human, suggesting that our capacity for empathy extends beyond living beings. This work, along with related studies (2013, 29 and 27 citations), has profound implications for robotics, ethics, and human-machine relationships. By revealing the brain’s automatic emotional resonance with robots, Maderwald has helped shape how we design and interact with artificial agents, making him a key figure in the emerging field of neuro-robotics.