Fredrik Ullén

I am a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet and Director at the Max Planck Society for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt. I am also internationally active as a concert pianist, and am so far represented on 25 CD records, the great majority on BIS Records.

Academic honours, awards and prizes

• American Mensa Foundation Prize 2025.
• Philip Sandblom Prize, Lund University, 2023.
• Honorary Doctor, Mälardalens University, 2022.
• Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society, 2021.
• Fellow of Academia Europaea, 2017.
• Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, 2007.

My research focuses on the neuropsychology of skill learning, expertis and creativity, i.e. the mechanisms in the brain that allow us to perform at a high level within a specific field, after many years of focused training. Specific interests include how the brain represents and controls musical skills, the importance of intrinsic motivation for learning and creativity, and the interplay between genes and environment during the acquisition of expertise. We also study musical improvisation as a tool to understand creative problem solving and its brain mechanisms. Methodologically, we combine neuroimaging with experimental psychology and behavior genetic analyses.